Hey all, just noticed today that we can no longer do the following for restricted categories: Wrench > Pin Topic > Make Banner Topic How is everyone else managing their templates for banners they reuse? I’m not understanding why we would want the information used in banners floating around cluttering up public categories, but maybe I’m missing something. I would love to hear everyone else’s workflow. Here is the related PR for reference: DEV: Gate read-restricted banner topics by janzenisaac · Pull Request #38496 · discourse/discourse · GitHub

When functionality like this changes or gets removed, it’s usually due to security or access-control considerations. In this case, banner topics are now gated so that topics in read-restricted categories can’t be used as banners anymore. That said, we’re currently discussing internally whether there are better workflows or improvement that could help with use cases like yours. In the meantime, one possible workaround, if the goal is simply to avoid banner topics being visible in normal topic lists, is to create the banner topic as Unlisted from the start in a public category instead of a private one. Unlisted topics won’t appear in topic lists or category views for regular users, but they can still be accessed via direct link and used programmatically: [msedge_46789k6bdo] To keep things organized, you could also add a tag like #banner so it’s easy to locate those topics later. From there, you can use the Discourse Automation plugin and run the “Make Banner Topic” script, referencing the ID of the unlisted topic. That will convert it into a banner while keeping it effectively hidden from normal browsing.

This modification strikes me as somewhat peculiar. Firstly, the staff members who possess the authority to modify banners are the same individuals who have access to this read-restricted topic. When they choose to designate a topic as a banner, it is reasonable to assume that they intentionally wish to make its contents public, so I do not think this would be a security issue. Secondly, in practice, staff members on our site are accustomed to drafting announcements within a read-restricted topic before setting it as a banner.

[image] pangbo: When they choose to designate a topic as a banner, it is reasonable to assume that they intentionally wish to make its contents public, so I do not think this would be a security issue. The security issue lies in that banner content was being made available to everyone, and not just admins/mods. I don’t agree with your assumption that admins are aware that all read-restricted banners would be made public. However, I do see the use case and the desire to not muddy public categories :slight_smile:

@dax thanks for the workaround in the meantime, I’ll try this for now, although I do miss having a dedicated staff drafting zone.

I tried the method described above, but the ‘Pin topic’ option disappears when you unlist it.

For that reason i said to use the Automation plugin for now [image] dax: you can use the Discourse Automation plugin and run the “Make Banner Topic” script, referencing the ID of the unlisted topic. That will convert it into a banner while keeping it effectively hidden from normal browsing.

@Discoursenaut now you should see the Pin Topic option even for Unlisted topics so you can skip the Automation step. Can you check on your site?

Can y’all consider updating the instructions here ( under Dismissable Banner) that it needs to be in a public category and unlisting is suggested. [image] Creating a banner to display at the top of your site Site Management bookmark This guide explains different methods to create and customize banners on your Discourse site, from simple dismissible banners to more advanced options. person_raising_hand Required user level: Moderator (Dismissible banner), Administrator Banners are an effective way to communicate important information to your site visitors. This guide will walk you through various methods to create and customize banners on your Discourse site. Welcome banner A welcome banner greets new and r…

Added those details, thanks for mentioning it!

Can no longer create global banners from restricted categories

Product Support

putty (putty) April 16, 2026, 5:06pm 26

FWIW, I recently resorted to this theme component for banners across my community because it doesn’t require a dedicated topic.

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Can no longer create global banners from restricted categories

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