merefield
January 31, 2026, 7:06pm
1213
If you are paying, yes
This is an independent plugin, support is not free and I do not provide any guarantees - you use it at your own risk.
I could have easily not shared that at all, anywhere.
Link to support options.
3 Likes
merefield
January 31, 2026, 9:04pm
1214
This is now merged, thanks again to the sponsors @祁同伟 and @nathank
main ← automated_ip_based_user_location_determination
merged 09:02PM - 31 Jan 26 UTC
## IP‑based User Location (MaxMind → GeoNames)
### What this adds
- Auto… matically determines a user’s location from their IP after post creation.
- Uses **MaxMind (DiscourseIpInfo)** for identity + GeoNames for canonical lat/lon.
- Stores exactly **one granularity level** per user (`country` / `province` / `city`) in `UserCustomField`
`geo_location`.
- Ensures lat/lon match the chosen granularity (privacy‑correct coordinates).
- Caches GeoNames lookups by `geoname_id` (no extra gems; uses `FinalDestination::HTTP`).
---
## Prerequisites (official accounts)
You must have valid accounts and credentials from:
- **MaxMind GeoLite2**
Sign up and obtain an Account ID + License Key:
https://www.maxmind.com/en/geolite2/signup
- **GeoNames**
Create a username for the GeoNames API and **enable Web Services** in your GeoNames account settings:
https://www.geonames.org/login
---
## Required Configuration
**Env vars (MaxMind) for `app.yml`**
- `DISCOURSE_MAXMIND_ACCOUNT_ID`
- `DISCOURSE_MAXMIND_LICENSE_KEY`
**Site settings**
- `location_geonames_username` (GeoNames username)
**Dev note (MaxMind DBs)**
- In development, ensure the MaxMind DBs are downloaded:
DISCOURSE_MAXMIND_ACCOUNT_ID=... DISCOURSE_MAXMIND_LICENSE_KEY=... bundle exec rake maxminddb:get
Restart web/sidekiq afterward so `DiscourseIpInfo` reloads the DBs.
---
## Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---:|---|
| `location_ip_granularity` | `city` | Controls stored level: `country`, `province` (admin1), `county` (admin2), or `city`. |
| `location_geonames_username` | `""` | GeoNames username for `getJSON` requests. Acts as a feature flag (blank => skip). |
| `location_ip_lookup_cooldown_days` | `1` | Per‑user cooldown between IP lookups (0 disables cooldown). |
| `locations_skip_ip_based_location_update_if_existing` | `true` | Skip IP lookup when existing `geo_location` already has **lat + lon**. |
| `location_ip_auto_lookup_enabled` | `false` | Auto‑enqueue IP lookups on post creation. Rake task still works when off. |
---
## Flow
- `post_created` → enqueue `Jobs::Locations::IpLocationLookup` with user ID + IP.
- Job:
- Guards: plugin enabled, users map enabled, GeoNames username present, MaxMind env vars present, cooldown
OK, and optional “existing location” check.
- Uses `DiscourseIpInfo.get(ip)` to get `geoname_ids`.
- Resolves GeoNames IDs, picks feature by granularity (`country` / `province` / `county` / `city`), builds
`geo_location`.
- Saves `geo_location` to user custom field + updates `locations_user` table.
---
## Job + Hook
**Hook**
- `post_created` now enqueues `Jobs::Locations::IpLocationLookup`
- In development, IP is overridden to a fixed test IP (`2.139.231.7`) to ensure resolvable data.
**Job**
- `Jobs::Locations::IpLocationLookup` (new, in `app/jobs/regular/locations/ip_location_lookup.rb`)
- Logs key steps, skips when prerequisites are missing.
- Writes `geo_location` only when successfully built.
---
## GeoNames Helpers
New modules in `lib/locations/`:
- `GeoNamesClient`
- Calls `https://secure.geonames.org/getJSON` via `FinalDestination::HTTP`.
- Normalizes `geoname_id`, `fcl`, `fcode`, `lat`, `lon`, etc.
- Caches only successful lookups (avoids caching nil).
- `GeoNamesGranularityPicker`
- Selects best `PCLI` / `ADM1` / `PPL*` by desired granularity.
- `GeoLocationBuilder`
- Builds `geo_location` hash with correct `lat/lon`, `state`/`city` based on granularity.
---
## Rake Task
New rake task in `lib/tasks/locations.rake`:
**Task**
rake locations:enqueue_user_ip_location_lookups[username_pattern,pattern_type,delay]
**Behavior**
- Iterates users and enqueues the IP lookup job using `user.ip_address`.
- Progress is based on **matched population** (not total users).
- Skips enqueue when IP is blank.
**Options**
- `username_pattern` (optional): filter users by username.
- `pattern_type`: `string` (default substring match) or `regex`.
- `delay`: seconds between enqueues (float, default `0`).
**Help**
rake locations:enqueue_user_ip_location_lookups:help
Extensive details on the PR.
@Roi I note you are not paying for support - however I believe I may have improved the code in this PR, please try that script I published again. If you need me to take a closer look, you can hire me.
4 Likes
Roi
January 31, 2026, 10:11pm
1215
@merefield not yet.
I just checked, the bad entry stayed with the new version as well.
But as it only was one user, I checked manually and he had a city in the “normal” location field and I recreated the location field with this information. Now the query is empty.
2 Likes
Quacken
February 1, 2026, 3:10pm
1216
Hey, I posted a bug report elsewhere and got redirected to repost it in this topic.
Turns out if you enable locations for a category and set the default view for the category to the Map navigating to that category results in a crash.
Here are some screenshots (pardon the localization, the words mean “Appearance: Default topic list: Hot, Latest, Top, Map):
Seems the plugin accesses siteSettings assuming it is defined when it isn’t
Original bug report:
Support
Discourse Locations
Environment Discourse Version: v2026.2.0-latest +15 Plugin Commit: c1547ead Steps to Reproduce When using Locations plugin if I check Allow locations to be added to topics in this category and then try to set the map tab as the default view for...
Reading time: 1 mins 🕑
Likes: 1 ❤
1 Like
merefield
February 1, 2026, 3:25pm
1217
thanks, if this is important enough for you, you can hire me to fix it. PR welcome.
1 Like
