# Creating Subcategory under a Subcategory?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 13, 2025, 7:16am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040 "2025-02-13T07:16:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![LaptechInfo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@LaptechInfo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/LaptechInfo)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 7:16am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/1 "2025-02-13T07:16:11Z")

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Hi, I need to create subcategories under a subcategory, but when I try to create, there is an error pops up that its not possible.

I have added the plugin Doc-Categories; I am trying to add subcategories under a subcategory. how to make it

 ![An error message displayed stating, "You can't nest a subcategory under another," with an "OK" button. (Captioned by AI)](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/0/7/e/07e30cb7852fcd831ed312724f3fbfa7d2d853a1.png)

Thank you.

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### Author: ![Jagster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jagster/32/192154_2.png) [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 7:33am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/2 "2025-02-13T07:33:13Z")

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Try search `sub-sub-category`?

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### Author: ![tvavrda](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tvavrda/32/480674_2.png) [@tvavrda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tvavrda)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 8:09am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/3 "2025-02-13T08:09:45Z")

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Could you give an example of your use case? As mentioned frequently in meta discussions, using more than two levels of categories is rarely the optimal solution. Usually, the same outcomes can be achieved through other means, such as tags.

To better understand your needs, I would like to ask:

1. Does every topic really belong to only one category? If not, tags might be more appropriate, since a topic can be assigned multiple tags, but not categories.
2. Are you looking to improve clarity, or are you also considering other factors, such as permissions or other rules? Categories can be set up with specific access levels, whereas tags cannot. As for clarity, they provide the same.

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### Author: ![LaptechInfo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@LaptechInfo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/LaptechInfo)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 8:24am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/4 "2025-02-13T08:24:33Z")

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Done this Console command worked

> [@Sub-sub-categories](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sub-sub-categories/139309/7):
>
> Quick guide to set it from 2 (default) to 3 via the console: cd /var/discourse/ ./launcher enter app rails c read current value: [1] pry(main)\> SiteSetting.max\_category\_nesting =\> 2 write new value: [2] pry(main)\> SiteSetting.max\_category\_nesting = 3 =\> 3

 ![The image shows a computer terminal window with various commands being executed, including a note on the right that says "done this command worked" in red. (Captioned by AI)](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/2/b/4/2b438c7184395f6b383790e374670f11ce61a610.png)

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### Author: ![LaptechInfo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@LaptechInfo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/LaptechInfo)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 9:09am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/5 "2025-02-13T09:09:39Z")

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Hi.

1. Yes, every topics belongs to a one category.
2. No access level and no need of security

A category Called in Docs “Learning” under this Category I created “School Study Materials” as a subcategory and I need to create “Grades of Classes” under the Study Materials Subcategory.

I have done that via console

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### Author: ![tvavrda](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tvavrda/32/480674_2.png) [@tvavrda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tvavrda)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 9:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/6 "2025-02-13T09:39:12Z")

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Thank you. Just out of curiosity about category taxonomy, which is a topic for every new community, could you share your complete final category structure?

It would be interesting to think about all the other possible ways on how other people might structure it and what would be the benefits and downsides.

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### Author: ![Jagster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jagster/32/192154_2.png) [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 10:07am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/7 "2025-02-13T10:07:09Z")

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The simpliness is beautiful.

Common general forum:

- dog related (that forum started as commenting and meta for a big dog site)
- general human related
- IT/tech stuff
- chat’ish (photos, memes, light one etc)
- forum (meta, announcements, helps etc)
- federated (mainly from Mastodon)

Everything is tagged properly.

I would use only two, discussion and meta, and let tags takes care of everything else — but my users thought it would be too overwhelming. But that was before they understood the function of tags, and reconed that is just another name for IG-hashtags.

I’ll flag this sidestep as another reason. This kind of stuff is more like #Community Building because this topic is already solved.)

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### Author: ![LaptechInfo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@LaptechInfo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/LaptechInfo)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 11:28am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/8 "2025-02-13T11:28:59Z")

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definitely, I will share after completion.  
👍

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### Author: ![tobiaseigen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tobiaseigen/32/539204_2.png) [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/9 "2025-02-13T16:43:50Z")

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Looks like @LaptechInfo solved their own problem, so I will close this topic.

If you want to start sharing and comparing your folder structures, please start a new topic in #Community Building.

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### Author: ![tobiaseigen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/tobiaseigen/32/539204_2.png) [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-subcategory-under-a-subcategory/352040/10 "2025-02-13T16:43:54Z")

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