This guide explains how to set up and use auto-bumping for topics in Discourse, including category-wide settings and individual topic timers.
Required user level: Administrator
Auto-bumping is a feature in Discourse that allows topics to be automatically brought back to the top of the topic list. This can be useful for maintaining visibility of important discussions, keeping support topics active, or regularly showcasing items in buy/sell categories.
When configuring auto-bumping, note the following:
Auto-bumping can be configured at the category level
Individual topics can be set to auto-bump using topic timers
Auto-bumping follows specific criteria to determine which topics are eligible
Configuring category-wide auto-bumping
To set up auto-bumping for an entire category:
Visit the category you want to configure
Click the (wrench) icon to access category settings
Navigate to the “Settings” tab
Locate the auto-bumping settings:
“Number of open topics to automatically bump daily”
“Minimum days before bumping the same topic again”
The “Number of open topics” setting determines how many topics will be bumped in that category each day. The “Minimum days” setting prevents a topic from being bumped again until that many days have passed.
Auto-bumping criteria
For a topic to be eligible for auto-bumping, it must meet the following criteria:
Be visible and listed
Not be scheduled for auto-bump using a topic timer
Not have been bumped in the last 24 hours
Not be pinned
Not be closed
Not be archived
Not be a category description topic
The system will bump a maximum of 1 topic every 15 minutes, up to the daily limit set for the category.
Best practices
Use auto-bumping judiciously to avoid overwhelming users with old content
Consider the nature of your category when setting up auto-bumping (e.g., support forums vs. general discussion)
Regularly review and adjust your auto-bumping settings based on community feedback and needs
Common issues and solutions
If a closed topic gets bumped, check if there’s an individual topic timer set for that topic
If topics are being bumped too frequently, increase the “Minimum days” setting
If auto-bumping isn’t occurring, ensure the “Number of open topics” setting is greater than 0
FAQs
Q: Why would I want to use auto-bumping?
A: Auto-bumping can be useful for:
Keeping support topics visible in case they were forgotten
Regularly showcasing items in buy/sell categories
Maintaining activity in slow-moving categories
Q: Can I exclude certain topics from auto-bumping?
A: Yes, pinned, closed, or archived topics are automatically excluded. You can also avoid setting individual topic timers for topics you don’t want to be bumped.
Q: How does auto-bumping interact with user activity?
A: Auto-bumping only occurs if no user activity has bumped the topic naturally. Recent user activity will reset the auto-bump timer.
But why would you want to auto bump topics? Not questioning the feature, but trying to learn some example use cases in which I might want to consider this option.
I was looking for issues being answered by this topic (the reason I wrote it was to share how this feature worked). I ended with the call for data because I’m not sure how folks use it, either!
I’ve used it for a couple of things that I’m not sure I could recommend for community, but is great for a single-user Discourse, for taking personal notes.
First, I use it to “turn the soil” for creative writing purposes. I’ll write something, leave it alone, work on something else, a little each day. For stories or complex technical working, I use auto-bumping to assist me in working on a few things asynchronously.
Second, I’ve used it temporarily to clear out a category. “Processing” I call it. The first case can lead to the second case, where now I’m sitting on a category of topics that need to be published or shared elsewhere. I can make a call, “it takes me 10 minutes to process a topic, so I’ll auto-bumping two a day”.
The second case often ends with the removal of the topics, so after they are all gone the auto-bumping (and category!) are removed as well.
Why don’t I recommend these? I’ve never seen it done with an active community. It might generate noise if everyone isn’t aware of the process.
I imagine for creative writers doing shared world building to greatly benefit from auto-bumping all the topics in a shared category… oh that we would all be so lucky to belong to such a group!
This topic could be expanded to include scheduling a single bump for a topic, rather than only covering the category setting. In that case, it is a very useful tool to set a time everyone needs to pay attention to something again. Ex: a conversation that can’t move forward until a future event occurs, so a scheduled bump in two months is like a high-priority group reminder for the participants in that topic. We use this occasionally at Discourse.
I think that’s a case when Reset Bump Date has been used and it sent it back down into the stack and tricks it into thinking the topic is eligible for a bump again.
This guide explains how to set up and use auto-bumping for topics in Discourse, including category-wide settings and individual topic timers.
Required user level: Administrator
(wrench) icon to access category settings
, I would like to have a third setting: “Minimum days before bumping” to control the frequency.