Discourse has a “JavaScript Safe Mode”, where any user can use to isolate the root cause of a JavaScript issue caused by plugins, themes or theme components.
To access safe mode go to:
http://your-site-name/safe-mode for example this is the safe mode for our demo site:
https://try.discourse.org/safe-mode
To exit safe mode simply close your browser tab
When entering safe mode you can select between:
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Disable all themes and theme-components
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Disable unofficial plugins
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Disable all plugins
By default, all 3 options are selected, but you can enter safe mode multiple times to isolate the culprit breaking your site.
If sharing your safe mode link on your own site, be aware that it needs to be opened in a new tab or added directly to the address bar otherwise it may not work correctly. eg https://meta.discourse.org/safe-mode
Safe mode currently only disables the JavaScript portions of plugins, to disable the server-side portion you must rebuild your container with the plugin commented out. Though historically the majority of breakages were in the JavaScript portions of plugins.