---
title: "Service: /discussions/{discussion} [GET]"
source: https://dev.pageseeder.com/api/services/get-discussion-public-GET.html
description: "Retrieves a public discussion with its comments. Returns a discussion element containing the original comment and all replies, with optional filtering by comment type and maximum size limit."
last_updated: 2026-09-02T11:36:17+10:00
document_type: api_endpoint
operation_id: comment-GET
resource_id: comment
path_template: /discussions/{discussion}
http_method: GET
api_category: comment
implementation_version: 6.2004
api_since: 5.1102
deprecated_since: null
obsolete_since: null
api_support: supported
cache_control: null
generated_at: 2026-09-02
tokens: ~614
---

# /discussions/\{discussion\} \[GET\]

## Description

This service returns a public [discussion](../../reference/glossary/comment.md).

If a reply comment ID is specified for the discussion, it returns the containing discussion.

> **Note:** This service only returns comments posted on a [public group](../../reference/glossary/group_public.md). To return comments on private groups, use [/groups/\{group\}/discussions/\{discussion\} \[GET\]](get-group-discussion-GET.md)

## Parameters

| Name | Description | Required | Type | Default value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| comments | The comments to include, can be `none`, `first`, `last`, `all`, `archive` | no | string | `all` |
| discussionsize | The maximum number of comments to return per discussion | no | string | `1000` |

## Permission

This service is public, anyone can invoke it since the discussion is in a public group.

## Response

This service returns a single discussion as a [\<discussion\>](../elements/element_discussion.md) element.

```xml

<discussion id="49"
            title="Original comment"
            replycount="3"
            lastcommentid="52"
            lastcommentdate="2017-02-17T13:51:24+11:00">
  <uri id="30"> ... </uri>
  <comment id="49"
           contentrole="Comment"
           created="2017-02-17T13:48:46+11:00">
    <title>Original comment</title>
    <author id="1"> ... </author>
    <content type="text/plain">Original comment</content>
  </comment>
  <comment id="50"
           contentrole="Comment"
           created="2017-02-17T13:49:13+11:00">
    <title>Original comment</title>
    <author id="1"> ... </author>
    <content type="text/plain">First reply</content>
  </comment>
  <comment id="51"
           contentrole="Comment"
           created="2017-02-17T13:49:26+11:00">
    <title>Original comment</title>
    <author id="1"> ... </author>
    <content type="text/plain">Second reply</content>
  </comment>
  <comment id="52"
           contentrole="Comment"
           created="2017-02-17T13:51:24+11:00">
    <title>Original comment</title>
    <author id="1"> ... </author>
    <content type="text/plain">Other reply</content>
  </comment>
</discussion>
```

By default, all discussion comments are included.

The effect of the comments parameter on the response is described [here](get-group-discussion-GET.md).

## Error Handling

| Code | Cause / Description |
| --- | --- |
| 0x1316 | the discussion was not found |