# Dependent Plugin Settings are ... AWESOME!

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/dependent-plugin-settings-are-awesome/409148
**Category:** Praise
**Created:** [August 3, 2026, 10:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dependent-plugin-settings-are-awesome/409148 "2026-08-03T10:46:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 4

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![merefield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/merefield/32/176214_2.png) [@merefield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/merefield)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2026, 12:29pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dependent-plugin-settings-are-awesome/409148/4 "2026-08-03T12:29:09Z")

</div>

There is documentation, but it is currently afaia fragmented rather than presented as a standalone developer guide.

The main authoritative references are:

- Schema documentation in config/site\_settings.yml:52, covering depends\_on, depends\_on\_values, depends\_behavior, and dependent\_setting\_display.

- More detailed guidance and examples in .skills/discourse-site-settings/SKILL.md:203.

- Backend behaviour specs in spec/lib/site\_setting\_extension\_spec.rb:706.

- Frontend dependency resolution in frontend/discourse/admin/services/admin-site-setting-store.js:41.

- UI examples in frontend/discourse/tests/acceptance/admin-site-settings-test.js:142.

The basic syntax is:

```plaintext
child_setting:
  default: ""
  depends_on:
     - parent_setting
  depends_behavior: "hidden"

```

For enum or string parents:

```plaintext
 child_setting:
    default: ""
    depends_on:
      - parent_setting
    depends_on_values:
      parent_setting:
        - enabled_mode
        - another_mode
    depends_behavior: "hidden"
    dependent_setting_display: "inline"

```

One important limitation: dependencies can contain multiple direct parents, but dependency resolution is not transitive. A nested chain such as A → B → C does not automatically make C consider whether B is itself hidden by A; C only evaluates B’s stored value.

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