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A place to talk about tech related to a Wikimedia wiki.

Have a technical wiki question? Ask here. This can include, for example:

• requests for new tools, scripts, and bots;
• help with CSS or JavaScript;
• API help;
• and data collection help (including database queries).

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We have mediawiki 1.24.2 on CentOS 7 machine. Now we need to migrate to a Rocky 9 machine. What's the migrate steps?

We have mediawiki 1.24.2 on CentOS 7 machine. Now we need to migrate to a Rocky 9 machine. What's the migrate steps? Step2024 (talk) 16:17, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

@Step2024: See the banner above: "Tech-related questions about third-party wikis should be asked at mw:Project:Support desk." See mw:Manual:Upgrading. --AKlapper (WMF) (talk) 17:35, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

Pending changes

Hi, is it possible to protect a page with pending changes? I’m working on https://ww2airops.miraheze.org/wiki/List_of_Air_Operations_in_September_1939 but can only semi or fully protect the page. Is pending changes an option and if so how to I do it? (The account name is different because miraheze wouldn’t let me use this one for some reason). Thanks. REDMAN 2019 (talk) 13:11, 13 August 2024 (UTC)

@REDMAN 2019: Hi, see above: Tech-related questions about third-party wikis should be asked at mw:Project:Support desk. We do not run Miraheze wikis. --AKlapper (WMF) (talk) 13:15, 13 August 2024 (UTC)

Links to mediawiki pages redirects to main mediawiki site

Hi, we are in the process to update our mediawiki to the latest release, however when jumping to 1.35 from 1.27 we noticed that when trying to access some pages as http://servename/mediawiki/index.php/Company_GmbH_Co._KG will cause a 301 Moved Permanently redirection to http://servename/mediawiki/index.php/mainsite.

In 1.42 the same is happening.

Where is this redirection coming from and how to avoid it?

Noindicaotro (talk) 06:55, 15 August 2024 (UTC)

@Noindicaotro: Hi, see above: Tech-related questions about third-party wikis should be asked at mw:Project:Support desk. --AKlapper (WMF) (talk) 08:25, 15 August 2024 (UTC)

Now I am getting this message at mw:Project:Support desk: "This board is protected. Only autoconfirmed users can participate. Reason: Vandalism. High traffic page." Noindicaotro (talk) 08:55, 15 August 2024 (UTC)

Getting extra letters with javascript

Hello, I would like to know what are the limitations to get custom letter on keyboard combination, e.g. ō on alt+q or ô on ctrl+alt+1, using common.js. I tried and it works with combination alt+shift well, but somehow most another combinations, like shift+q, doesnt worked (the text field losted focus and console printed only the numbers 1 and 2).

Motivation: as administrator of a small wikipedia I would like to provide a user friendly solution to use our custom alphabet. Alternative solutions used so far are copy-pasting or usage of autohotkey, but it requires installation of external software and configuration, which makes the entry threshold to the project very high, especially for older people, which our minority language project targets.

Thank you in advance Krol111 (talk) 22:41, 15 August 2024 (UTC)

@Krol111: In my understanding that's what the Input Method Configuration of mw:Universal Language Selector is supposed to solve, instead of fiddling with custom local JavaScript. mw:Wikimedia Language and Product Localization#Follow our work and connect with us might be able to provide some additional support. --AKlapper (WMF) (talk) 04:36, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

@Krol111, I can make a nicely-managed Silesian keyboard for you.

Combinations with Alt and Ctrl are not very reliable in JavaScript, so I recommend using what we successfully used in many other languages: typing a letter and then typing ~ (tilde) and a character that looks similar to the diacritic. For example:

• ŏ <- o~(
• ō <- o~-
• ô <- o~^
• õ <- o~{
• ã <- a~{
• ů <- ~u

Comments:

• ů is simply ~u because it's the only diacritic on u, unlike o, which has several diacritics.
• The tilde on õ and ã are with { because the tilde itself is already used for something else. It's a bit weird, but I see that you don't use these letters often anyway, so I hope it's not a big deal.
• I recommended ( for ŏ, but you can choose something else.

The code for this is on GitHub: https://github.com/wikimedia/jquery.ime

Some time after it's merged on GitHub, it will be deployed on Wikipedia. (Usually it takes up to two weeks.)

I also recommend reading mw:Manual:Adding_and_removing_languages#jquery.ime.

Every new addition of an input method (also known as keyboard mapping) must include:

1. The rules themselves, under rules/
2. Tests, in the fixtures files under tests/
3. Language and input method registration in src/jquery.ime.inputmethods.js

Recent example: https://github.com/wikimedia/jquery.ime/pull/786/files

Also, it would be nice if you could create a mw:Phabricator task to track this work.

Good luck, and let me know if you need more help! Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 12:52, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Thank you both for your time and great instruction! Typing with tilde is a great idea. In the next days I will try to implement it. For now, I am going to write an Phabricator ticket. See you! Krol111 (talk) 15:10, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Fehler [e9012b466b1436590a45e549 ]Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBQueryError

Guten Tag,

ich habe die Extension IC Forms Installiert, und bereits ein Formular angelegt, man kann es ausfüllen, allerdings kann dies nicht gesendet werde, in den Spezialseiten der Extension kommt der oben genannte Fehler, ich habe mich damit beschäftigt und sämtliche Datenbanken geprüft, ein Update Funktioniert nicht, auch eine neu Instalations des ganzen Systems hat nicht geklappt, hat jeman eine idee oder eine Lösung? DasSvenson (talk) 14:52, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Please see the notice at the top of this page. We do not provide support for non-Wikimedia wikis here. — JJMC89 (T·C) 14:54, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Es IST ein Wikimedia Wiki DasSvenson (talk) 15:10, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

@DasSvenson: It isn't. Maybe you installed the MediaWiki software, but on your own server. It's not a server run by Wikimedia so it is not a Wikimedia wiki. --AKlapper (WMF) (talk) 15:25, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

numbers in Wikidata

Screenshot meta2

Screenshot commons

Screenshot wikidata

Screenshot meta

When browsing Wikidata in Arabic, I find that the numbers are written in Indian numerals instead of Arabic numerals (123). Is it possible to change this option, and in other projects as well (Commons, for example)? Mohammed Qays (talk) 09:53, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

Wikidata-specific problems can be reported to d:Wikidata:Report a technical problem. I think this one is already in the works and should be announced soon: phab:T338115. --Matěj Suchánek (talk) 14:38, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

@Matěj Suchánek The issue is related to the latest changes, some features of WikiData, and even in Meta and MediaWiki. Mohammed Qays (talk) 14:49, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

latest changes, some features What changes? What features? --Matěj Suchánek (talk) 17:00, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

@Matěj Suchánek Can you see the images and the red color and why these appear with these numbers even though Arabic numbers are the default numbers for Meta and the rest of the projects? Mohammed Qays (talk) 17:28, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

I can. In fact, I misread your original complaint. I thought you were expecting Indo-Arabic numerals when the interface is in Arabic as that is, in my opinion, the expected behavior. --Matěj Suchánek (talk) 10:10, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

@Matěj Suchánek These are Arabic numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) and these are Indian (٠، ١، ٢، ٣، ٤، ٥، ٦، ٧، ٨، ٩).

We need to change it to Arabic as it currently exists in Arabic Wikipedia. Mohammed Qays (talk) 10:17, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Hi Mohammed Qays, The only solution I know of is to change that from the MessagesAr.php file ($digitTransformTable array), This will affect all wikis that use MediaWiki, so I suggest opening a vote on this. Thanks-- Gerges (talk) 12:54, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

Thank you @Gerges I ask the colleagues to help where I can open a vote on these amendments; @Matěj Suchánek Mohammed Qays (talk) 13:08, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

@Matěj Suchánek Is there a solution to this problem? Mohammed Qays (talk) 08:06, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Gerges seems to have outlined one. I'm not sure, though. I am having trouble understanding what the actual problem is and whether it is just a matter of personal preference. --Matěj Suchánek (talk) 17:22, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

‏Maybe @Michel Bakni can explain the idea to you better. Mohammed Qays (talk) 17:58, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

Hello @Matěj Suchánek,

This is a solution to a problem and not a personal preference. There is a large Arabic population of north Africa, who can not read numbers written with Indian characters. That is why we strictly use Arabic numbers in Arabic Wikipedia, and not because it is Arabic.

Today in Wikidata, some numbers are shown in Indian characters, making the interface useless for many Arabic people. It is essential to unify the numbers used to writing numbers, and we can keep the door open for people to prefer Indian characters to develop their own add-ons. Michel Bakni (talk) 10:40, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Thank you, @Michel Bakni.

There is a large Arabic population of north Africa, who can not read numbers written with Indian characters.

Now this explains a lot and serves well as a description of the general problem.

I think this general problem is already known, based on existing tasks phab:T368193, phab:T300983, phab:T268632, phab:T117215, phab:T64725 and probably more in Phabricator. The solution will likely need to be language-based, rather than project-based, since Wikidata (Commons, Meta...) is a multilingual project, and coordinated with the WMF Language team.

we strictly use Arabic numbers in Arabic Wikipedia

Knowing how this was achieved could help.

--Matěj Suchánek (talk) 17:17, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

@Matěj Suchánek: This is a common problem in Arabic Wikipedia, and the last time it was addressed was in July 2024, when the proposition was to change Arabic numbers and use Indian numbers instead. The summary was to keep using the Arabic numbers because many people from North Africa, who added {{oppose}}, complained in the discussion that they could not understand Indian numbers, you can see the discussion here. If you dig more in the Archive you can find that it is a frequent issue. Michel Bakni (talk) 19:34, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Commons Main Page not loading with dark mode css

I pushed some dark mode fixes to c:Template:Main Page Template/styles.css. These changes were reflected in other language versions of the Main Page such as c:முதற் பக்கம் (Tamil), but not in c:Main Page itself. I tried purging, and c:User:Matrix/sandbox4 has the exact same wikitext yet it works with dark mode. I don't have any Commons/global css, and I've checked c:MediaWiki:Common.css, but I can't find a reason why.

Note: To get dark mode on Commons, first change skin to Vector 2022, then go to Settings > Beta features and turn on Accessibility features. Dark mode should be on the right sidebar. —Matrix (_{user page} ^{(@ commons)} - _talk?) 10:41, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

@Matrix: There are some overly specific night mode styles that apply to the main page; see mw:Extension:WikimediaMessages#Disabling styles for how to get rid of them, you need to opt out of theme-night-mainpage. (On Commons, the situation is complicated by the fact that whether a page counts as the main page depends on the UI language. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=முதற்_பக்கம்&uselang=en indeed works as you expect, but https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=முதற்_பக்கம்&uselang=ta doesn’t. Which is yet another reason to get rid of these styles on Commons.) —Tacsipacsi (talk) 00:00, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Thank you, I've gone ahead and disabled the style —Matrix (_{user page} ^{(@ commons)} - _talk?) 13:46, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Where can I view the complete list of Newcomer task articles?

A brand new editor at en-wiki (registered yesterday) has 28 article edits, 23 reverted, of which 22 are tagged Newcomer task. In order to help the newbie in optimal fashion, I need to know what articles are on the list, for each difficulty level (presumably, these were all the easiest level). Where can I view the complete list of articles that might be suggested as a Newcomer task? Ideal would be a page (or wikitable) updated daily or weekly, with the top one thousand articles for each level. Alternatively, if the information is stored in a db table somewhere, I am fine if you just link the id of a Quarry query I can run to retrieve an article list.

If these are tailored per user in some fashion, it would be great to have a tool where I could enter the id of an arbitrary user, and view the newcomer tasks that are being proposed to them. Also very useful would be a search box, where I could type in the name of one article, and it would return either boolean, or better, level number, if it was on one of the lists. (Note: the edit notice at mw:Help talk:Growth/Tools/Newcomer Tasks appears to discourage questions there, and links here for support instead; hence the choice of venue.) Thanks, Mathglot (talk) 04:26, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

@Mathglot Sorry to hear that Newcomer tasks didn't seem to provide this new editor with the help they needed. And thanks for taking the time to look into this issue further!

The easiest way to see Newcomer tasks is to enable the Newcomer Homepage via: Special:Preferences. Check the box next to "Display newcomer homepage", save, and then visit: Special:Homepage. From the newcomer perspective "Newcomer tasks" are called "Suggested Edits". However, this will provide you with a view of the feed of Suggested Edits, not a list of articles that may be surfaced as a Suggested Edit. The current default tasks for new editors on English Wikipedia are the "Copyedit" task and the "Add links between articles" task. So I suppose you can create an approximate list based on the maintenance templates identified here: Special:CommunityConfiguration/GrowthSuggestedEdits.

English Wikipedia Admins can also adjust those templates and other settings as needed.

You can also see a broad overview of Suggested Edit task counts here: Special:NewcomerTasksInfo, but I don't think that's giving you the info you are looking for.

Also very useful would be a search box, where I could type in the name of one article, and it would return either boolean, or better, level number, if it was on one of the lists.

I agree. I don't think this is currently possible, but perhaps this is something we should consider supporting in the future. I'll chat with engineers about this idea. KStoller-WMF (talk) 21:02, 30 August 2024 (UTC)

Android development

I would like to develop an app that, when on my wiki a notification is received, pushes the notification to my Android device. Please see the discussion in mw:Topic:Ybc3xn63mxmx7v0t. Thanks. Gryllida 05:31, 3 September 2024 (UTC)