Developer Guide
How I Added Comments to My Next.js Site with Giscus in Under 30 Minutes
Most websites never get comments.
That's one reason many creators skip adding them altogether. Between spam protection, user accounts, moderation, and database management, comments often feel like more work than they're worth.
When I launched Sinale, I wanted readers to be able to ask questions, share experiences, and point out updates to the software tools I review. I also didn't want to build a complete authentication system just to support comments.
After some research, I landed on Giscus. The setup was surprisingly straightforward, and within about 30 minutes I had a fully functional discussion system running on my Next.js site.
What is Giscus?
Giscus is an open-source commenting system built on GitHub Discussions.
Instead of storing comments in your own database, Giscus creates and manages discussion threads inside a GitHub repository. Visitors authenticate with GitHub and comments are synchronized automatically.
The result is a lightweight commenting system without a lot of the usual infrastructure work.
What you do not have to build
Database management
User account infrastructure
Spam prevention systems
Custom moderation tools
If you already have a GitHub repository, most of the heavy lifting is handled for you.
Why I Chose Giscus
I evaluated a few different options before settling on Giscus.
Building My Own System
The most flexible approach would have been building comments directly into the application using Supabase.
Pros
Complete control
Custom profiles
Social logins
Voting systems
User dashboards
Cons
More development time
Authentication complexity
Spam prevention
Moderation requirements
For a new content site, it felt like overkill.
Traditional Comment Platforms
Services like Disqus are easy to implement, but introduce additional scripts, ads, and third-party dependencies that I wanted to avoid.
Giscus
Giscus offered a simple middle ground.
Free
Open source
Fast
GitHub-based authentication
Easy moderation through GitHub Discussions
Works well with static sites and Next.js
For a developer-focused audience, requiring a GitHub account felt like a reasonable tradeoff.
The Setup Process
The installation was simpler than expected.
1. Enable GitHub Discussions
Inside the repository settings, I enabled Discussions. This becomes the storage layer for all comments.
2. Create a Discussion Category
I created a category specifically for article discussions. Every blog post automatically maps to a discussion thread within that category.
3. Configure Giscus
The Giscus setup page generated the repository name, repository ID, discussion category, and category ID automatically.
4. Add the React Component
I created a reusable component and rendered it at the bottom of article pages. Once deployed, discussions appeared immediately beneath every article.
No database migrations.
No backend endpoints.
No user management.
What I Learned
The technical implementation was useful, but the biggest benefit was simply shipping a feature.
Adding comments forced me to work through:
Third-party integrations
Environment variables
GitHub Discussions
React component architecture
Production deployment
Those skills transfer directly to larger product work.
It's easy to spend days planning features. Sometimes the best approach is simply building something useful and learning through implementation.
Limitations of Giscus
Giscus is not perfect.
The biggest limitation is authentication.
Users must have a GitHub account to participate. For developer communities, that's rarely a problem. For broader audiences focused on marketing, business, or consumer software, it may reduce participation significantly.
If Sinale grows beyond a technical audience, I may eventually move to a custom solution built on Supabase and social authentication. For now, the simplicity outweighs the downside.
Should You Use Giscus?
Use Giscus if
You use GitHub already
Your audience is technical
You want comments without maintaining infrastructure
You prefer open-source tools
You want a free solution
Look elsewhere if
Your audience rarely uses GitHub
You need custom user profiles
You want advanced moderation workflows
You plan to build a community platform
Final Thoughts
Adding comments won't magically increase traffic or engagement. But it does something important: it turns a website from a one-way publication into a conversation.
Readers can ask questions.
Users can share experiences.
Products can be discussed publicly.
For Sinale, that's exactly what I wanted.
The implementation took less than half an hour, cost nothing, and taught me something new along the way. That's a worthwhile trade for almost any side project.
Have you implemented Giscus, Disqus, or a custom commenting system on your site? What worked and what didn't? Join the discussion below.