// sorry for cross-posting

The FileExporter will soon be released as a beta feature to all wikis. The planned deployment date is January 16.

Some background: Files from local wikis should be transferred to Wikimedia Commons if their license allows it. This way, they can be used by all wikis. But if you wanted to import a local file to Commons in the past, you couldn’t properly transfer its file and page history. It was a wish from a survey of the German-speaking communities to find a solution to this problem.

Now, the FileExporter makes it possible to import a file from a local wiki to Wikimedia Commons, while keeping its history intact. A first version has already been a beta feature on a few first wikis since June 2018. [1] Since then, bugs were fixed and features were added.

If you’re interested in importing local files, please give the feature a try. Even though it’s a beta feature, you can use it for real file imports. Please note that in order to get started, you need to

1. activate the beta feature “FileExporter” on your wiki [2], and

2. make sure your wiki has a proper configuration file. Configuration files are maintained by each wiki's community. They define, among other things, whether a file can be exported. Exports from wikis without a configuration file are blocked. Find more more information in the documentation. [3]

We’re looking forward to your feedback on the central feedback page! [4] A big thanks to everyone who gave feedback so far.

If you wish to learn more about the project, have a look at the page of the wish. [5]

For the Technical Wishes team,

Johanna

[1] deployment plan: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons#Deployment_plan

[2] go to Preferences > Beta features, e.g. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures

[3] documentation on configuration files: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons/Configuration_file_documentation

[4] central feedback page: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help_talk:Extension:FileImporter

[5] project page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons