Upcoming post stream changes - How to prepare themes and plugins

saquetim · June 30, 2025, 2:15pm

We’re moving away from the legacy “widget” rendering system, replacing it with modern Glimmer components.

We’ve recently modernized the post stream using Glimmer components. This guide will walk you through migrating your plugins and themes from the old widget-based system to the new Glimmer implementation.

Don’t worry—this migration is more straightforward than it might seem at first glance. We’ve designed the new system to be more intuitive and powerful than the old widget system, and this guide will help you through the process.

Timeline

These are estimates subject to change

Q2 2025:

Core implementation finished
Start upgrading the official plugins and theme components
Enabled on Meta
Published upgrade advice (this guide)

Q3 2025:

Finish upgrading the official plugins and theme components
Set glimmer_post_stream_mode default to auto and enable console deprecation messages (planned for July 2025)
Enable deprecation messages with an admin warning banner (planned for July 2025)
Third-party plugins and themes should be updated

Q4 2025:

Enable the new post stream by default
Remove the feature flag setting and legacy code

What does it mean for me?

If any of your plugins or themes use any ‘widget’ APIs to customize the post stream, you’ll need to update them to work with the new version.

How do I try the new post stream?

To try the new post stream, simply change the glimmer_post_stream_mode setting to auto in your site settings. This will enable the new post stream if you don’t have any incompatible plugins or themes.

When glimmer_post_stream_mode is set to auto, Discourse automatically detects incompatible plugins and themes and if it finds any, you’ll see helpful warning messages in the browser console that identify exactly which plugins or themes need updating, along with stack traces to help you locate the relevant code.

These messages will help you identify exactly which parts of your plugins or themes need to be updated to be compatible with the new Glimmer post stream.

If you encounter any issues using the new post stream, don’t worry, for now, you can still set the setting to disabled to return to the old system. If you have incompatible extensions installed, but still want to try it, as an admin you can set the option to enabled to force the new post stream. Just use this with caution—your site might not work properly depending on which customizations you have.

I have custom plugins or themes installed. Do I need to update them?

You’ll need to update your plugins or themes if they perform any of the following customizations:

Use decorateWidget, changeWidgetSetting, reopenWidget or attachWidgetAction on these widgets:
- actions-summary
- avatar-flair
- embedded-post
- expand-hidden
- expand-post-button
- filter-jump-to-post
- filter-show-all
- post-article
- post-avatar-user-info
- post-avatar
- post-body
- post-contents
- post-date
- post-edits-indicator
- post-email-indicator
- post-gap
- post-group-request
- post-links
- post-locked-indicator
- post-meta-data
- post-notice
- post-placeholder
- post-stream
- post
- poster-name
- poster-name-title
- posts-filtered-notice
- reply-to-tab
- select-post
- topic-post-visited-line
Use one of the API methods below:
- addPostTransformCallback
- includePostAttributes

If you have extensions that use any of the customizations above, you’ll see a warning in the console identifying which plugin or component needs to be upgraded when you visit a topic page.

The deprecation ID is: discourse.post-stream-widget-overrides

If you use more than one theme in your instance, be sure to check all of them since the warnings will only appear for active plugins and currently used themes and theme-components.

What are the replacements?

The new Glimmer post stream gives you several ways to customize how posts appear:

Plugin Outlets: For adding content at specific points in the post stream.
Transformers: For customizing items, modifying data structures, or changing the behavior of components.

Replacing includePostAttributes with addTrackedPostProperties

If your plugin uses includePostAttributes to add properties to the post model, you’ll need to update it to use addTrackedPostProperties instead.

Before:

api.includePostAttributes('can_accept_answer', 'accepted_answer', 'topic_accepted_answer');

After:

api.addTrackedPostProperties('can_accept_answer', 'accepted_answer', 'topic_accepted_answer');

The addTrackedPostProperties function marks properties as tracked for post updates. This is important if your plugin adds properties to a post and uses them during rendering. It ensures the UI updates automatically when these properties change.

Common Migration Patterns

Using Plugin Outlets

Plugin outlets are your main tool for adding content at specific points in the post stream. Think of them as designated spots where you can inject your custom content.

They’re the key to migrating away from widget decorations.

The Glimmer Post Stream wraps often customized content in outlets. Use the plugin API functions renderBeforeWrapperOutlet and renderAfterWrapperOutlet to insert content before or after them.

1. Replacing widget decorations with Plugin Outlets

The most common customization is adding content to posts. In the widget system, you’d use decorateWidget. With Glimmer, you’ll use plugin outlets instead.

Before:

// Part of an initializer in a plugin

import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
// ... other imports

function customizeWidgetPost(api) {
  api.decorateWidget("post-contents:after-cooked", (helper) => {
    const post = helper.getModel();
    if (post.post_number === 1 && post.topic.accepted_answer) {
      return helper.attach("solved-accepted-answer", { post });
    }
  });
}

export default {
  name: "extend-for-solved-button",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizeWidgetPost(api);
    });
  }
};

After:

// Part of a .gjs initializer in a plugin

import Component from "@glimmer/component";
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
import SolvedAcceptedAnswer from "../components/solved-accepted-answer";
// ... other imports

function customizePost(api) {
  api.renderAfterWrapperOutlet(
    "post-content-cooked-html",
    class extends Component {
      static shouldRender(args) {
        return args.post?.post_number === 1 && args.post?.topic?.accepted_answer;
      }

      <template>
        <SolvedAcceptedAnswer 
          @post={{@post}} 
        />
      </template>
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "extend-for-solved-button",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizePost(api);
    });
  }
};

2. Adding content after the Poster Name

If your plugin adds content after the poster name, you’ll use the renderAfterWrapperOutlet API with the post-meta-data-poster-name outlet.

Before:

// Part of an initializer in a plugin

import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
// ... other imports

function customizeWidgetPost(api) {
  api.decorateWidget(`poster-name:after`, (dec) => {
    if (!isGPTBot(dec.attrs.user)) {
      return;
    }

    return dec.widget.attach("persona-flair", {
      personaName: dec.model?.topic?.ai_persona_name,
    });
  });
}

export default {
  name: "ai-bot-replies",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizeWidgetPost(api);
    });
  }
};

After:

// Part of a .gjs initializer in a plugin

import Component from "@glimmer/component";
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
// ... other imports

function customizePost(api) {
  api.renderAfterWrapperOutlet(
    "post-meta-data-poster-name", 
    class extends Component {
      static shouldRender(args) {
        return isGPTBot(args.post?.user);
      }

      <template>
        <span class="persona-flair">{{@post.topic.ai_persona_name}}</span>
      </template>
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "ai-bot-replies",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizePost(api);
    });
  }
};

3. Adding Content Before Post Content

// Part of a .gjs initializer in a theme

import Component from "@glimmer/component";
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
// ... other imports

function customizePost(api) {
  api.renderBeforeWrapperOutlet(
    "post-article",
    class extends Component {
      static shouldRender(args) {
        return args.post?.topic?.pinned;
      }

      <template>
        <div class="pinned-post-notice">
          This is a pinned topic
        </div>
      </template>
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "pinned-topic-notice",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizePost(api);
    });
  }
};

4. Adding Content After Post Content

// Part of a .gjs initializer in a theme

import Component from "@glimmer/component";
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
// ... other imports

function customizePost(api) {
  api.renderAfterWrapperOutlet(
    "post-article",
    class extends Component {
      static shouldRender(args) {
        return args.post?.wiki;
      }

      // In a real component, you would use a template like this:
      <template>
        <div class="wiki-post-notice">
          This post is a wiki
        </div>
      </template>
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "wiki-post-notice",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      customizePost(api);
      // ... other customizations
    });
  }
};

Using Transformers

Transformers are a powerful way to customize Discourse components. They let you modify data or component behavior without having to override entire components.

Here are some of the most relevant value transformers for post stream customization:

Transformer Name	Description	Context
`post-class`	Customize CSS classes applied to the main post element.	`{ post }`
`post-meta-data-infos`	Customize the list of metadata components displayed for a post. This allows adding, removing, or reordering items like the post date, edit indicator, etc.	`{ post, metaDataInfoKeys }`
`post-meta-data-poster-name-suppress-similar-name`	Decide whether to suppress displaying the user’s full name when it is similar to their username. Return `true` to suppress.	`{ post, name }`
`post-notice-component`	Customize or replace the component used to render a post notice.	`{ post, type }`
`post-show-topic-map`	Control the visibility of the topic map component on the first post.	`{ post, isPM, isRegular, showWithoutReplies }`
`post-small-action-class`	Add custom CSS classes to a small action post.	`{ post, actionCode }`
`post-small-action-custom-component`	Replace a standard small action post with a custom Glimmer component.	`{ post, actionCode }`
`post-small-action-icon`	Customize the icon used for a small action post.	`{ post, actionCode }`
`poster-name-class`	Add custom CSS classes to the poster’s name container.	`{ user }`

1. Adding a Custom Class to Posts

// Part of an initializer in a plugin
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";

function customizePostClasses(api) {
  api.registerValueTransformer(
    "post-class",
    ({ value, context }) => {
      const { post } = context;

      // Add a custom class to posts from a specific user
      if (post.user_id === 1) {
        return [...value, "special-user-post"];
      }

      return value;
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "custom-post-classes",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizePostClasses(api);
    });
  }
};

2. Adding Custom Post Metadata

The post-meta-data-infos transformer allows you to add custom components to the post metadata section.

// Part of an initializer in a plugin
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";

function customizePostMetadata(api) {
  // Define a component to be used in the metadata section
  // The component should be created outside the transformer callback, 
  // otherwise it can cause memory issues.
  const CustomMetadataComponent = <template>...</template>;

  api.registerValueTransformer(
    "post-meta-data-infos",
    ({ value: metadata, context: { post, metaDataInfoKeys } }) => {
      // Only add the component for specific posts
      if (post.some_custom_property) {
        metadata.add(
          "custom-metadata-key",
          CustomMetadataComponent,
          {
            // Position it before the date
            before: metaDataInfoKeys.DATE,
            // and after the reply tab
            after: metaDataInfoKeys.REPLY_TO_TAB,
          }
        );
      }
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "custom-post-metadata",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizePostMetadata(api);
    });
  }
};

Here’s a real-world example from the discourse-activity-pub plugin:

// Part of an initializer in the discourse-activity-pub plugin
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
import ActivityPubPostStatus from "../components/activity-pub-post-status";
import {
  activityPubPostStatus,
  showStatusToUser,
} from "../lib/activity-pub-utilities";

function customizePost(api, container) {
  const currentUser = api.getCurrentUser();

  const PostMetadataActivityPubStatus = <template>
    <div class="post-info activity-pub">
      <ActivityPubPostStatus @post={{@post}} />
    </div>
  </template>;

  api.registerValueTransformer(
    "post-meta-data-infos",
    ({ value: metadata, context: { post, metaDataInfoKeys } }) => {
      const site = container.lookup("service:site");
      const siteSettings = container.lookup("service:site-settings");

      if (
        site.activity_pub_enabled &&
        post.activity_pub_enabled &&
        post.post_number !== 1 &&
        showStatusToUser(currentUser, siteSettings)
      ) {
        const status = activityPubPostStatus(post);

        if (status) {
          metadata.add(
            "activity-pub-indicator",
            PostMetadataActivityPubStatus,
            {
              before: metaDataInfoKeys.DATE,
              after: metaDataInfoKeys.REPLY_TO_TAB,
            }
          );
        }
      }
    }
  );
}

export default {
  name: "activity-pub",
  initialize(container) {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      customizePost(api, container);
      // ... other customizations
    });
  }
};

5. Inserting content before or after the cooked content of the post

If your plugin adds content after the text in the post, you’ll use the renderAfterWrapperOutlet API with the post-content-cooked-html outlet.

Before:

// Part of an initializer in a plugin
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";

function customizeCooked(api) {
  api.decorateWidget("post-contents:after-cooked", (helper) => {
    const post = helper.getModel();
    if (post.wiki) {
      const banner = document.createElement("div");
      banner.classList.add("wiki-footer");
      banner.textContent = "This post is a wiki";
      element.prepend(banner);
    }
  });
}

export default {
  name: "wiki-footer",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      // ... other customizations
      customizeCooked(api);
    });
  }
};

After (using RenderGlimmer):

// Part of an initializer in a plugin (.gjs)
import Component from "@glimmer/component";
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";

// Define a component to be used in the plugin outlet
class WikiBanner extends Component {
  static shouldRender(args) {
    return args.post.wiki;
  }

  <template>
    <div class="wiki-footer">This post is a wiki</div>
  </template>
}

function customizePost(api) {
  // Use renderBeforeWrapperOutlet to add content before the post content
  api.renderAfterWrapperOutlet(
    "post-content-cooked-html",
    WikiBanner
  );
}

export default {
  name: "wiki-footer",
  initialize() {
    withPluginApi((api) => {
      customizePost(api);
      // ... other customizations
    });
  }
};

Supporting Both Old and New Systems During Transition

As a plugin or theme author, you may want to support both systems during the transition to ensure your extensions work with both the old and new post streams.

Here’s a pattern used by many official plugins:

// solved-button.js
import Component from "@glimmer/component";
import { withSilencedDeprecations } from "discourse/lib/deprecated";
import { withPluginApi } from "discourse/lib/plugin-api";
import RenderGlimmer from "discourse/widgets/render-glimmer";
import SolvedAcceptedAnswer from "../components/solved-accepted-answer";

function customizePost(api) {
  // glimmer post stream customizations
  api.renderAfterWrapperOutlet(
    "post-content-cooked-html",
    class extends Component {
      static shouldRender(args) {
        return args.post?.post_number === 1 && args.post?.topic?.accepted_answer;
      }

      <template>
        <SolvedAcceptedAnswer 
          @post={{@post}} 
          @decoratorState={{@decoratorState}} 
        />
      </template>
    }
  );

  // ...

  // wrap the old widget code silencing the deprecation warnings
  withSilencedDeprecations("discourse.post-stream-widget-overrides", () =>
    customizeWidgetPost(api)
  );
}

// old widget code
function customizeWidgetPost(api) {
  api.decorateWidget("post-contents:after-cooked", (helper) => {
    let post = helper.getModel();

    if (helper.attrs.post_number === 1 && post?.topic?.accepted_answer) {
      // Use RenderGlimmer to render a Glimmer component in the widget system
      return new RenderGlimmer(
        helper.widget,
        "div",
        <template><SolvedAcceptedAnswer @post={{@data.post}} /></template>
        null,
        { post }
      );
    }
  });
}

export default {
  name: "extend-for-solved-button",
  initialize(container) {
    const siteSettings = container.lookup("service:site-settings");

    if (siteSettings.solved_enabled) {
      withPluginApi((api) => {
        customizePost(api);
        // ... other customizations
      });
    }
  },
};

Real-World Examples

Here are links to actual migration pull requests from our official plugins. These show how we updated each type of customization:

Troubleshooting

My site looks broken after enabling the new post stream

Set glimmer_post_stream_mode back to disabled
Check the console for specific error messages
Update the problematic plugins/themes before trying again

I don’t see any warnings, but my customizations aren’t working

Check that your customizations target the widgets listed above
Make sure you’re testing on the topic page with topics where your customizations are visible

Need Help?

If you found a bug or your customization can’t be achieved using the new APIs we’ve introduced, please let us know below.

saquetim · June 30, 2025, 2:16pm

The Glimmer Post Stream is enabled on Meta.

If you discover any issues, please post them below.

Topic		Replies	Views
Upcoming post menu changes - How to prepare themes and plugins Dev dev-news	13	738	April 1, 2025
Upcoming Header Changes - Preparing Themes and Plugins Dev dev-news	38	3596	September 8, 2024
Upcoming topic-list changes - how to prepare themes and plugins Dev dev-news	35	1292	April 14, 2025
Upgrading Discourse to Ember 4 Dev ember	19	2999	December 19, 2024
Insert a glimmer component after first post Dev	12	504	May 16, 2024

Upcoming post stream changes - How to prepare themes and plugins

Timeline

Q2 2025:

Q3 2025:

Q4 2025:

What does it mean for me?

How do I try the new post stream?

I have custom plugins or themes installed. Do I need to update them?

What are the replacements?

Replacing includePostAttributes with addTrackedPostProperties

Common Migration Patterns

Using Plugin Outlets

1. Replacing widget decorations with Plugin Outlets

2. Adding content after the Poster Name

3. Adding Content Before Post Content

4. Adding Content After Post Content

Using Transformers

1. Adding a Custom Class to Posts

2. Adding Custom Post Metadata

5. Inserting content before or after the cooked content of the post

Supporting Both Old and New Systems During Transition

Real-World Examples

Troubleshooting

Need Help?

Related topics