Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)

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The technical section of the village pump is used to discuss technical issues about Wikipedia. Bug reports and feature requests should be made in Phabricator (see how to report a bug). Bugs with security implications should be reported differently (see how to report security bugs).

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Module:Params

I think this module is quite useful but I am worried that the module has gotten quite enormous and power and overly complicated to use. So I wanted to discuss splitting up the module's functions into different submodules. This would improve maintainability by allowing each submodule to function independently. There are only 25 uses of this module in other templates (despite the almost 5000 transclusions) and I believe these uses can potentially be changed to use much simpler modules for the same task.

Courtesy ping @Grufo as the sole creator of this module. Aasim (話す（はなす）) 01:26, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

Courtesy bump since I am not sure if others are aware, hoped to solicit further discussion as part of WP:DR, since I am not sure if Module talk:Params is closely watched. Aasim (話す（はなす）) 15:42, 27 May 2026 (UTC)

I’ve been watching the module for a few years now, and while I admire the work behind it, it’s always felt too large to me. I’d support moving toward a simpler approach — splitting it up where possible and documenting each (sub)module clearly so its purpose is obvious from the first couple of sentences, if not from its very name. Ponor (talk) 16:06, 27 May 2026 (UTC)

I kind of like the proposed philosophy. I remember once getting criticized for making a "God module", that is a fair critique for certain scenarios. The learning curve for using such a template or module should be very low, as in it should require very little configuration; which right now feels like the opposite. And let's not forget maintainability which this currently is very difficult to maintain. Aasim (話す（はなす）) 18:55, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

Seems like not that many people are interested in this topic, bump one more time before it gets archived to solicit more discussion. Aasim (話す（はなす）) 22:17, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

As others have pointed out at its talk page, Module:Params adds complexity that would only obfuscate anything that used it. There might be a place for Params if it completely replaced the need to understand template and/or Lua syntax. However, it's never going to do that. Maintaining a template/module that used Params would require a deep understanding of template/Lua syntax, and a deep understanding of Params syntax. It's just not a good idea for Wikipedia. Johnuniq (talk) 03:18, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

I have been following the discussion and was hoping some specific maintenance or usage issues would emerge. So far, however, most of the concerns seem to be about the general philosophy behind the module. One point that caught my attention was: “There might be a place for Params if it completely replaced the need to understand template and/or Lua syntax”. In fact, that is very close to the purpose for which Module:Params was originally written. The module was created with Latin Wikipedia in mind, where virtually nobody writes Lua modules; several complex templates had therefore been implemented entirely in wikitext and had become extremely long and difficult to maintain. Module:Params was not conceived as a shortcut for Lua programmers or as a general-purpose Lua library; rather, it was conceived as a way to write parameter-processing logic without having to write Lua code. In that sense, it was intended as a wikitext-oriented tool. The module is also more modular internally than its size might suggest. Many of its components perform relatively narrow tasks and can be used independently. As a result, it can be employed in very simple ways—for example, merely to iterate over incoming parameters—or in much more elaborate configurations. On Latin Wikipedia, where Lua itself is not widely understood, this approach has proved useful. On English Wikipedia the situation is obviously different. Here, however, the module seems to occupy a different niche: providing parameter-processing functionality for templates that are more complex than can be conveniently handled in wikitext, but for which creating and maintaining a dedicated Lua module would be disproportionate. Looking at the current usages, that appears to be roughly how it is being used. I am also not sure that maintainers necessarily need a “deep understanding” of Module:Params in addition to Lua and template syntax. In practice, most users only need to understand the subset of functionality employed by the template they are working on, just as editors working with other large modules rarely need to understand every feature those modules provide. If there are specific parts of the module that are difficult to maintain, I would be interested in discussing those cases. At the moment, though, I am not sure that a compelling technical concern has been presented. --Grufo (talk) 22:54, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

I have made an actionable proposal on Module talk:Params#Proposal to split with the intent to make the module more maintainable. I do not agree with the module being big, I see it more of being a problem of number of functions. The main problem IMO is that mainly the creator would know which global functions would be affected if an local function malfunctions. Snævar (talk) 09:27, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

As I said in Module talk:Params#Not a sustainable approach to templates: Module:Params is not a good fit for Wikipedia. It introduces a new programming language, but we already have Lua and Wikitext, and adding a third language is not a good idea. Particulary one with such unusual semantics. In a nutshell: No new templates should use this module. Existing templates that use it should be rewritten, probably as separate Lua modules. In the long run, Module:Params should be deleted. — Chrisahn (talk) 08:19, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

More details: Almost all programming languages have named variables, but as far as I can tell, the language created by Module:Params doesn't. Instead, it seems to depend on stacks and substacks, but I'm not sure how these work. I've been writing code for dozens of years in dozens of languages, and I have a hard time understanding this language. Lua is much simpler (and at the same time much more flexible and powerful). Anyone who manages to understand the Module:Params programming language will also be able to learn Lua. In the long run, using Module:Params instead of Lua is a net negative for Wikipedia. I admire the work that went into Module:Params, but it just isn't a good fit for us. Sorry! — Chrisahn (talk) 08:28, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Templates for discussion is the correct avenue for your deletion nomination, not the technical village pump. Snævar (talk) 01:41, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Log-in issue

VP tekkies, I'm bringing this conversation here at the suggestion of the Help Desk, where I started off with this issue. I thought it would be easier on both you and me just to copy the conversation in its entirety from there, so here goes ...

Me: Over the past week or so, I'm getting notices in the morning when I go to a page and try to do something like writing a message, asking me to log in because — for some unknown reason — I'm logged out even though the previous day I got a similar statement about being logged out and accordingly logged in as requested. So again I log in, only for the same thing to reoccur the following day.

I've never had this happen before and I can't think of anything unusual going on that might account for it. Help, please. Augnablik (talk) 12:45, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

Help Desk:It may be the browser. At the time of a web login, you are asked if you want to stay logged in for up to a year, and this sets a HTTP cookie. This should prevent login requests every time you visit the site. Try different browsers, and check that they are not clearing cookies when you close the browser.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 13:04, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

Me: I have replied every time that I'm asked that I do want to stay logged in up to a year. That's what seemed particularly odd about this situation.

The browser I'm using is Chrome, but it's the same one I've been using for quite some time when I work in Wikipedia. Although I use other browsers, I'd really prefer to reserve Chrome just for my Wikipedia work for several reasons. Any other possible remedies? Augnablik (talk) 13:29, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

Help Desk: If you try replicating the fault with different devices and browsers, it may be possible to narrow down the fault to a particular device or browser. Then you could try uninstalling and reinstalling the browser that causes the problem.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 13:52, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

MeThe plot thickens. On the two other browsers I use, DuckDuckGo and Safari, I got mixed results: DuckDuckGo, fine—worked correctly as Chrome used to, with me logged in; Safari, same issue as Chrome recently, with me not logged in.

Now, if I follow step 2 of your advice and uninstall/reinstall Chrome, won’t I lose all my history, bookmarks, settings, and tab groupings? Augnablik (talk) 16:19, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

Help DeskPossibly, but it is often possible to export bookmarks and passwords and import them after reinstalling the app, eg with Chrome here.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 16:29, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

MeAll right, I’ll give it a try if I can get up enough nerve. But why did this happen in the first place is what I’d like to understand … and is there anything I can do to prevent if from happening again? Augnablik (talk) 04:24, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

Help Desk@Augnablik- Hmm, I would try asking at WP:VPT? They will probably know more about what's going on/can point you on how to make a bug report. Sarsenet•he/they•(talk) 04:54, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

Augnablik (talk) 06:10, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

@Augnablik check your extensions? It sounds like something is interfering either with the cookies being set or communications to auth.wikimedia.org being interrupted. The user authentication for Wikimedia projects go through this domain. My feel is that the login cookie might be seen as a third party cookie. If you are on en.wikipedia.org, auth.wikimedia.org may be seen as a third party domain due to the different domain names. Also check if you are blocking third party cookies in your browser settings in Chrome. If so, either disable that option, or add auth.wikimedia.org to the exception for the block. You should be able to set a similar exception for Safari (I don't use MacOS enough to figure out where). – robertsky (talk) 13:10, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

@Robertsky, I'm not sure I have any extensions. It took me a little while to figure out how to check for them in Chrome, but when I did, the Manage Extensions page didn't show any to manage. As for blocking third-party cookies, no cookies were blocked.

I didn't plan to use Safari for my Wikipedia work, no need to do anything there. What do you suggest next? Augnablik (talk) 09:12, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

In theory, when you log in on en.wikipedia.org and get sent to auth.wikimedia.org, the cookie is set after user interaction (you typing into the auth.wikimedia.org form) which exempts you from third-party cookie blocking (some browsers still reduce the cookie lifetime, but to something more reasonable, like 30 days).

If you go to a different domain, say Wikidata, and it tries to fetch your auth.wikimedia.org cookies, *that* will be categorized as third-party cookie acces (or more precisely, as bounce tracking, since the cookie is accessed via top-level redirects) which might result in the cookie lifetime getting shortened to a day. But AIUI it shouldn't affect the wiki where you manually logged in the last time.

Also, Chrome doesn't do third-party cookie blocking by default (except in Incognito mode). Maybe you enabled it manually? You can check under Settings > Privacy and Security > Third-party cookies. Tgr (WMF) (talk) 20:09, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Tgr, I got a little lost trying to understand the first two paragraphs of your message, but AIUI (thanks for teaching me a new piece of computer jargon that will come in handy!), the only action item in your message is the third one. So I tried to check if I'd enabled third-party cookie blocking manually, as you suggested ... but when I go to Settings>Privacy & Security, I just don't see "Third-party cookies." Does it matter that I'm on a Macintosh? Augnablik (talk) 11:38, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

"Upright" parameter in image embedding broken?

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T424596
Open

I was editing an image-heavy page and as part of my edit, wanted to shrink the beside-text images, but both the old "upright" parameter (already present, in fact) and the preferred "upright=" parameter failed to change their displayed size. I went to Help:Pictures and it has the same issue: the 3 versions of File:Amun.svg intended to illustrate the use of the resizing parameter are all displaying at the same default size. Has somebody broken something or is there a temporary problem with the Mediawiki code that's being worked on as we speak? Yngvadottir (talk) 22:53, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

The three Amun.svg images are different sizes for me. The first one (thumb only) is the largest, the next one (with thumb and upright, equivalent to upright=0.75) is smaller, and the third one (with upright=0.56) is smaller still. When responding, please read the edit notice that appears at the top of this page in edit mode. Provide us with the information requested. Also try the same edit in a different browser, while logged out. – Jonesey95 (talk) 01:15, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

I hadn't seen that, sorry. I'm using Win 7, and I normally edit using Firefox, which just updated, in Monobook. But the 3 Amun images at Help:Pictures are also appearing for me at the identical size in Chrome, where I'm not logged in and therefore using the nasty default neo-Vector (had to get to the page via the browser address bar because I forgot where search is). The edit I was referring to was this one; I was trying to reduce the size of files such as File:Health and efficiency 1925 03 cover.png, but they're still hogging the right side of the page. (And now I remember it's a search so it's the magnifying glass, I checked that page logged out in Chrome too—same, overly large images.) Yngvadottir (talk) 04:33, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

In Firefox, Alt-H brings up the Help menu. On there, About Firefox reveals the version number. Mine is 151.0.3 but I don't think that works on older operating systems. I read that the 140.11.0 ESR version works with Windows 7 but haven't tested it. Certes (talk) 07:57, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

Firefox 115 (currently 115.36.0esr, with minor updates about every 2 weeks) is the last version that works on Windows 7. [1]. Alt-H, About still works - I'm using that version (on Win 7) as I write this. Mitch Ames (talk) 08:26, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

Alt+HA is a standard Windows key sequence to get the "About" box and hence version number for whatever application currently has the focus. It's worked for everything that I've tried it in over the last twenty years or more - I've just verified that it works in Windows for Playgroups 3.11 (the oldest for which I have an installed working copy [somewhere I have install disks for MS-DOS 3 and Windows 2, but I'm not in the mood to set up a test partition just to verify a key sequence]). It should continue to work for the foreseeable future. What I don't know is how to get the Safari version number in an iPad Air 2. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 09:41, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

In that edit, Yngvadottir changed "upright" to "upright=.75", which should yield no change in the image size, by design. This is explained at Help:Pictures: The exact width is computed by starting with the default thumbnail width, multiplying it by 0.75, and rounding to the nearest multiple of 10. The upright and upright=.75 images are correctly displaying at about 75% of my thumbnail size preference of "Regular" (Regular is 250 pixels), about 190 pixels wide.

I can't explain the three Amun images displaying at the same size for Yngvadottir. – Jonesey95 (talk) 12:14, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

I'm aware that .75 is the value for the formerly used bare "upright"; I changed the parameter from the bare "upright" to the preferred "upright=.75" thinking that "upright" without a specified percentage of default width no longer worked. When I saw in preview that the images on the right still displayed standard-sized, I inserted a clear line below one that was pushing against a gallery, and otherwise left that aspect of my edit for when the "upright" parameter started working again. I've just tried reducing only File:Health and efficiency 1925 03 cover.png, the first in the series, to .6; in preview, it still shows as the identical width as the image below it. So as indicated by what I see on the Help page, it's not my eyes, it's something in my computer setup. Possibly the software no longer fully supports Win 7??? (Mitch Ames, Redrose64, thanks, can confirm, Firefox 115.36.0esr.) Yngvadottir (talk) 20:39, 6 June 2026 (UTC)

FWIW, I'm seeing this also, Pale Moon 34.3.0 on Windows 10 (in, yes, a private browsing window, so it's not the fault of either Cologne Blue nor my very badly broken user scripts). Inspecting the second Amun - the one in the Help:Pictures#Upright images section - shows me the rules .mw-parser-output .mw-default-size img.mw-file-upright { height: auto; width: calc(250px * var(--mw-file-upright,1)); width: calc(round(250px * var(--mw-file-upright,1),10px)); } with the first two struck through; disabling the second width rule (with rounding) enables the first width, and this properly resizes both this version of the image and the third one in Help:Pictures#Shrinking upright images further. —Cryptic 00:07, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

That's a good lead. Checking https://caniuse.com/wf-round-mod-rem, I see that round() isn't supported in Firefox 115. Yngvadottir's test with Chrome was likely using 109 (the latest compatible with Windows 7), which also does not support round(). Apparently the developers who tried to fix phab:T424596 thought that CSS would fall back to the first width property when it couldn't calculate the value in the second due to lacking round(), but I guess they didn't actually test it in failing browsers. It turns out that the use of var() in there causes late evaluation, resulting in it being treated as width: unset, same as how something simpler like width: 50%; width: var( --bogus ); doesn't fall back. The width: unset overrides even the width="140" in the HTML, so it winds up falling back to the intrinsic size of the image, which since other recent changes is one of a few large steps. Anomie⚔ 01:18, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

The mention of the round() function has enabled me to connect this with Template talk:Infobox station#Image sizes. On Tuesday (when I next have access to this machine with an older Firefox) I shall check the issue above. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 11:25, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

Aha! So there was indeed a known issue with Win 7 (and a fix that hasn't worked). Redrose64, can confirm: I see a humongous infobox at Cardiff Bay railway station. Yngvadottir (talk) 21:31, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

The machine where the issue shows is Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium version 6.1.7601 SP1 build 7601. Browser is Firefox 115.36.0esr, and I believe that's the most recent available for Win 7. Using Sunderland station for my test, and the browser's "Instect" feature, the problem rule appears to be:

.mw-parser-output .mw-default-size img.mw-file-upright {
  height: auto;
  width: calc(250px * var(--mw-file-upright,1));
  width: calc(round(250px * var(--mw-file-upright,1),10px));
}

With that rule in place the image is 480px wide. Disabling the third declaration reduces it to 337.5px; disabling both second and third makes the image 340px wide. It seems to go against CSS Syntax and basic data types section 4.3.8 Unsupported Values. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 11:34, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

It's following https://www.w3.org/TR/css-variables-1/#invalid-variables. See in particular example 15. Anomie⚔ 16:24, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

My reading of example 15 is that both the width: declarations should be ignored, meaning that it should pick up the width="340" attribute from the <img /> tag. So where is the 480px coming from? --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 21:39, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

It's ignoring both width: declarations and the width="340" attribute. The 480px comes from the intrinsic size of the image, now that WMF changed things to serve only a limited set of sizes and rely on the browser to scale them. You must be on a high-DPI display, so you're getting the 960px version at 2× which results in a 480px display. Anomie⚔ 00:15, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

• So can someone reopen that Phabricator ticket or open a new one, please? I keep seeing over-large images and having to remind myself that no one intended that. Yngvadottir (talk) 03:10, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

  @Yngvadottir Well, it's possible that no one intended you to still be using Windows 7, either. But I could be wrong about that; I know that a lot of the world still uses older operating systems. In the same vein, does Wikipedia still support Firefox 115? David10244 (talk) 01:18, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

  I'm sure no one specifically intended me to edit Wikipedia, either. Do I have to spend big money on a new comp full of malware before I can be permitted to volunteer here? And do the readers who don't have recent-generation devices not count as deserving customers? Yngvadottir (talk) 03:44, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

  No, you do infact not need a new computer. You could just install one of the Linux distros instead. As far as WMF is concerned, they look at the percentage of Windows 7 visits. Is "comp full of malware" just a reference to Microsoft recall (which screenshots every so often, or used to) or does it also include AI in Windows 11?

  Time to exclude some distros. Ubuntu has AI plans, which can be disabled with an uninstall of that feature. RedHat has AI plans and Fedora which is based on RedHat has not said that they would remove it. I would say try PikaOS, it is based on Debian. You do have all of the major browsers on Linux, but you will likely need to find alternatives for most other software in the distro app store, many programs are free. Snævar (talk) 08:01, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

Re-enroll

Hi
At login this morning there was a notice that I should re-enroll. Meaning I should create a new ID and password? Something else? Thanks, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 12:30, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@PeterEasthope: I don't recognise the term "re-enroll". It certainly isn't asking you to create a new Wikipedia account – your old one is working fine. If it's in a banner at the top of the screen then one of Wikipedia's projects is encouraging you to do something ­– edit on a particular topic, provide a photo or even attend a physical get-together – but all of that is strictly optional and you can just click the X on the banner to dismiss it. Otherwise, something outside Wikipedia may be producing the message. If you're using a device provided by your work or college, they may be asking you to enroll in some local scheme which has nothing to do with Wikipedia. Certes (talk) 12:42, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@PeterEasthope: Do you have two-factor authentication? It sounds like MediaWiki:Notification-header-oathauth-recoverycodes-count. translatewiki:MediaWiki:Notification-header-oathauth-recoverycodes-count/qqq says: "Notification header for when the user is getting low on the number of recovery tokens left on their account." See meta:Help:Two-factor authentication#Manage your recovery codes and try Special:AccountSecurity. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:45, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Good answer; thank you. That sounds more likely than my explanation. I forgot about 2FA. Certes (talk) 12:50, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Yes, 2FA is working on my account. It was recommended or imposed weeks ago. Can a recovery code be used only once? I don't recall seeing that mentioned. 2FA is a good idea but usage should be evident. Thx, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 13:01, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@PeterEasthope: meta:Help:Two-factor authentication#Manage your recovery codes says: "Each recovery code is single use: after you use it once, it is no longer valid." That's part of the security. Somebody might gain access to your use of a recovery code. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:13, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Now that you mention it, single use makes perfect sense. So my new workflow: use the code at top of my list and delete after use. Workflow could be suggested when 2FA is activated. Still haven't found how a fresh list of codes is obtained. Thanks, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 13:37, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@PeterEasthope: Doesn't Special:AccountSecurity work for that? PrimeHunter (talk) 13:41, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@PeterEasthope Per meta:Help:Two-factor authentication#Manage your recovery codes: If you use a code, go to Special:AccountSecurity and generate a new set of codes, so you don't run out. --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE) 13:43, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

OK, now I have a fresh password and fresh list of recovery codes.

For interest, I have Open Authenticator on a phone and used it today. It involves a third party, Apple in this case. An appeal of recovery codes is avoidance of a third party. A misconception?

Incidental observation: in the security page, the passphrase button is greyed out, inactive. What is needed to create a passphrase? Thx, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 14:26, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@PeterEasthope Open Authenticator is NOT by Apple. It is an open source project by another 3rd party (or an even older project, that I'm not sure it being updated any longer) distributed via Apple's App Store (I can see two apps with this name in my Appstore).

There are MANY authenticator apps out there that support TOTP (which is the type of 2 factor authentication that is used). You are advised to choose wisely. You can choose one that saves everything fully locally. Having everything locally comes with the downside that you should really understand what you are doing in terms of backups etc. It is better to go with one that saves encrypted backups in iCloud or Google/Samsung storage. Especially if you have activated Passkeys, which normal users should probably simply do via Apple's Password application (the default). Basically anything that is popular and used by lots of people is better than choosing something esoteric. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 10:19, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

"Open Authenticator is NOT by Apple."
Well, yah, I get that. It's an app running on my Apple phone. I referred to Apple as third party. Thx, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 15:01, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

I didn't know the message either but searched an offline copy of Allmessages from the API (9 MB). I once added this link to Help:MediaWiki namespace#Finding system messages (WP:QQX). PrimeHunter (talk) 13:08, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Weird issue with both visual and source editors

Hi!

I've been trying to edit my global userpage, but a few characters after I insert a character using my Linux compose key, VEdit and Source edit keep inserting random Unicode characters. I'm on Arch Linux, Librewolf, if that helps.

Example: here, go to the Español section. --ABx11 (she/they | formerly TheAuroraBorealis | In solidarity) 18:07, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

@ABx11 Does the behavior occur if you start up the browser without extensions ? Does it reproduce in a different browser ? —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 10:04, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Displaying multiple maplink maps with a switcher

We are trying to nicely display three {{maplink}} maps at Poecilia velifera#Range. The maps uses marker coordinates from Commons Data pages, showing the locations of fish populations.

The first attempt (oldid) / (diff) used {{switcher}} but the alignment of elements is weird (due to using class=infobox to make it thumbnaily).

The second attempt (oldid) / (diff) uses raw div classes borrowed from Module:Mapframe, but as the switching text is long and not wrapping and forcing huge whitespace.

Perhaps switch functionality for this use-case can be built into {{maplink}} (if not already), or {{switcher}} can be improved.

Note: Show preview does not work with the switch radio buttons on the wikitext editor, so experimenting requires saves. Commander Keane (talk) 01:09, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Mapframes have JS functionality and extension specific parser behavior attached to them. Wrapping them in anything is probably gonna be rather complex. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 10:03, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

I removed the space, do check it is acceptable cheers. Regs, The Equalizer (talk) 23:44, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks, the spacing is fixed and looks good to me. I was hoping to wrap the whole thing in box, like regular images, so that radio buttons are visually separated from the article text. Commander Keane (talk) 00:48, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

I put a box around it all, see if that's what you are looking for, regs, The Equalizer (talk) 06:14, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Commander Keane (talk) 06:32, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

Blank line removal

User:LateNightCoffee makes many single-digit edits every day like this one, removing a blank line between every pair of CfD discussions. If it is better to have that line removed (which I do not know) couldn't this be automated? Marcocapelle (talk) 03:02, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Two blank lines cause extra unwanted whitespace so it's correct to remove one of them. The second line should be avoided in the first place. Based on [2] it's made with User:Qwerfjkl/scripts/CFDlister.js by Qwerfjkl. PrimeHunter (talk) 09:35, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Special:Diff/1358709880 should fix that. — Qwerfjkltalk 12:39, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Old deletion sorting page from 2018 failing to auto-archive

Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Bhutan has 4 un-archived closed discussions from 2018. GabeIglesia and I recently rediscovered it and added to the delsort lists, but it has not been automatically archived.

I also opened an AN at Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Mornflake regarding an AfD that was courtesy blanked, causing problems with archival, but no admins or oversighters are responding. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 16:36, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

You should report the issue to the bot operator. Izno (talk) 17:48, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

This usually means that there is a formatting error. Not necessarily in one of the four threads, it could be anywhere on the page. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 12:53, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Compared to a couple of delsort pages for other countries, and did this: Special:Diff/1358881958. The categorization wikitext seems to be inconsequential, because Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Germany (Special:Diff/1358881958/1358850067) also has it at the bottom and archiving works there. Another possibility (from just comparing with other similar pages) could have been absence or presence of section === Others ===, but Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Nepal (Special:Diff/1358881958/1358731129) doesn't have it and archiving works there. —⁠andrybak (talk) 16:00, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

I discovered that the comment beneath the header was misspelled; it needs to be an exact phrase. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 20:26, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

The operator of the bot thought that it had to do with the old AfD header format, so I archived it manually. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 20:27, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

More specifically, the bot looks in the wikitext for the <div class="...xfd-closed..."> produced by templates like {{subst:afd top}} to know if the discussion is closed. The AFDs that were listed there had been edited to use an unsubsted {{afd top/old}} instead, so no <div> was present. It's not worth updating the bot to account for that, since normally any old AFD would have long since been archived before the close-header was broken. Anomie⚔ 22:36, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Question regarding technical burden of template usage

 You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser § Usage of JWB/AWB for reducing phonetics links with templates. This regards usage of the {{lcons}} and {{lvow}} templates. The specific question relevant to VPT is 2. Does using the templates over wikilinks result in any performance impact (technical burden) on page rendering? ~ oklopfer (💬) 17:22, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

A Youtube link in a template.

My sandbox, PeterEasthope/sandbox, shows a link to a Youtube page; the link being viable. Below that are two instances of a template. The first shows characters A, B and C in the three boxes. The second template instance has the Youtube link in the third box where it fails to be effective. Can the template definition be fixed? Is there a better way to include the link?
Thanks, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 18:00, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

The URL has an equals sign in it. You cannot use positional parameters as such because |some text= is interpreted as a parameter value. Izno (talk) 18:46, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

See more at the second bullet at Help:Template#Hints and workarounds. PrimeHunter (talk) 19:00, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

A puzzling difficulty with simple solution. Thanks! ... PeterEasthope (talk) 19:35, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

It's a common problem and usually caused by url's like your example where the code was the innocent looking | [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do2O1yFrnos Oberon Tutorials at YouTube]. Nobody would deliberately choose a parameter name like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v. It's an allowed name but maybe MediaWiki should say that if an apparent parameter name in a template call contains http(s):// (or other strings in mw:Manual:$wgUrlProtocols to make it general) then it should be treated as an unnamed parameter. PrimeHunter (talk) 22:28, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Or just disallow / in parameter names. — Qwerfjkltalk 16:58, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

That would certainly be simpler but maybe too drastic. I don't recall seeing parameter names with a slash but I could imagine it, e.g. something like km/h = 180 in a car template or b/w = yes in a film template. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:54, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

PrimeHunter, as a general rule I think parameter names should be kept to just [a-z_], so those would become km_h and b_w. — Qwerfjkltalk 09:43, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

I'm not suggesting to use those names but I'm thinking of a MediaWiki change which would apply to numerous wikis. https://www.fandom.com/explore alone says 385,000+ (most are tiny). We don't know how many templates would break if slash was disallowed everywhere. Disallowed parameter names could also be a configuration setting which defaults to something like mw:Manual:$wgUrlProtocols. Then the English Wikipedia could choose to disallow all slashes. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:05, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

User:John of Reading/Sandbox lists 91 templates that accept a parameter name that includes a slash. -- John of Reading (talk) 10:32, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. This indicates to me that disallowing slash in general is going too far. It could have been OK if MediaWiki had done it from the beginning but it would break too much to suddenly start now. PrimeHunter (talk) 13:09, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

OTOH, adding special cases makes the code more complex, and may wind up confusing if someone tries to use parameter names like matrix:x and matrix:y for a math template, or tel:home and tel:work on a wiki where a template with contact information might be appropriate. Anomie⚔ 22:57, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

The multiref2 refs at the 0 article are giving me grief

I was correcting various cites at this article but 9 Harv warnings remain because of multiref2 issues:

• Ref #1: 2 Harv warnings
• Ref #2: 2 Harv warnings
• Ref #63: 2 Harv warnings
• Ref #70: 3 Harv warnings

I am stumped as to how to get all those multiref2 cites to work correctly. Article still in Category:Harv and Sfn no-target errors because of the 9 remaining Harv warning-issues in the multiref2 cites: #1, #2, #63, & #70. I also posted about this at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mathematics. If someone here could fix these refs, that would be great because I just can't see what's wrong. Thanks. - Shearonink (talk) 17:19, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Article still in Category:Harv and Sfn no-target errors... Umm, no it's not. Harv warning: ... messages created by script do not add articles to the category.

If you wish to suppress the Harv warning: ... messages, adding |ref=none to the offending citation templates should be all that needs doing.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 17:52, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Ok, my mistake re:the warnings. But those refs aren't really ref=nones, they are being used. So why am I getting these invalid Harv warnings? Thanks - Shearonink (talk) 18:30, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Sure, they are used, but there are no short-form templates ({{sfn}}, etc) linking to them. When there are no short-form templates linking to a long-form template, the script emits that message. The script neither knows nor cares about {{multiref2}}. The primary purpose of that warning message is to notify concerned editors that the short-to-long link is missing. Most often, that means that the long-form template is in the wrong section and should be in §Further reading or should be removed altogether.

|ref=none tells Module:Citation/CS1 to suppress the creation of an anchor ID (CITEREFHarper2011, from ref 1 (permalink) for example). When a long-form template does not have an anchor ID, the script does not look for a short-form link to that long-form template so does not emit the Harv warning: ... message. Granted, |ref= is probably not the best parameter name, but it has been with us for as long as cs1|2 templates have been with us so replacing it with a better-named parameter would be a battle up a hill I don't care to die on.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 18:52, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Passing raw code to Template:textdiff

Is there a way to use {{textdiff}} while passing in a block of template code, such as <syntaxhighlight>...</syntaxhighlight> code? Cannot figure out how to make that work... Only work around is to manually escape everything with {{!}} and {{(}}, etc. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 19:07, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Looks like it works to wrap the parameter with <nowiki>...</nowiki>, e.g. {{textdiff|1=<nowiki>{{foo | bar }}</nowiki>|2=<nowiki>{{foo | baz }}</nowiki>}}

−

{{foo | bar }}

+

{{foo | baz }}

Anomie⚔ 23:08, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Facepalm Wowwww. I'm embarrassed. Thanks! Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 23:32, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Please see my reply at Template talk:text diff#Passing in rawcode and also WP:MULTI. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 14:35, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

Watchlist not filtering out category changes?

Help:Watchlist said to post about technical problems here, so... As far as I can tell, I have set my watchlist to exclude category changes: in my preferences "Hide categorization of pages" is checked, and in the "Filters" section on my watchlist "Category changes" is unchecked. And yet, I frequently notice that a helpful gnome's category work absolutely drowns my watchlist in things I don't want to be watching. Is something not working as intended? Can the filter not exclude HotCat-based category changes? Is there anything else I can do to filter these out? Thank you! ~ le 🌸 valyn (talk) 22:36, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Are you watching the category page, or the categorized page? —Cryptic 22:53, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

The categorized page, such as Hubert de Sevrac. Have I simply misunderstood what these filters were for? ~ le 🌸 valyn (talk) 23:08, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Yes. If you uncheck that option in your preferences, and you add a category to your watchlist, you'll see it on your watchlist if any page is added to or removed from that category. --rchard2scout (talk) 23:21, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Gotcha, makes sense. Thanks for the explanations, though now I'm sad that the feature I made up isn't real! ~ le 🌸 valyn (talk) 00:34, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

Question

I'm not sure of the apt forum for this, but why does audio files with captions pop up full screen in mobile without the option to simply play it without captions and not have it pop up every time. Compare UK and Ukraine. One of them full-screens with the subtitles and the other has none so it does not. Can this be avoided? Using Chrome on an iPhone. ~2026-34629-56 (talk) 10:46, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

Because it has no funding and this is easier to maintain. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 16:15, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

No funding? Really? ~2026-34629-56 (talk) 17:18, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

@~2026-34629-56 I do think it is a good default to display Closed Captions if they are available. While File:Президентський оркестр Гімн.ogg does not have subtitles, while File:United States Navy Band - God Save the Queen.oga does have subtitles.

I do not see an immediate way to disable displaying substitles on a user setting level nor on specific Wikipedia pages. The feature is described at mw:Extension:TimedMediaHandler, which has limited maintenance. I do think it is a good default to display Closed Captaions if they are available. ~ In solidarity 🦝 Shushugah (talk) 13:06, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

Bug report: Timelines not displaying

4 timelines in List of tennis timelines#Most weeks ranked No. 1 in the Open Era are not working properly, display the message "Timeline error. Could not store output files". 8rz (talk) 16:14, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

@8rz: See Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)/Archive 230#Broken timelines. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:24, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

I'll emphasize the TLDR: phab:T428063#11987367 ("The cause is known and described on a private task."). I.e. a security-related problem. I can see/confirm the problem is being worked on, by a variety of staff and volunteer developers. HTH. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 17:32, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

HELP! Caught in a 2FA dilemma

I enabled two-factor authentication on my account an April 2 of this year (as was required due to my role as an admin/crat on various Wikimedia projects). To do so, I installed a 2FA app on my PC (for work-related reasons, I can't install one on my phone), and I am fairly certain I chose either Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator for this purpose.

After Windows restarted my computer for updates yesterday, I found that the authenticator had disappeared from my computer. I can find no sign of one ever having existed.

In short, while I am still logged into Wikipedia in my browser, I no longer have access to the authenticator app that was generating my OATH codes. I don't remember which of those two I had installed, and I cannot access my OATH settings to disable 2FA in order to reinstall either app because accessing those settings requires using that (missing) authenticator app to access those settings. I believe I need an external solution. BD2412 T 18:32, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

The first question that has nothing to do with Wikipedia. What about the very long recovery code you were supposed to get on 2FA enabling? IKhitron (talk) 18:35, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

@IKhitron: I have a code which I think is that one saved on my desktop. It's a 32-digit mix of numbers and lowercase letters (mostly letters), but I don't know what to actually do with it, and I don't want to put in the wrong thing (or put the right thing in wrong) and lock myself out. BD2412 T 18:50, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

First, use {{committed identity}} on your user page which can be used to prove ownership of your account to T&S in case you do get locked out.

Many 2FA apps, including Google Authenticator, backup your TOTP secret to the cloud if you login into the app. If that's the case, you can get the codes by just re-installing and logging in.

The recovery codes are 16 alphanumeric characters each. You'd have gotten 10 of them while setting up 2FA. Try accessing OATH settings, click "Use recovery codes" and enter one of them. It's okay to try even if you're not sure about having the right codes. You won't get locked out.

If neither of the above work, I think the next step is to email cawikimedia.org, but someone should correct me if that's not the procedure nowadays.

In the future, always use a 2FA app that backs up the codes. – SD0001 (talk) 19:58, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

I do have a set of ten 16-digit alphanumeric codes, though I have them labeled as something else. Knowing me, I might have done that on purpose. BD2412 T 20:04, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

@IKhitron and SD0001: Problem solved. It occurred to me that my "32-digit mix of numbers and lowercase letters" was actually two 16-digit mixes put end to end, so I plugged one of them in and voila. BD2412 T 02:36, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Please note, recovery codes are one-time-use each. — xaosflux ^Talk 18:30, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

That is correct, if you are having 2FA problems and your recovery codes are unavailable or do not work, contact cawikimedia.org. AntiCompositeNumber (they/them) (talk) 02:51, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Oh, and if you have a computer that belongs to you where you log in regularly, I would recommend setting up a passkey in Special:AccountSecurity. AntiCompositeNumber (they/them) (talk) 02:54, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Parsoid opt-in?

I currently have my global preferences set to always use Parsoid (opt-in), but I just got a QuickSurvey asking why I've opted-out of using Parsoid and I don't know why. Is there a preference somewhere that overrides the opt-in? Is there a way a can check to confirm that my opt-in is active? Does having it be a global preference confuse QuickSurvey? – Scyrme (talk/solidarity) 00:06, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Two inches from the bottom of this page you should see "This page was last edited on 1x June 2026, at xx:xx.

Page was rendered with Parsoid." Ponor (talk) 00:11, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks! Yes, I see "Page was rendered with Parsoid." Seems my opt-in is being respected, so I'm unsure why I got the QuickSurvey asking why I opted out. Strange. – Scyrme (talk/solidarity) 00:39, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

I filled in that survey but it keeps popping up again. Is it keyed to a cookie, instead of a login ID? --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 07:17, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

File revisions missing

File:Evening with Belafone Mouskouri album cover.jpg has non-free images in the history needing to be revision deleted, however there are no thumbnails showing for any of these revisions. Clicking on one of the thumbnail links gives an error message: "File not found: /v1/AUTH_mw/wikipedia-en-local-public.81/archive/8/81/20260520161833%21Evening_with_Belafone_Mouskouri.jpg"

Is this file corrupted? Whpq (talk) 16:19, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Looks like it to me. I'll delete them. If there's ever a need to get a larger version for some purpose, the second upload can be undeleted. No point in using the first one (unless we decide that the current one is still too large), as it's tiny, much tinier than the current revision. Nyttend (talk) 23:47, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Whpq (talk) 23:53, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

This was probably a case covered by T428406. Basically files moved around the 22-24 May appear to have had the old revision files themselves renamed but the database entries not correctly updated. KylieTastic (talk) 09:37, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Needing to delete image

I need to delete the 1st image added to this file: File:Cotton Mary (1999).png Starlighsky (talk) 19:50, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

A bot should automatically take care of this! Chaotic Enby (in solidarity · talk · contribs) 20:02, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

How can I do it? I also need to add that the copyright is only for the article on the film. Starlighsky (talk) 20:03, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Looks like @Nthep already did it! I was under the impression that DatBot automatically did it, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Chaotic Enby (in solidarity · talk · contribs) 20:31, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

It does but there's nothing stops it being done manually and I'd just seen this discussion. Nthep (talk) 20:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks! Chaotic Enby (in solidarity · talk · contribs) 20:57, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Nthep Thanks Starlighsky (talk) 01:10, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

toolforge citer

The toolforge citer for formatting references is not working well; completely down for lengthy periods last night and tonight, and very slow at other times. Anyone know what's wrong with it? - MPF (talk) 22:10, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Working this morning, though slow - MPF (talk) 12:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Need to change email, but the address I registered with is dead

Transferred by me from the Help Desk. Nyttend (talk) 23:44, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Hi! I've been inactive for a long time but would like to edit occasionally. My old email (NawlinWiki@cox.net) is from a provider that no longer provides email, so that address is dead. I can't change it because when I try to, the system prompts me for a 2FA link sent by email to the dead address. Is there a fix for this? Thanks, NawlinWiki (talk) NawlinWiki (talk) 20:04, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Hi, User:NawlinWiki, scroll up a few sections to the "HELP! Caught in a 2FA dilemma" section. Looks like there's an email address you can contact. Nyttend (talk) 23:49, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Also note the process described at m:Help:Account recovery. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 23:55, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Used an authenticator app and was able to change my email! Thanks! NawlinWiki (talk) 04:13, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Links with an apostrophe (') do not work on IOS app talk pages

Any link on a talk page with an apostrophe in it does not work on the IOS mobile app. The link just abruptly fails to load or even worse takes you to a wrong page. Talk:Soviet Union has a link to History of the People's Republic of China, when I click it I get an error message. Talk:Terri Nunn has a link to New Years' Eve, when I click on it I am taken to New Year. The link just stops whenever the apostrophe appears. This phenomenon continues on user talk pages, notably meaning that all of the 2,746 project pages containing the string "administrators'" fail to load or take you to Wikipedia:Administrators. Is this known? I know a lot of effort has been put in with WP:THEYCANTHEARYOU, but for almost every noticeboard, if an editor does hear they will not be directed to the correct location. 1brianm7 (talk) 03:27, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

I can reproduce it in the iOS app. The links work in the above post but not on talk pages. The link to History of the People's Republic of China is on "China" in the 19:07, 3 February 2026 post at Talk:Soviet Union#lead overhaul. A similar iOS app issue for links on user talk pages to user pages with an apostrophe was reported in phab:T308268. It was closed as resolved by ABorba (WMF) but maybe the cause in phab:T308268#8586310 still applies. PrimeHunter (talk) 10:22, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Avoidwrap shrinks font size on mobile

Currently visible on the front page inside {{In the news}} RD, the name Ciarán Ó Lionáird is wrapped in {{avoid wrap}} which gives <span class="avoidwrap" style="display:inline-block;">. On mobile, this name appears in a smaller font size than the other names following / surrounding. (Not reproduced in desktop browser tools responsive emulation). Chowmein 🥡 (talk) 08:09, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

It looks normal to me in Safari on an iPhone and in the mobile version with Firefox on Windows 11. Does it happen at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page?safemode=1? PrimeHunter (talk) 09:39, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, I should have mentioned: desktop mode on mobile. Chowmein 🥡 (talk) 02:37, 16 June 2026 (UTC)

Is there a way to track if particular words are being deleted by IP/all editors?

I am asking because I edit in the contentious topics area of ARBPIA, and I have noticed that there are several edits, mostly from IP editors but also sometimes from editors with accounts, that are just deletions or substitutions of particular terms. For example this edit restoring Palestine just appeared on my timeline. It also happens the other way sometimes, so that Israel is removed. I was wondering if there is a way to track this and maybe create a page where such edits are reviewed. Because sometimes they are not caught. And I have noticed many pages where Palestine or Palestinian in particular should be listed but isn't and suspect it was at some point but simply deleted.

This proposal to track and review could be applied to others terms that are subject to erasure, if others have noticed a similar trend too. Just thought I would ask and see what others think. Tiamut (talk) 09:58, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

This sounds like a question for WP:EFR. An edit filter set to log such edits could catch such edits for human review. I'm not familiar enough with the edit filter requirements to know whether such a filter is likely to be approved however. Trialpears (talk) 11:32, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Tech News: 2026-25

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Weekly highlight

• The Reader Growth team has launched an Image Browsing beta feature on the mobile web version of all Wikipedias. The feature shows an image carousel at the top of articles with 3 or more images. Editors can configure this feature with the following controls: to hide a specific image from a page, either use class=notpageimage excluding it from thumbnail previews, or class=noviewer excluding it from MediaViewer. The carousel can also be disabled from a page entirely, with the magic word __NOMEDIAVIEWERCAROUSEL__. To submit feedback or flag bugs, please visit the project page.
• Wikitables can now be sorted in descending order on the first click by adding data-sort-order="desc" to the header cell. Previously, by default, clicking a column header for the first time sorts it in ascending order. This addition to a Wikitable gives it more control and flexibility, while the default behavior for subsequent clicks remains unchanged. [3]

Updates for editors

• The Article guidance feature is currently being tested with some editors creating new articles on the Simple English, French, and Turkish Wikipedias. The experiment will soon begin on the Arabic and Bangla Wikipedias as well. This feature gives editors community-curated guidance to help them create articles that follow community standards. Experienced editors can continue creating or adapting outlines for specific article types that are commonly created by less experienced contributors. The outlines guide less experienced editors in creating high-quality articles. A quick guide to markups used in outlines can be found on this page. Example outlines that can be adapted and instructions for how to adapt them are on this section of the project page.
• Wikis that wish to replace the "indefinitely" button in Special:Block for temporary accounts (for example, wikis that block temporary users only until account expiration) will be able to do so by creating MediaWiki:ipb-indefinite-expiry-temporary-account with the block duration they want. [4]
• View all 41 community-submitted tasks that were resolved last week.

Updates for technical contributors

• By the end of June, a valid user-agent string will be required for automated dumps downloads from the dumps.wikimedia.org website. Automated requests that provide a generic or empty user-agent will be blocked. This extends enforcement of the long standing user-agent policy. Access to dumps through Wikimedia Cloud Services will not change.
• The roll out of global API rate limits is now complete, with limits enforced across all APIs and at the documented levels for all groups. Bots running in Toolforge/WMCS or with the bot user right on any wiki remain exempt. All bots should continue to follow the documented best practices to avoid being rate limited.
• The API Portal wiki will be read only starting this week (June 15-18). The following week (June 22-25), all API Portal wiki URLs will redirect to Wikimedia APIs on mediawiki.org. Learn more on the project page.
• Detailed code updates later this week: MediaWiki

Meetings and events

• On June 17th at 6pm UTC the WMF will be holding Discord call focused on a code review. We've heard through the Developer Satisfaction Survey that volunteers are struggling with code review and we'd like to discuss these experiences with the goal of surfacing workable solutions. You can join the call via the Wikimedia Community Discord server.
• The Latin American Wikimedia Conference will host a regional hackathon that will bring together the Wikimedia movement’s technical community including developers, system administrators, data scientists, and users with extended rights. Interested technical contributors can apply for a scholarship to participate until June 21 at midnight (Bolivia time, UTC-4).
• Sign up for Wikimania Team Challenges to join this special event. The Team challenges will take place online and in person from July 21 to 22, before Wikimania conference. Everyone is welcome, regardless of skills or Wikimania registration. Teams will work on 10 important challenges supporting the Wikimedia community. For details, visit the Team Challenges page and register there. Registration closes on June 20th at 11pm UTC.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

MediaWiki message delivery 16:46, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

Native Name Module idea

Have an idea for a new module that I'm tentatively calling Module:Infobox Native Name and want to get feedback before I start down this path on whether it is worthwhile.

Background

There are tons of Infoboxes that have the pair of parameters |native_name= & |native_name_lang=. These params are designed to take the name of the subject in a non-English language along with that language's IETF language tag. This in turn will display the native name wrapped in a div like this:<div class="nickname" lang="es">Sofía</div>. What this does NOT do is display to the viewer what language is being used. If you were to use {{Native name|es|Sofía}} on the other hand, you would get: "Sofía (Spanish)". Note that this also includes the html <i lang="es">Sofía</i> so the lang tag is still in the HTML.

The proposal

What I am thinking of doing is creating a module that can be called from Infoboxes and automatically format |native_name= & |native_name_lang= to use {{Native name}}. Now the obvious easier solution would be to just have the Infobox directly call {{Native name}}. The reason that we cannot do this is that for preexisting and well established Infoboxes if we were to just drop in a call to {{Native name}} it would error on tons of pages as any page where |native_name_lang= was not currently a valid IETF language tag would error like this: {{native name|BADCODE|Joe Smith}} → Error {{native name}}: an IETF language tag as parameter {{{1}}} is required (help).

Likewise if a transclusions is calling one of the Native name/Langx templates from |native_name= such as |native_name={{langx|es|Sofia}} you would would calling {{native_name|es|{{langx|es|Sofia}}}} → Spanish: Sofia (Spanish)

All of this to say that there are numerous edge cases that would need to be handled by error checking in a module. The ONLY case where this module should do anything is where:

|native_name=Plaintext name in any language

|native_name_lang=Valid IETF language tag or Language name

Setting aside for a moment the how of doing this, I'm curious if this is a worthwhile endeavor? Is there any objection to having this sort of think done? Would this be helpful or a waste of time? Please share your thoughts! Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 18:08, 15 June 2026 (UTC)