Rebuilding HTML on posts or topics

:bookmark: This guide explains how to manually rebuild HTML on posts and topics in Discourse, which can be useful for updating embedded metadata in links.

:person_raising_hand: Required user level: Administrators, Moderators, or Trust Level 4 users

Sometimes posts or topics in Discourse contain links with embedded metadata that needs to be updated. This guide will show you how to perform a manual HTML rebuild on posts that require attention.

Rebuilding HTML on a post

To manually rebuild HTML on a post:

  1. Click the ... icon near the bottom of the post.

    Post menu options

  2. Select the “Wrench” icon.

  3. Click the “Rebuild HTML” option.

    Rebuild HTML option

FAQs

Q: Do all users have the ability to rebuild HTML?
A: No, only staff users (administrators and moderators) and Trust Level 4 users have the ability to rebuild HTML.

Q: What if my links still aren’t updating after rebuilding the HTML on a post?
A: If links aren’t updating after rebuilding the HTML, it typically indicates an issue with the link itself. We recommend running both a working and non-working link through a service like Iframely to confirm the link with the embedded data is working correctly outside Discourse and contains all relevant oEmbed data.

Q: Is there an automatic process that rebuilds HTML on all posts?
A: There is no automatic process that rebuilds HTML on all posts. Rebuilding HTML or rebaking posts are generally actions initiated manually by users with the appropriate permissions.

Q: What’s the difference between rebaking and rebuilding HTML?
A: Rebaking and rebuilding HTML are mostly synonymous terms in Discourse. Both refer to the process of regenerating the HTML content of a post, which can update embedded metadata and oneboxes.

Last edited by @hugh 2024-07-30T23:56:27Z

Check documentPerform check on document:
7 Likes

Trust level 4 user can also do that.

It would be great if there was not only Documentation for #documentation:admins and #documentation:moderators but also for TL4. Why is this one for admins and not for moderators?

2 Likes

Thanks for mentioning this, I’ve added this to the guide, and I’ve also moved the guide to the #documentation:moderators category since all of the information here will also apply to site moderators.

3 Likes