Can’t look at all categories when viewed as anonymous
AI-generated summary
User hipp0 reported an issue where anonymous viewers cannot access the list of all categories on a Discourse site running the latest version with the Foundation theme. The problem affects only anonymous users, as logged-in users experience no issues. Lilly initially suggested testing in safe mode to rule out theme components or code snippets and advised checking staff logs for recent customizations. hipp0 confirmed the issue persisted for weeks and shared console errors. Lilly hypothesized that pre-loading data for anonymous users was altered. Moin inquired about installed plugins and backend logs, noting that safe mode only disables frontend changes and suggesting the issue might lie in categories.json access. hipp0 mentioned having two custom plugins which were disabled without effect, but suspected a custom API developed by their team. Moin clarified that disabling plugins does not always fully deactivate their functionality, a point Jagster briefly debated regarding modern plugin behavior. Ultimately, hipp0 resolved the issue after their developer fixed a problem within one of the custom plugins.
try in safe mode. if it works, you know it’s one of your theme components or code snippets.
look in staff log to see what you changed before it happened.
you probably changed or inserted a string somewhere you shouldn’t have in your customizing
I will try to locate it, but its been like this for a few weeks.
are there any errors in the console when you try to view it as anon?
you’ve done something to the pre-loading data for anon users. are there any errors for accessing categories for regular users? what discourse version?
Newest Discourse update and using Foundatin theme.
No issues for logged in users.
Are there any plugins installed? Safe mode only disables frontend changes. I wonder if the backend blocks access to categories.json.
Is there anything in /logs when this happens?
I have 2 custom plugins but disabled them and no change.
I don’t have many of the built in plugins enabled.
It could be with this custom api my dev made asking him to check it
Disabling plugins does not always disable everything they do.
A bit off topic but nowadays when there is plenty plugins we can’t delete easily, I expect system is changed and disabling really means disabling.
I think it was one of my custom plugins as my dev fixed the issue.