Jtech Tools

One Discourse plugin with everything JTech Forums runs on top of core. Nine features, each with its own on/off switch in Admin → Settings → Jtech.

Install

cd /var/discourse
# add to containers/app.yml under hooks → after_code → cmd:
#   - git clone https://github.com/JTech-Forums/JtechTools.git jtech-tools
./launcher rebuild app

Master switch: jtech_enabled. Every feature below also has its own switch, so you can turn things off one at a time.

What's in it

Disteleplus — team chat, bridged to Telegram

A private one-room chat inside Discourse for staff (or any groups you allow), mirrored both ways with a Telegram group.

• Opens as a small drawer bottom-right (like Discourse Chat) or full page; always full page on phones.
• Messages, replies, edits, deletes, reactions, images, files, video, voice notes (record right in the composer), polls from Telegram.
• Right-click a message: react, reply, copy text, copy link, quote into a new topic, edit, delete. Double-tap to react.
• @mentions and :emoji: suggestions, emoji picker, paste or drag files in, drafts kept while you browse.
• Search across the conversation. Link previews. "Someone is typing" indicators.
• Unread badge on the header icon and in the browser tab; notifications only when you're @mentioned.
• Message text is encrypted in the database.
• Telegram side: people you map post as their Discourse account; everyone else shows with their Telegram name. Discourse messages arrive in Telegram with the author's name linked to their profile.
• Optional: announce new forum posts into the Telegram group (by category / tag).
• Optional: mirror the review queue (flags, posts awaiting approval) into a Reports Telegram topic — created by the plugin itself, never General — with Approve / Deny / More buttons. Presses work for staff mapped by numeric Telegram ID, or for chat admins whose Telegram username matches a staff account.
• When someone reacts in Discourse, Telegram gets a quiet "Name reacted 👍" reply under the message, since the bot's own single reaction can't say who it was.
• Setup is done from inside Telegram with /disteleplus_setup; there's a "send test message" button and problems show on the admin dashboard.

Moderator tools

• Whispers — reply to specific people inside a topic; others don't see it.
• Private notes on topics, with reply threads, visible to staff only.
• Staff alerts — every moderator is told when someone deletes a post, approves/rejects a queued post, adds a user note or a flag note. Shows in the bell and in a shield tab.
• Checklists — first-post checklists, targeted checklists for specific users/groups, topic prompt checklists.
• Topic tools — pinned messages in topics, footer messages, reply approval.
• Every one of these rights is its own toggle.

Mini-mod

Gives category moderators (people who moderate a category through a group) extra powers normally reserved for staff: create/edit categories, edit and move topics, manage tags, etc. Each power is a separate switch.

Dislike (phantom reactions)

In categories you pick, likes stop mattering: they're hidden from history, don't count toward leaderboards, and the like notification is quietly removed. Optionally hide the like button entirely or allow it only for certain groups.

Smart search

When a search finds too little, it quietly retries with synonyms (English dictionary + a short list of tech abbreviations like js/javascript, k8s/kubernetes) and merges the results. Runs locally, no API keys. If anything goes wrong you just get normal search results.

Desktop pop-up notifications

A small card in the top-right corner when you get a notification, with the person's avatar, the topic title and a preview. Click it to jump there. Desktop only, each user turns it on in their account settings.

Dumbcourse

A simplified web app version of the forum at /dumb for basic devices: reading, replying, reactions, push notifications, spell check. Uses the forum's own reactions and custom emoji.

Another SMTP

Send forum email through a different mail server than the one in app.yml — host, port, TLS, login, and optional "from" address rewriting, all from admin settings.

Translator tweaks

Small fixes on top of the official Translator plugin (better foreign-language detection, backfill for old posts).

Telegram setup (5 minutes)

1. In Telegram, message @BotFather: /newbot → copy the token. Then /setprivacy → Disable (otherwise the bot can't read the group).
2. Add the bot to your group and make it an admin.
3. In Discourse: Admin → Settings → Jtech — Disteleplus → paste the token, pick who may use the chat (disteleplus_allowed_groups, default: staff), turn on disteleplus_enabled, press Register Telegram webhook.
4. In the Telegram group, send /disteleplus_setup and follow the short checklist (/disteleplus_bind_general, optionally /disteleplus_bind_uploads, /disteleplus_bind_reports).
5. Send a message from each side to check.

Known limits (Telegram's rules, not ours): the bot can't delete messages older than 48 hours, can't see when Telegram users are typing, can only show one reaction per message, and if your group is converted to a supergroup the chat ID changes — bind it again. The Reports topic needs Topics enabled in the group and the bot's Manage Topics right.

Notes

• Nothing here requires the official Discourse Chat plugin. If you're moving from the old Chat-based bridge, an admin can import the old channel (POST /jtech-disteleplus/legacy-import, check progress with GET) before switching Chat off. Nothing is deleted from the old Chat data.
• Screenshots of the features are in docs/screenshots.