MediaWiki Tutorials — Complete Project-Based Guide

25 Extension Installation

What is MediaWiki? — Try Wikipedia Before You Build One

Learn what a wiki is by exploring Wikipedia, creating an account, and making your first edit. Understand why MediaWiki powers the world's largest encyclopedia before building your own.

Installing MediaWiki — Set Up Your First Wiki on Localhost

Download MediaWiki, install it with XAMPP on your computer, run the web installer, and see your own wiki for the first time. Complete step-by-step with troubleshooting.

Creating Your First MediaWiki Page — Wiki Markup for Beginners

Edit your wiki's Main Page, learn wikitext formatting (bold, italic, headings, lists), and create content that stays. Step-by-step with expected output for every edit.

Linking Pages & Using Categories — Building Your Wiki Structure

Create new pages, link them together with internal links, and organize everything with categories. Turn your single-page wiki into a connected knowledge base.

MediaWiki Templates — Reusable Content Blocks for a Consistent Wiki

Create your first template, add parameters, and build an infobox. Learn how templates keep your wiki pages consistent and save hours of manual formatting.

MediaWiki Namespaces — Talk Pages, User Pages, Help Pages Explained

Learn what namespaces are, how to use Talk pages for discussion, create User pages for profiles, and organize Help documentation. Everything with practical examples.

MediaWiki User Permissions & Security — Managing Access and Preventing Spam

Set up user accounts, configure permission groups, enable CAPTCHA and email verification, and secure your wiki against spam and unauthorized access.

MediaWiki Extensions — Adding VisualEditor, Scribunto, and More

Install and configure essential MediaWiki extensions: VisualEditor for WYSIWYG editing, Scribunto for Lua templates, ConfirmEdit for CAPTCHA, and more.

MediaWiki Backups & Maintenance — Keeping Your Wiki Safe

Back up your MediaWiki database and files, export pages as XML, upgrade to new versions safely, and set up caching for better performance.

MediaWiki Troubleshooting & FAQ — 50+ Common Problems Solved

Complete reference of common MediaWiki errors, problems, and solutions. Covers installation, editing, permissions, performance, and more.

MediaWiki Advanced Wikitext — Tables, Lists, Collapsible Sections, and Magic Words

Master advanced wikitext: sortable tables, nested lists, collapsible sections, magic words, and conditional content. Make your wiki pages dynamic and well-formatted.

MediaWiki Image & Media — File Uploads, Galleries, Thumbnails, and Media Settings

Upload images, create galleries and thumbnails, configure file types and sizes, and manage media files on your MediaWiki wiki with complete control over display settings.

MediaWiki Transclusion — Templates, Parameters, Includeonly, and Noinclude

Master transclusion in MediaWiki: reuse content across pages with template parameters, includeonly/noinclude tags, selective transclusion, and template documentation.

MediaWiki Parser Functions — #if, #switch, #expr, #time, and Conditional Templates

Use MediaWiki parser functions for conditional logic: #if, #switch, #expr for calculations, #time for date formatting, and #ifexist for page existence checks.

MediaWiki Subpages — Parent-Child Pages, Breadcrumbs, and Automatic Navigation

Create subpages in MediaWiki for hierarchical content organization, automatic breadcrumb navigation, and parent-child page relationships with subpage links and templates.

MediaWiki Redirects — Page Moves, Redirects, Double Redirects, and Soft Redirects

Move pages and create redirects in MediaWiki: hard redirects, double redirect detection, soft redirects for external links, and automatic redirect creation on page moves.

MediaWiki Categories — Tree Categories, Category Sorting, and Hidden Categories

Organize wiki pages with categories: create category trees, control page sorting, use hidden categories for internal management, and build a complete category navigation system.

MediaWiki Special Pages — Special:AllPages, Special:RecentChanges, and Custom Special Pages

Navigate MediaWiki special pages: Special:AllPages, Special:RecentChanges, Special:Statistics, Special:Log, and learn how to create custom special pages via extensions.

MediaWiki Watchlist & Recent Changes — Monitoring, Patrol, and Email Notifications

Monitor wiki activity with watchlists and recent changes: add pages to your watchlist, patrol edits, configure email notifications, and manage notification preferences.

MediaWiki User Groups — Sysop, Bureaucrat, Bot, Custom Groups, and Permissions

Create and manage user groups in MediaWiki: sysop, bureaucrat, bot, custom groups, group permissions, and best practices for assigning roles to wiki users.

MediaWiki User Rights — Fine-Grained Permissions, Blocking, and User Rights Management

Manage user rights in MediaWiki: fine-grained permissions, blocking users, IP range blocks, partial blocks, and the Special:UserRights interface for user management.

MediaWiki Email & Notifications — Email Confirmation, Echo Notifications, and Digest Settings

Configure email and notification systems in MediaWiki: email confirmation, Echo extension notifications, web notifications, email digests, and preference configurations.

MediaWiki Bots & Automation — Pywikibot, AutoWikiBrowser, and Bot Passwords

Automate wiki tasks with bots in MediaWiki: Pywikibot framework, AutoWikiBrowser for Windows, bot passwords for API access, and automated maintenance scripts.

MediaWiki User Preferences & Skins — Custom CSS, Preference Settings, and Skin Selection

Customize the MediaWiki user experience: preference settings, skin selection (Vector, Modern, MonoBook), custom CSS and JS, and per-user configuration options.

Semantic MediaWiki — Structured Data, Properties, and Inline Queries

Add structured data to MediaWiki with Semantic MediaWiki: define properties, annotate pages with typed data, run inline queries, and build dynamic content pages.

MediaWiki VisualEditor & WYSIWYG — Parsoid, VE Configuration, and Editor Integration

Install and configure VisualEditor for MediaWiki: Parsoid setup, VE toolbar customization, integration with existing extensions, and troubleshooting common VE issues.

MediaWiki Scribunto & Lua — Lua Modules, Scribunto Scripting, and Dynamic Templates

Write Lua modules for MediaWiki with Scribunto: create reusable Lua scripts, access wiki data, build dynamic templates, and handle complex logic beyond wikitext.

MediaWiki Cite & References — Footnotes, Citation Templates, and CiteThisPage

Add citations and references to MediaWiki: footnotes with the Cite extension, reusable citations, citation templates, and the CiteThisPage extension for citation export.

MediaWiki Interwiki Links — Interwiki Prefixes, Database Config, and Wikimedia Projects

Create cross-wiki shortcuts with interwiki links in MediaWiki: configure interwiki prefixes in the database, link to Wikimedia projects, manage custom prefixes for external wikis.

MediaWiki Wiki Farms — Multiple Wikis, Shared Code, and Farm Extensions

Set up a MediaWiki farm: run multiple wikis from one codebase, share extensions and skins, configure separate databases, and use farm management extensions.

MediaWiki Content Translation — Translate Extension, Page Translation Workflow, and Language Management

Translate wiki content with the Translate extension: mark pages for translation, manage translation units, track completion, and build a multilingual documentation system.

MediaWiki Import & Export — XML Export, Page Migration, and Interwiki Import

Migrate pages between MediaWiki wikis: XML export and import, interwiki import from remote wikis, handling revisions, images, templates, and user accounts during migration.

MediaWiki REST API — Action API, Query Modules, Authentication, and API Usage

Access MediaWiki programmatically: Action API, REST API, query modules for reading and writing data, token-based authentication, and building API-powered applications.

MediaWiki Database Maintenance — Maintenance Scripts, update.php, and Rebuilding Indexes

Maintain the MediaWiki database: run maintenance scripts, update.php for schema upgrades, rebuild indexes, repair tables, and keep your wiki database healthy.

MediaWiki Logging & Monitoring — Log Types, Log Search, and Special:Log

Monitor MediaWiki activity through logging: Special:Log for viewing all logs, log types (delete, block, protect, upload), log search, custom log entries, and log analysis.

MediaWiki Backup & Restore — XML Dumps, Database Backups, and File Backups

Back up and restore MediaWiki: XML dumps of pages, full database backups, file backups, automated backup scripts, and complete disaster recovery procedures.

MediaWiki Performance Tuning — Caching (FileCache, Redis), JobQueue, and Profiling

Optimize MediaWiki performance: configure FileCache and Redis caching, manage the JobQueue, enable profiling, use CDN and object caching, and reduce page load times.

MediaWiki Upgrading — Version Compatibility, Upgrade Procedure, Testing, and Rollback

Upgrade MediaWiki safely: check version compatibility, follow the upgrade procedure, test before deploying, handle extensions, and prepare rollback strategies.

MediaWiki Security — Hardening, .htaccess, CSP, XSS Prevention, and CAPTCHA

Harden MediaWiki against attacks: .htaccess protection, Content Security Policy, XSS prevention, CSRF tokens, CAPTCHA configuration, and security best practices.