# I'm writing a short documentation for admins of Discourse forums I've helped set up. Do I miss something in it?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/im-writing-a-short-documentation-for-admins-of-discourse-forums-ive-helped-set-up-do-i-miss-something-in-it/392246
**Category:** General
**Created:** [27 december 2025 om 17:47 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/im-writing-a-short-documentation-for-admins-of-discourse-forums-ive-helped-set-up-do-i-miss-something-in-it/392246 "2025-12-27T17:47:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 8

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Canapin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/canapin/32/119591_2.png) [@Canapin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Canapin)
#### Post date: [29 december 2025 om 14:09 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/im-writing-a-short-documentation-for-admins-of-discourse-forums-ive-helped-set-up-do-i-miss-something-in-it/392246/8 "2025-12-29T14:09:37Z")

</div>

Thank you for your help!

I’ve added this at the beginning of my guide:

> # Make sure you’re prepared for any situation
> 
> It is strongly recommended, in addition to local backups (saved on the same server as the forum), to have a copy of these backups on another server or in the cloud\[1\].
> 
> It is also useful to keep a copy of the file `/var/discourse/containers/app.yml` in a secure place\[2\]. This optional file is used in case of a forum reinstallation or a migration to another server.
> 
> If there is any serious doubt about anything, contact me ([canapin@gmail.com](mailto:canapin@gmail.com)).

Added this in the update section:

> ℹ Before doing an update, it is strongly recommended to download the latest backup of your forum.

Added this:

> # What to do if the forum no longer works?
> 
> Rebuilding the forum fixes many problems and is done with the same command as a command-line update:
> 
> ```txt
> /var/discourse/launcher rebuild app
> 
> ```
> 
> ## What if the forum still doesn’t work after a rebuild?
> 
> Ask me ([canapin@gmail.com](mailto:canapin@gmail.com)) or post on the [official support forum](https://meta.discourse.org/c/support/6).

I also mentioned [ask.discourse.org](http://ask.discourse.org) at the end of the guide.

> # Resources
> 
> [https://meta.discourse.org](https://meta.discourse.org) : official support, don’t hesitate to post there — community members and devs are very helpful  
> [https://ask.discourse.com](https://ask.discourse.com) : a chatbot trained on Discourse support and data, surprisingly effective for answering questions (yes, really)

> **Full text**
>
> # Make sure you’re prepared for any situation
> 
> It is strongly recommended, in addition to local backups (saved on the same server as the forum), to have a copy of these backups on another server or in the cloud\[1:1\].
> 
> It is also useful to keep a copy of the file `/var/discourse/containers/app.yml` in a secure place\[2:1\]. This optional file is used in case of a forum reinstallation or a migration to another server.
> 
> If there is any serious doubt about anything, contact me ([canapin@gmail.com](mailto:canapin@gmail.com)).
> 
> # Updates
> 
> ℹ Before doing an update, it is strongly recommended to download the latest backup of your forum.
> 
> ## Via the interface
> 
> Do updates when there is an unhappy red smiley in the admin (it means there is an important update to do).  
> Updates are done via `https://yourforum.com/admin/upgrade`
> 
> They are sometimes done in two steps: you first need to update “Docker\_Manager” before being able to upgrade the rest:
> 
> ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/a/5/c/a5c47ed958003ef613f527d047b9f78887a9f7f9.png)
> 
> ## Via the command line
> 
> Sometimes, an update must be done via the command line (the Discourse admin page will say so if needed).
> 
> 1. Connect to the server via SSH
> 2. Rebuild the forum (a rebuild always updates Discourse) using the following command:
> 3. 
> 
> ```txt
> /var/discourse/launcher rebuild app
> 
> ```
> 
> 4. From time to time, after making sure the forum works correctly, it can be useful to remove unused Docker images (leftovers from previous upgrades) to free disk space:
> 
> ```txt
> /var/discourse/launcher cleanup
> 
> ```
> 
> # What to do if the forum no longer works?
> 
> Rebuilding the forum fixes many problems and is done with the same command as a command-line update:
> 
> ```txt
> /var/discourse/launcher rebuild app
> 
> ```

I think it’s quite good now and that I don’t miss anything important 🙂

* * *

1. If I installed your forum, your backups are automatically copied to my Google Drive, but ideally in the future they should be saved on a space you are responsible for. We’ll talk about it one day 😄

2. It contains the mail server username and password as well as the top-level administrator email (mine, actually).

---

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