Url Composer Templates

Drew-ART · November 24, 2025, 11:49pm

Quite a specialised component for my site but i’ll share it here as it might be useful. It adds a template to the composer based on a string in the url.

There’s been a lot of discussions about having composer templates for tags. That didn’t work in my use-case so i built this instead. It can be used for that at a push, modified slightly to work for tags too, or if you add something to your discourse that modifies the url to trigger the templates where you want them.

Github: GitHub - focallocal/url-composer-templates: Reads url strings and adds template text to the composer if a match is found

URL Composer Templates

A Discourse theme component that pre-fills the composer with template text based on URL parameters. Designed to work seamlessly with Docuss to provide context-specific templates for different types of interactions.

Features

URL Parameter Support: Automatically detects ?composer_template=X in URLs and applies the corresponding template
Multiple Template Types: Configure up to 6 different templates for different purposes (report, going, invite, custom templates)
Auto-Open Composer: Optionally auto-opens the composer when visiting a Docuss link with no existing threads
Flexible Application: Templates can apply to first post only, all replies, or both
Session Persistence: Uses sessionStorage to maintain template selection across page navigations
Debug Mode: Enable detailed console logging to troubleshoot template application

Installation

Install the theme component on Discourse:
- Go to Admin → Customize → Themes
- Click “Install” → “From a Git repository”
- Enter: https://github.com/focallocal/url-composer-templates
- Add the component to your active theme
No plugin rebuild required! The composer_template parameter support already exists in dcs-discourse-plugin and dcs-client.
Deploy your React app (fl-maps) with the updated DCSLink components that pass the composerTemplate prop.
Configure templates in the component settings (Admin → Customize → Themes → your theme → url-composer-templates → Settings).

Configuration

Template Settings

Each template has three configuration options:

Template 1 (Report)

template_1_id: report - The URL parameter value to trigger this template
template_1_text: The text to pre-fill in the composer
template_1_use_for: first_post - Apply only when creating new topics

Template 2 (Going)

template_2_id: going - For “I’m going” type interactions
template_2_text: Pre-filled text for going confirmations
template_2_use_for: all_replies - Apply to all replies (not first posts)

Template 3 (Invite)

template_3_id: invite - For invitation interactions
template_3_text: Pre-filled text for invitations
template_3_use_for: all_replies - Apply to all replies

Templates 4-6 (Custom)

Disabled by default
Can be enabled and customized for specific use cases
Configure ID, text, and application scope as needed

Auto-Open Settings

enable_auto_open_composer: true - When enabled, automatically opens the composer if:
- A Docuss link is clicked (URL contains ?composer_template=X)
- No threads exist yet for that tag combination
- Helps users start discussions immediately

Debug Mode

debug_mode: false - Enable to see detailed console logs with emoji prefixes:
- Template application logs
- Auto-open composer logs

Docuss Integration

Automatic Integration

The url-composer-templates component is designed to work automatically with Docuss. When you have both:

This component installed on your Discourse instance
The updated Docuss client and plugin (with composer_template support)

Templates will be automatically applied based on:

Interact Mode:
- DISCUSS mode → Uses triggerId hints (going, invite) or defaults to report
- COMMENT mode → Uses report template

Custom Templates via HTML Attributes

For more precise control, you can specify templates directly in your HTML using the data-dcs-composer-template attribute:

<!-- Example: Report button -->
<div class="dcs-trigger" 
     data-dcs-trigger-id="issue-report"
     data-dcs-interact-mode="DISCUSS"
     data-dcs-composer-template="report">
  Report an Issue
</div>

<!-- Example: Going button -->
<div class="dcs-trigger" 
     data-dcs-trigger-id="event-rsvp"
     data-dcs-interact-mode="DISCUSS"
     data-dcs-composer-template="going">
  I'm Going!
</div>

<!-- Example: Invite button -->
<div class="dcs-trigger" 
     data-dcs-trigger-id="invite-friends"
     data-dcs-interact-mode="DISCUSS"
     data-dcs-composer-template="invite">
  Invite Friends
</div>

<!-- Example: Custom template -->
<div class="dcs-trigger" 
     data-dcs-trigger-id="feedback"
     data-dcs-interact-mode="DISCUSS"
     data-dcs-composer-template="custom1">
  Give Feedback
</div>

Template ID Matching

The component matches template IDs from the URL parameter with the configured template IDs:

URL Parameter	Template Setting	Default Purpose
`?composer_template=report`	`template_1_id`	Bug reports, issues
`?composer_template=going`	`template_2_id`	Event RSVPs
`?composer_template=invite`	`template_3_id`	Invitations
`?composer_template=custom1`	`template_4_id`	Custom use
`?composer_template=custom2`	`template_5_id`	Custom use
`?composer_template=custom3`	`template_6_id`	Custom use

How It Works

Template Application Flow

URL Detection: When a user navigates to a URL with ?composer_template=X, the component stores the template ID in sessionStorage
Composer Interception: When the composer opens, the component checks for a stored template ID
Template Matching: Finds the matching template based on ID
Scope Validation: Checks if the template should apply (first post, reply, or both)
Text Insertion: Pre-fills the composer with the template text
Cleanup: Marks the template as applied to prevent re-application

Auto-Open Flow

Parameter Detection: Checks if URL contains ?composer_template=X and auto-open is enabled
Topic Search: Searches for existing topics with the current tag combination
Composer Opening: If no topics found, automatically opens the composer
Template Application: The template is then applied via the normal flow above

Example Use Cases

Event Website

# settings.yml
template_2_id: "going"
template_2_text: "I'm planning to attend! 🎉\n\nLooking forward to seeing everyone there."
template_2_use_for: "all_replies"

template_3_id: "invite"
template_3_text: "I'd like to invite friends to this event.\n\nWho I'm inviting:\n- \n\nWhy they should come:\n"
template_3_use_for: "first_post"

Issue Tracking

template_1_id: "bug"
template_1_text: "**Bug Description:**\n\n**Steps to Reproduce:**\n1. \n2. \n3. \n\n**Expected Behavior:**\n\n**Actual Behavior:**\n"
template_1_use_for: "first_post"

template_4_enabled: true
template_4_id: "feature"
template_4_text: "**Feature Request:**\n\n**Use Case:**\n\n**Proposed Solution:**\n"
template_4_use_for: "first_post"

Community Engagement

template_1_id: "question"
template_1_text: "**My Question:**\n\n**What I've Tried:**\n\n**Additional Context:**\n"
template_1_use_for: "first_post"

template_2_id: "answer"
template_2_text: "Here's what worked for me:\n\n**Solution:**\n\n**Why it works:**\n"
template_2_use_for: "all_replies"

Troubleshooting

Templates Not Applying

Check URL Parameter: Ensure the URL contains ?composer_template=X where X matches a template ID
Enable Debug Mode: Turn on debug_mode in settings to see console logs
Verify Template Scope: Check if use_for setting matches your action (creating topic vs replying)
Clear SessionStorage: Open browser console and run: sessionStorage.clear()

Auto-Open Not Working

Check Setting: Ensure enable_auto_open_composer is set to true
Verify URL: Auto-open only works when URL contains ?composer_template=X
Check Existing Topics: Auto-open only triggers when NO topics exist with the tag combination
Enable Debug Mode: Look for emoji logs in the console

Wrong Template Applying

Check Template IDs: Ensure your URL parameter matches the template ID exactly (case-sensitive)
Verify Priority: If multiple templates could match, the first matching template is used
Clear Session: SessionStorage might contain old values: sessionStorage.clear()

Docuss Integration Issues

Update Docuss: Ensure you have the latest versions of:
- dcs-client (with composerTemplate support in HtmlBased.js)
- dcs-discourse-plugin (with URL parameter generation in DcsIFrame.js.es6)
Check HTML Attributes: Verify data-dcs-composer-template is set correctly on triggers
Inspect Network: Check browser DevTools Network tab to see if URL parameters are being added

Version History

v1.0.0 (Current)

Initial release
Support for 6 configurable templates
URL parameter-based template selection
Auto-open composer for Docuss links
SessionStorage persistence
Debug mode for troubleshooting

Contributing

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue on the GitHub repository.

License

This component is open source and available under the MIT License.

Credits

Developed by Andy@Focallocal for use with Docuss - a system for embedding Discourse discussions into any website.

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