Comments

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).

List Comments

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

string

URL for next page, or null

string

URL for previous page, or null

results

array

Array of comment objects

Comment Object

integer

Unique comment identifier

author

object

Author information

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

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 -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 FormattingComments 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 -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.

Delete Comment

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 -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

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']}")

Getting Started

Endpoints

Examples

Overview

List Comments

Query Parameters

Response

Comment Object

Create Comment

Request Body

Response

Edit Comment

Path Parameters

Request Body

Delete Comment

Path Parameters

Vote on Comment

Path Parameters

Request Body

Path Parameters

Request Body

Example: Comment Thread

Example: Comment with Forecast

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Endpoints

Examples

​Overview

​List Comments

​Query Parameters

​Response

​Comment Object

​Create Comment

​Request Body

​Response

​Edit Comment

​Path Parameters

​Request Body

​Delete Comment

​Path Parameters

​Vote on Comment

​Path Parameters

​Request Body

​Report Comment

​Path Parameters

​Request Body

​Example: Comment Thread

​Example: Comment with Forecast

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

List Comments

Query Parameters

Response

Comment Object

Create Comment

Request Body

Response

Edit Comment

Path Parameters

Request Body

Delete Comment

Path Parameters

Vote on Comment

Path Parameters

Request Body

Report Comment

Path Parameters

Request Body

Example: Comment Thread

Example: Comment with Forecast