Comments

Create and retrieve comments on posts

Overview

Comments allow users to discuss questions, share insights, and explain their reasoning. Comments can be public or private, can include forecasts, and support threading (replies).

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List Comments

cURL

curl -X GET "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/?post=3530&limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN"

GET /api/comments/

Retrieve comments with filtering options. Either post or author parameter is required.

Query Parameters

post · integer

Filter comments by post ID (required if author not provided)

author · integer

Filter comments by author user ID (required if post not provided)

is_private · boolean · default: "false"

Show private comments (for authenticated user only) or public comments

parent_isnull · boolean

Filter to only root comments (true) or only replies (false)

sort · string

Sort order: created_at (oldest first) or -created_at (newest first)

focus_comment_id · integer

Place a specific comment at the top of results

include_deleted · boolean · default: "false"

Include soft-deleted comments in results

use_root_comments_pagination · boolean

If true, pagination applies only to root comments, and all replies are included

limit · integer · default: "50"

Number of comments to return

offset · integer · default: "0"

Pagination offset

Response

total_count · integer

Total number of comments (including replies)

count · integer

Number of root comments only

next · string

URL for next page, or null

previous · string

URL for previous page, or null

results · array

Array of comment objects

Comment Object

id · integer

Unique comment identifier

author · object

Author information

id · integer

User ID

username · string

Username

is_bot · boolean

Whether the author is a bot

is_staff · boolean

Whether the author is Metaculus staff

parent_id · integer

ID of the comment being replied to, or null if root comment

root_id · integer

ID of the root comment in this thread

created_at · string (datetime)

When the comment was created

text_edited_at · string (datetime)

When the comment text was last edited

text · string

Comment content in markdown

on_post · integer

ID of the post this comment belongs to

on_post_data · object

Basic post information

id · integer

Post ID

title · string

Post title

included_forecast · object

Forecast data if user included their prediction with the comment

question · integer

Question ID

probability_yes · number

For binary questions: probability value

continuous_cdf · array

For continuous questions: CDF array

is_private · boolean

Whether this is a private comment

is_soft_deleted · boolean

Whether the comment has been deleted

is_pinned · boolean

Whether the comment is pinned by moderators

vote_score · integer

Total vote score (upvotes - downvotes)

user_vote · integer

Current user’s vote: 1 (upvote), -1 (downvote), or null

changed_my_mind · object

“Changed my mind” indicators

count · integer

Number of users who marked this comment as changing their mind

for_this_user · boolean

Whether current user marked this as changing their mind

mentioned_users · array

Users mentioned with @ in the comment

author_staff_permission · string

Author’s staff permission level on the post

key_factors · array

Key factors associated with this comment (advanced feature)

---

Create Comment

cURL

curl -X POST "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/create/" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "on_post": 3530,
    "text": "Great analysis! I agree with the reasoning.",
    "included_forecast": false,
    "is_private": false
  }'

POST /api/comments/create/

Create a new comment on a post.

Request Body

on_post · integer · required

The post ID to comment on

text · string · required

Comment text in markdown format. Can be empty if key_factors are provided.

is_private · boolean · default: "false"

Whether this is a private comment (visible only to you)

included_forecast · boolean · default: "false"

Include your most recent forecast on this question

parent · integer

ID of the comment to reply to (omit for root comments)

key_factors · array

Advanced: Key factors to attach to this comment

Response

Returns the created comment object.

Comment Formatting

Comments support markdown formatting:

• Bold: **text**
• Italic: *text*
• Links: [text](url)
• Lists: - item or 1. item
• Code: `code`
• Mentions: @username
• LaTeX math: $equation$ or $$block$$

---

Edit Comment

cURL

curl -X PATCH "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/12345/edit/" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Updated comment text"}'

PATCH /api/comments/{commentId}/edit/

Edit your own comment.

Path Parameters

commentId · integer · required

The comment ID to edit

Request Body

text · string · required

Updated comment text

You can only edit your own comments. The edit timestamp is tracked in text_edited_at.

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Delete Comment

cURL

curl -X DELETE "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/12345/delete/" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN"

DELETE /api/comments/{commentId}/delete/

Soft-delete your comment. The comment text is replaced with “deleted” but the comment remains visible.

Path Parameters

commentId · integer · required

The comment ID to delete

---

Vote on Comment

cURL

curl -X POST "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/12345/vote/" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"direction": 1}'

POST /api/comments/{commentId}/vote/

Vote on a comment.

Path Parameters

commentId · integer · required

The comment ID to vote on

Request Body

direction · integer · required

Vote direction:

• 1: Upvote
• -1: Downvote
• 0: Remove vote

---

Report Comment

cURL

curl -X POST "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/12345/report/" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reason": "Spam content"}'

POST /api/comments/{commentId}/report/

Report a comment for moderator review.

Path Parameters

commentId · integer · required

The comment ID to report

Request Body

reason · string · required

Reason for reporting

---

Example: Comment Thread

import requests

headers = {"Authorization": "Token YOUR_TOKEN"}

# Get all comments on a post
response = requests.get(
    "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/",
    headers=headers,
    params={"post": 3530, "limit": 100}
)

comments = response.json()["results"]

# Organize into threads
root_comments = [c for c in comments if c["parent_id"] is None]
replies = [c for c in comments if c["parent_id"] is not None]

print(f"Root comments: {len(root_comments)}")
print(f"Replies: {len(replies)}")

# Display thread structure
for root in root_comments:
    print(f"\n{root['author']['username']}: {root['text'][:50]}...")
    print(f"  Votes: {root['vote_score']}")
    
    # Find replies to this comment
    comment_replies = [r for r in replies if r["parent_id"] == root["id"]]
    for reply in comment_replies:
        print(f"  ↳ {reply['author']['username']}: {reply['text'][:50]}...")

Example: Comment with Forecast

import requests

headers = {"Authorization": "Token YOUR_TOKEN"}

# First, submit a forecast
requests.post(
    "https://www.metaculus.com/api/questions/forecast/",
    headers=headers,
    json=[{"question": 1, "probability_yes": 0.75}]
)

# Then create a comment that includes the forecast
response = requests.post(
    "https://www.metaculus.com/api/comments/create/",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "on_post": 1,
        "text": "I predict 75% because recent data shows...",
        "included_forecast": True,
        "is_private": False
    }
)

comment = response.json()
print(f"Forecast included: {comment['included_forecast']}")