Send an Email When a New Topic Is Created in a bbPress Forum

A forum is only as good as its replies, and unanswered topics put people off. Zapify can alert you the moment someone starts a new topic, with the title, the author and a direct link, so you or your moderators can jump in quickly. It uses the A topic is created in a forum trigger and the Send an email action.

What this automation does

The automation is one trigger plus one action:

• Trigger: A topic is created in a forum (BBP_TOPIC_CREATED, bbPress)
• Action: Send an email (WP_SEND_EMAIL, WordPress)

When a new topic is created in the forum you choose, Zapify emails the address you set with the topic's details.

The trigger sees topics created from the forum's own "new topic" form, from the WordPress admin and through the REST API. A topic saved as a draft in the admin runs the automation when it is first published, not when the draft is saved.

Before you start

• bbPress must be installed and active, with at least one forum.

How to build the automation

Step 1: Create a new automation

1. In the WordPress admin, go to Zapify → Automations.
2. Click Add New to open the builder.
3. Name it clearly, such as Alert moderators to new forum topics.

Step 2: Add the "A topic is created in a forum" trigger

1. Click Add Trigger.
2. Choose bbPress as the app.
3. Select the trigger A topic is created in a forum.
4. In the trigger's Forum field, pick the specific forum, or leave it on Any forum to run for every forum.

Step 3: Add the "Send an email" action

1. Click Add Action.
2. Choose WordPress as the app.
3. Select Send an email.

Step 4: Write the email

Use the {} token button beside any field to insert the topic's details.

Field	Required	What it does
To	Yes	Type the address of whoever moderates the forum.
Subject	Yes	The subject line. Tokens are allowed.
Format	Yes	HTML (default) or Plain text.
Body	Yes	The message. Tokens are allowed.
Cc / Bcc	No	Extra recipients.
From name / From email	No	Override the sender.
Reply to	No	Where replies go. Inserting the Author email token lets you reply straight to the author.

For example:

• To: forum@example.com
• Subject: New topic in {Forum title}: {Topic title}
• Body: {Author name} started a new topic in {Forum title}. Read it and reply here: {Topic URL}

Step 5: Set the steps Live and save

1. Set both the trigger and the action to Live. A new automation starts as Draft and will not run until its steps are Live.
2. Click Save.

Tokens you can use

Token	What it holds
Forum ID	The numeric ID of the forum.
Forum title	The name of the forum.
Forum URL	The link to the forum.
Topic ID	The numeric ID of the topic.
Topic title	The topic's title.
Topic content	The text of the topic.
Topic URL	The link to the topic.
Author ID	The author's numeric user ID, or 0 for a guest.
Author name	The author's display name, or the name a guest typed in.
Author email	The author's email address, or the one a guest typed in.
Guest name / Guest email	The name and email a guest typed in. Empty when the author has an account.

How to test it

1. Start a new topic in the forum you chose.
2. Check the recipient's inbox for the email.
3. If nothing arrives, open Zapify → Logs to see whether the run fired.

Conclusion

With the A topic is created in a forum trigger and the Send an email action, Zapify makes sure no new topic goes unnoticed, on the free plan. Next, share new topics with your community by adding a BuddyPress activity when a bbPress topic is created.

FAQs

Does it work for guests?

Yes. If your forum lets visitors post without an account, the automation still runs. Author name and Author email hold what the guest typed in, so they work for both members and guests.

Can I be alerted for only one forum?

Yes, and it is free. Set the trigger's Forum field to that forum instead of Any forum.

Does it run for replies?

No. This trigger is for new topics only. Replies do not start it.

Is this feature free?

Yes. bbPress is a free Zapify integration, and both the A topic is created in a forum trigger and the Send an email action are included in the free plan.

Why didn't the email send?

First confirm both the trigger and the action are set to Live and the automation is saved. Then check Zapify → Logs. If the run succeeded but no email arrived, the cause is usually the site's mail configuration; an SMTP plugin resolves most delivery problems.

Do I need to write any code?

No. Everything is configured in the Zapify visual builder.