Assigning Category Moderator Role Without Admin Access

Product Support

AI-generated summary

FordX is seeking a way to assign category-specific moderation roles without granting full admin or moderator access, aiming to allow trusted users to manage topics (e.g., edit, delete, move, pin) within a single category. They’ve tried using groups with limited permissions but found no option for moderation actions like deleting or moving posts, noting that the Moderate permission doesn’t appear in the current UI. They ask if Discourse supports this functionality natively and whether it’s possible to restrict moderation rights to specific categories. Jagster suggests looking into category moderator roles and TL4 users, referencing a related discussion on meta.discourse.org for more details.

1

Hi everyone :waving_hand:

I’m currently managing a Discourse forum and working on organizing our staff roles. My goal is to assign moderators to specific categories only, with the ability to perform basic moderation tasks without giving them full moderator or admin permissions.

:white_check_mark: What I’m trying to achieve:

I’d like certain trusted users to be able to:

  • Edit or delete topics and replies within a specific category
  • Close, open, pin, or unpin topics
  • Move topics between categories

All without giving them access to the admin dashboard or global moderation powers.

:magnifying_glass_tilted_left: What I’ve tried:

  • I created a group and gave it permissions on specific categories (See / Create / Reply) but couldn’t find any option that grants actual moderation rights like deleting or moving posts.

  • I saw mentions of a Moderate permission in some sources, but it doesn’t seem to exist in the current Discourse UI.

  • I don’t want to use the global Moderator role, as it gives broad access across the entire forum.

  • Are there any plans to support this kind of role natively in Discourse core?

I’d really appreciate any feedback or insights from those who’ve handled similar use cases.
Happy to share our full setup if it’s helpful to others!

Thanks in advance :folded_hands:

4

You may want similar than what category moderators are, or TL4 users.

Could you get some ideas from this topic: