(Deprecated) Display a "Discord Widget" in a dropdown button

dax · November 8, 2017, 8:34pm

May 2022
This has has now been converted into a theme component by @keegan

Discourse Discord Widget

The Discord Widget does its job, but it’s really cumbersome and generally it’s an eyesore with the style of Discourse.
In the past few months I had tried to implement it everywhere (after-header, body, footer) but every time I found it too big and too customized to be permanently seen.
That’s why, in the end, I decided that a dropdown button would be the best solution. Users can decide if open the widget (maybe only to see the users online) and close it, or click the Connect button to enter the chat.

Desktop View

Display the button for ALL users (logged in and visitors):

Add this script under /admin/customize/themes inside Desktop/Head tab

<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="0.8">
const { h } = require('virtual-dom');
const { iconNode } = require("discourse-common/lib/icon-library");

api.createWidget('discord-chat-menu', {
  tagName: 'div.discord-panel',

  html() {
    return this.attach('menu-panel', {
      contents: () => h('iframe', {
                        "src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light',
                        "sandbox": "allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts",
                        "width": "350",
                        "height": "500",
                        "allowtransparency": "true",
                        "frameborder": "0",
                        "id": "chatwidget",
                        "name": "chatwidget",}
                    )

    });
  },

  clickOutside() {
    this.sendWidgetAction('toggleDiscordChat');
  }
});
    
api.decorateWidget('header-icons:before', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
  return helper.attach('header-dropdown', {
      title: 'Discord Chat',
      icon: 'fab-discord',
      active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
      action: 'toggleDiscordChat',
    });
});

api.decorateWidget('header-icons:after', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
    if (headerState.discordChatVisible) {
        return [helper.attach('discord-chat-menu')];
    }
});

api.attachWidgetAction('header', 'toggleDiscordChat', function() {
  this.state.discordChatVisible = !this.state.discordChatVisible;
});

</script>

Make sure to change the Url here:

"src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light', entering your Server ID in place of your-widget-ID. You can find it on Discord in Server Setting > Widget > Server ID.
E.g. "src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=1234567890123&theme=light',

Inside the Url you can also replace the theme style to make it light (&theme=light) or dark (&theme=dark).
Change "title": "Discord Chat" as you prefer (e.g. "title": "my wonderful chat")

Add this script under /admin/customize/themes inside Desktop/Body tab to reload and update the iframe every 1.5 mins (made by @Yuun, see here).
Remember to change https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light with your Url (e.g. https://discordapp.com/widget?id=1234567890123&theme=light)

<script>
    function reloadIFrame() {
        var disc = document.getElementById("chatwidget");
        if (disc) {
            disc.src="https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light";
        }
    }
    window.setInterval("reloadIFrame();", 90000);
</script>

Display the button only to logged in users

<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="0.8">
const { h } = require('virtual-dom');
const { iconNode } = require("discourse-common/lib/icon-library");
const user = require('discourse/models/user').default;
   if (user !== null) {

api.createWidget('discord-chat-menu', {
  tagName: 'div.discord-panel',

  html() {
    return this.attach('menu-panel', {
      contents: () => h('iframe', {
                        "src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light',
                        "width": "350",
                        "height": "500",
                        "allowtransparency": "true",
                        "frameborder": "0",
                        "id": "chatwidget",
                        "name": "chatwidget",}
                    )

    });
  },

  clickOutside() {
    this.sendWidgetAction('toggleDiscordChat');
  }
});

    
api.decorateWidget('header-icons:before', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
  return helper.attach('header-dropdown', {
      title: 'Discord Chat',
      icon: 'fab-discord',
      active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
      action: 'toggleDiscordChat',
    });
});

api.decorateWidget('header-icons:after', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
    if (headerState.discordChatVisible) {
        return [helper.attach('discord-chat-menu')];
    }
});

api.attachWidgetAction('header', 'toggleDiscordChat', function() {
  this.state.discordChatVisible = !this.state.discordChatVisible;
})};

</script>

Display the button only for users who belong to a certain trust level (and higher or lower - optional)

Change the script in this way:

<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="0.8">
const { h } = require('virtual-dom');
const { iconNode } = require("discourse-common/lib/icon-library");
   var level = User.currentProp("trust_level");
   if (level >=2) {  //Change the trust level here

api.createWidget('discord-chat-menu', {
  tagName: 'div.discord-panel',

  html() {
    return this.attach('menu-panel', {
      contents: () => h('iframe', {
                        "src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light',
                        "width": "350",
                        "height": "500",
                        "allowtransparency": "true",
                        "frameborder": "0",
                        "id": "chatwidget",
                        "name": "chatwidget",}
                    )

    });
  },

  clickOutside() {
    this.sendWidgetAction('toggleDiscordChat');
  }
});

    
api.decorateWidget('header-icons:before', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
  return helper.attach('header-dropdown', {
      title: 'Discord Chat',
      icon: 'fab-discord',
      active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
      action: 'toggleDiscordChat',
    });
});

api.decorateWidget('header-icons:after', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
    if (headerState.discordChatVisible) {
        return [helper.attach('discord-chat-menu')];
    }
});

api.attachWidgetAction('header', 'toggleDiscordChat', function() {
  this.state.discordChatVisible = !this.state.discordChatVisible;
})};

</script>

In this case, the button is displayed to all users that belong to trust level 2 or higher (>=2). Use only =2 to display it only for users at trust level 2 (no higher), or (<=2) for users that belong to trust level 2 or lower. You can change the trust level (from 0 to 4) as needed. For more information about trust levels read Understanding Discourse Trust Levels

Display the button only for users who belong to staff (admins + mods) [@Neuferkar]

<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="0.8">
const { h } = require('virtual-dom');
const { iconNode } = require("discourse-common/lib/icon-library");
   const user = User.currentProp(); 
    if (user !== null && user.staff) { 

api.createWidget('discord-chat-menu', {
  tagName: 'div.discord-panel',

  html() {
    return this.attach('menu-panel', {
      contents: () => h('iframe', {
                        "src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light',
                        "width": "350",
                        "height": "500",
                        "allowtransparency": "true",
                        "frameborder": "0",
                        "id": "chatwidget",
                        "name": "chatwidget",}
                    )

    });
  },

  clickOutside() {
    this.sendWidgetAction('toggleDiscordChat');
  }
});

    
api.decorateWidget('header-icons:before', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
  return helper.attach('header-dropdown', {
      title: 'Discord Chat',
      icon: 'fab-discord',
      active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
      action: 'toggleDiscordChat',
    });
});

api.decorateWidget('header-icons:after', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
    if (headerState.discordChatVisible) {
        return [helper.attach('discord-chat-menu')];
    }
});

api.attachWidgetAction('header', 'toggleDiscordChat', function() {
  this.state.discordChatVisible = !this.state.discordChatVisible;
})};

</script>

Change this line if (user !== null && user.staff) as you wish to display the button only to admins or only to mods:

if (user !== null && user.administrator)
if (user !== null && user.moderator)

Display the button only to members of a primary group (e.g. “footeam”) [@Neuferkar and @cpradio]

Be sure to target the primary_group_name correctly (see here)

<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="0.8">
const { h } = require('virtual-dom');
const { iconNode } = require("discourse-common/lib/icon-library");
const user = User.currentProp(); 
if (user !== null && user.primary_group_name === "footeam") { 

api.createWidget('discord-chat-menu', {
  tagName: 'div.discord-panel',

  html() {
    return this.attach('menu-panel', {
      contents: () => h('iframe', {
                        "src": 'https://discordapp.com/widget?id=your-widget-ID&theme=light',
                        "width": "350",
                        "height": "500",
                        "allowtransparency": "true",
                        "frameborder": "0",
                        "id": "chatwidget",
                        "name": "chatwidget",}
                    )

    });
  },

  clickOutside() {
    this.sendWidgetAction('toggleDiscordChat');
  }
});

    
api.decorateWidget('header-icons:before', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
  return helper.attach('header-dropdown', {
      title: 'Discord Chat',
      icon: 'fab-discord',
      active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
      action: 'toggleDiscordChat',
    });
});

api.decorateWidget('header-icons:after', function(helper) {
  const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
    if (headerState.discordChatVisible) {
        return [helper.attach('discord-chat-menu')];
    }
});

api.attachWidgetAction('header', 'toggleDiscordChat', function() {
  this.state.discordChatVisible = !this.state.discordChatVisible;
})};

</script>

Mobile View

For mobile I use an icon with an invite Url to my server since on phones there is a cool Discord App to install.

Just add to your site the Custom Header Links (icons) theme component and enter in the theme settings:

Header links: Mobile-only link,fab-discord,https://discord.gg/INVITE_ID,vmo,blank
Svg icons: fab-discord

Remember to generate an invite of infinite duration, so it will always be valid and you will not have to change it again and make sure to update the Url from https://discord.gg/INVITE_ID to your real invite ID:

gcharang · November 2, 2020, 10:03am

In

helper.attach('header-dropdown', {
      title: 'Discord Chat',
      icon: 'discord',
      active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
      action: 'toggleDiscordChat',
    });

, icon: 'discord' should be changed to icon: 'fab-discord'

dax · November 2, 2020, 8:57pm

Done.

The guide is a wiki, feel free to edit and improve it!

darkstorm · July 9, 2021, 12:02am

Updated initial post to fix broken widget

"sandbox": "allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts",

AquaL1te · August 24, 2021, 3:37am

Are there plans to make this into an official plugin? It will be easier to maintain it that way. Thanks for sharing this!

Zup · August 24, 2021, 9:00am

It could be a TC I reckon.

brentoshiro · March 30, 2022, 12:23am

Hi, thanks for developing this widget! I just added to our forum following your instructions and while the widget shows up properly, it doesn’t seem connect (endlessly tries to load… see screenshot below). I triple-checked that the copied code was 100% accurate but it still seems to not load properly. I also added the Discord server ID properly in all referenced sections.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

merefield · March 30, 2022, 5:13pm

Copying and pasting all this code is arguably a bit messy and prone to error? Someone with enough time & self-interest should consider publishing this as a Theme Component and apply fixes as appropriate (and post a Topic for it in theme)

XXPX1 · April 1, 2022, 3:52am

Make sure that you enabled “Server Widget” in Discord under Server Settings > Widget

keegan · May 27, 2022, 7:42pm

Hey guys, I’ve taken this awesome guide and packaged it into an easily installable theme component:

ReenigneArcher · October 25, 2022, 11:10pm

Thanks for this guide. I ended up modifying it slightly and embedding WidgetBot. I was hoping to use the WidgetBot crate instead of an iframe, had issues loading external javascript though, so this will do for now.

I also noticed a few issues. The only logged in user method didn’t work and the icon was showing even when logged out. So I used the trust level method with >= 1. The other issue is the width doesn’t seem to go larger than 350 (I don’t think it’s a cache issue since I tried in private mode and different browsers). Also, the height does seem to be adjusting properly.

<script type="text/discourse-plugin" version="0.8">
const { h } = require("virtual-dom");
const { iconNode } = require("discourse-common/lib/icon-library");
var level = Discourse.User.currentProp("trust_level");

// ensure user is logged in and of trust level 1 or higher
if (level >= 1) {

    api.createWidget("discord-chat-menu", {
        tagName: "div.discord-panel",

        html() {
            return this.attach("menu-panel", {
                contents: () =>
                    h("iframe", {
                        src: "https://e.widgetbot.io/channels/<server_id>/<channel_id>",
                        sandbox: "allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts",
                        width: "400",
                        height: "500",
                        allowtransparency: "false",
                        frameborder: "0",
                        id: "widgetbot",
                        name: "widgetbot",
                    }),
            });
        },

        clickOutside() {
            this.sendWidgetAction("toggleDiscordChat");
        },
    });

    api.decorateWidget("header-icons:before", function (helper) {
        const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
        return helper.attach("header-dropdown", {
            title: "Discord Chat",
            icon: "fab-discord",
            active: headerState.discordChatVisible,
            action: "toggleDiscordChat",
        });
    });

    api.decorateWidget("header-icons:after", function (helper) {
        const headerState = helper.widget.parentWidget.state;
        if (headerState.discordChatVisible) {
            return [helper.attach("discord-chat-menu")];
        }
    });

    api.attachWidgetAction("header", "toggleDiscordChat", function () {
        this.state.discordChatVisible = !this.state.discordChatVisible;
    });
}
</script>

dax · October 26, 2022, 4:50pm

This is deprecated in favor of

User.currentProp

Then you should be able to use >=0 since also trust level 0 users are registered users.

If I remember correctly 350 was hardcoded in the Discord iframe code?

ReenigneArcher · October 26, 2022, 5:46pm

Good call. I’m still new to Discourse and in “bootstrap” mode where everyone is level 1. I will adjust it.

Right, but I changed it…

                    "iframe", {
                        src: "https://e.widgetbot.io/channels/<server_id>/<channel_id>",
                        sandbox: "allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts",
                        width: "400",
                        height: "500",
                        allowtransparency: "false",
                        frameborder: "0",
                        id: "widgetbot",
                        name: "widgetbot",
                    }

WidgetBot certainly has no limit on iframe size… image from my website.

Topic		Replies	Views
Header Submenus Theme component official , header-submenus	87	36132	November 14, 2024
Discourse Trust Levels for Discord Dev	61	9705	November 29, 2019
Easy Responsive Footer Theme component official , easy-responsive-footer	90	36696	October 10, 2024
Versatile Banner Theme component official , versatile-banner	93	41197	June 13, 2024
Custom Header Links (icons) Theme component official , custom-header-icons	109	29719	August 19, 2024