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🚀 Launched: Attribution API (Beta) is now available! 🚀
by Halley Coplin 20 Apr '26

20 Apr '26

Good news, everyone! A new Attribution API <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Attribution_API> module is now available as a beta <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_APIs/Stability_policy> on all Wikimedia Foundation hosted wiki projects. The purpose of this API is to make it easier to appropriately attribute Wikimedia project content when it’s presented or referenced in off-wiki contexts. This API directly supports the Wikimedia Attribution Framework <https://wikimedia-attribution.toolforge.org/>, which provides specific guidelines for how to appropriately attribute content across different reuse scenarios and form factors. What does it do? The Attribution API <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Attribution_API>makes it easy to follow the guidelines outlined in the Wikimedia Attribution Framework <https://wikimedia-attribution.toolforge.org/>. The API provides the information required by each attribution signal in a single, well-structured and easy-to-use endpoint. Although the recommended attribution information was largely already available through existing APIs, this approach significantly simplifies the process for developers, which we believe will make it more likely that developers will follow the recommended standards. Who is it for? Appropriate attribution is critical for all reuse scenarios where Wikimedia content will be presented off-wiki, as it ensures that the content is fairly credited and that external readers remain aware of the Wikimedia projects and communities it came from. This means that if you make games, offer search services, use project content for research, build alternative reader experiences, or contribute to anything else happening off-wiki, you probably need to properly attribute Wikimedia content! This specific API is also primarily intended for mission-supporting users and use cases. Wikimedia Enterprise will offer similar information in their structured responses for scaled commercial reuse. How do I participate? We encourage everyone to try out the endpoints and give us your feedback on the project discussion page <https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Attribution_AP>! Additionally, if you discover what you think might be a bug, please feel free to file an issue directly to the MediaWiki Interfaces Phabricator board <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/project/view/6931/>. Major changes will minimally be announced on the project page <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Attribution_API>. If you are interested in this capability, we recommend that you add the page to your watchlist to stay informed with the latest changes and calls for targeted feedback. Some of these changes may also be announced here or through Tech News, but the nature of a beta does not guarantee broad communication of every change. What should I expect? This API is available on all Wikimedia projects, and is initially being released as a beta <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_APIs/Stability_policy>. Reference documentation can be found in the REST API sandbox <https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=Special:RestSandbox&api=attribu…> on any Wikimedia wiki (such as the REST API sandbox on English Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?api=attribution.v0-beta&title=Special%…>). Although available everywhere, the Attribution API only explicitly supports Wikipedia articles and media files hosted through either Wikipedia or Commons. We need your help testing and shaping additional project and content types to help inform how the information should be structured. We are continuing to iterate and refine the API. Although we expect the interface itself to remain relatively stable, the specific returned values are subject to change over time. Breaking changes to adjust the interface or response structures may also occur during the beta period as we respond to emerging feedback and feature requests. Following the beta period, we will elevate the API to a stable v1. This will be done after we are satisfied with meeting user expectations and when all high priority issues are resolved. Although there is not yet a firm date for when we will elevate this experience, we expect it to happen around September 2026, depending on the nature of requests that arise during the beta period. Additional communications will happen closer to the stable version launch date to ensure the community is aware of the upcoming change. Please feel free to reach out directly here or post on the project discussion page <https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Attribution_AP> if you have any questions, comments or concerns! We look forward to your feedback and support in helping us refine this API, as well as the beta process itself. Thanks, and happy attribution! Halley *Halley Coplin* (she/her) Sr. Product Manager, MediaWiki Interfaces Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>

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Standardisation of thumbnail sizes
by Amir Sarabadani 20 Apr '26

20 Apr '26

Thumbnails shown on-wiki are already quantized to a set of standard sizes (if a non-standard size is requested, the next-larger standard size is used, and scaled to the requested size by the browser). We have recently extended the set of standard sizes, and are now moving to only allow standard sizes to be used. Regular editing and viewing will not be impacted by this change at all. * What isn't changing? Thumbnails served on wiki (via the "thumb" argument to File:, and via the Media API) will continue to behave as they do now - if you request a non-standard size, the next-larger standard size will be provided, and scaled in-browser if appropriate. * What is changing? Requests for non-standard thumbnail sizes using other methods (e.g. constructing an upload.wikimedia.org URL with a non-standard thumbnail size) will be blocked by our CDN. These are already being rate-limited for requests that we assess are not coming from a web-browser. During this quarter, we will be broadening the scope of the existing rate-limiting and making it increasingly strict, with the aim being to refuse such requests entirely by the end of March 2026. * Why are WMF doing this? Historically, we have generated thumbnails of whatever size was requested; this has been a drain on our thumbnailing infrastructure and cost us in network bandwidth and storage volume. With the increasing prevalence of highly aggressive scrapers, this has become an intolerable burden on our network, infrastructure, and staff, who have spent a lot of time over the holiday period working hard to keep the wikis available for people to read in the face of automated abuse. * What do I need to do? Most likely, nothing: we have already tracked down some of the more widely-deployed sources of nonstandard thumbnail requests (e.g. Popups extension) and fixed them. If you own or operate something that requests thumbnails by constructing a thumbnail URI directly, then now is the time to either use the Media API instead or to make sure you only request standard thumbnail sizes. * What are the standard thumbnail sizes? They are: 20px, 40px, 60px, 120px, 250px, 330px, 500px, 960px, 1280px, 1920px, 3840px They are defined in config as $wgThumbnailSteps - https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/plugins/gitiles/operations/mediawiki-config/… And also documented on MetaWiki - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Common_thumbnail_sizes To help fix the existing instances, please see https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T414805 for search-links, and examples of how to fix them. Best -- *Amir Sarabadani (he/him)* Staff Database Architect Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>

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Tech News 2026 - Issue 17
by Sandister Tei 20 Apr '26

20 Apr '26

Latest *tech news <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News>* from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/17> are available. *Weekly highlight* - After two years of development, Improved Syntax Highlighting <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:CodeMirror>, also known as CodeMirror 6 <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Extension:CodeMirror>, is to be promoted out of beta on Tuesday, April 21. It brings better code and wikitext readability, reduction in typing errors, and other benefits <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:CodeMirror> to all users of the standard syntax highlighter. A huge thank you to volunteer Bhsd <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/p/Bhsd/> who developed many of the new features, including code folding <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:CodeMirror…> , autocompletion <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:CodeMirror…>, and linting <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:CodeMirror…> . [1] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T259059> - A major update to the Wikipedia app for iOS is now rolling out, redesigning the interface to align with Apple's latest "Liquid Glass" visual design. Download the latest version <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wikipedia/id324715238> and explore the update. *Updates for editors* - Reading lists <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Readers/Reader_Experience…> is a feature which allows readers to save articles to a list for reading later. This feature is now in beta on Arabic, French, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Chinese Wikipedias and by default for all new accounts on all Wikipedias. - An experiment which explores extending Page Previews to mobile web <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Readers/Reader_Growth/Mob…> will be launched in the week of April 20 on Arabic, English, French, Italian, Polish, and Vietnamese Wikipedias. Page Previews are pop-ups that display a thumbnail, lead paragraph, and a link to open the full article of a blue link, thereby improving content discovery. The feature is already available on desktop and in the apps. Read more about this experiment and others <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/List_of_experiments_in_P…> . - On several wikis, logged-in editors who haven't confirmed their email addresses <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Email_confirmation> can now see a banner encouraging them to do so. Having the email address confirmed allows a user to restore access to the account if they lose it. Learn more <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Product_Safety_and_Integr…> . [2] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T421366> - View all 15 community-submitted tasks that were resolved last week <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Recently_resol…>. For example, an issue where editing very large wiki pages in the 2017 wikitext editor caused slow loading, preview and scrolling lag, and performance issues when selecting, cutting, or pasting content, has now been fixed. [3] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T184857> *Updates for technical contributors* - As part of the promotion of CodeMirror <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:CodeMirror> from a beta feature, all users will use CodeMirror <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Extension:CodeMirror> instead of CodeEditor <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Extension:CodeEditor> for syntax highlighting when editing JavaScript, CSS, JSON, Vue and Lua content pages. [4] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T419332> - The mirrors.wikimedia.org service for Debian and Ubuntu users will sunset and stop working on May 15. The resources for the service will be replaced with new and better options. Some users may need to switch to a different server which should take about a minute. You can read more <https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org/…> . [5] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T416707> - The image and oldimage table will be removed from wikireplicas <https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Wiki_Replicas>. If your tools or queries access image or oldimage directly, please update them to use the file and filerevision table before 28 May. [6] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T28741> - Following the recent implementation of global API rate limits on unidentified traffic, the Wikimedia Foundation will continue efforts to ensure fair use of infrastructure <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/MediaWiki_Product_Insight…> by applying global limits to identified API traffic beginning the last week of April. These limits are intentionally set as high as possible to minimise impact on the community. Bots running in Toolforge/WMCS or with the bot user right on any wiki should not be affected for now. However, all developers are advised to follow updated best practices. For more information, see Wikimedia APIs/Rate limits <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits> and Frequently Asked Questions <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limit…> . - The Attribution API <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Attribution_API> is now available as a beta <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Stability_…>. The API fetches information for crediting Wikimedia articles and media files wherever they are used. Reference documentation is available through the REST Sandbox special page available on all Wikimedia wikis (such as the REST sandbox on English Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?api=attribution.v0-beta&title=Special%…>). Share your feedback on the project talk page <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:Attribution_API>. - There is no new MediaWiki version this week. *Tech news <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News> prepared by Tech News writers <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Writers> and posted by bot <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki_message_d…> • Contribute <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News#contribute> • Translate <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/17> • Get help <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech> • Give feedback <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Tech/News> • Subscribe or unsubscribe <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_message_delivery/Targets/Tech_ambass…>.*

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Invitation - Global GLAM Call 28 April
by Connor Benedict 20 Apr '26

20 Apr '26

Hello! This is a reminder that next week 28 April is the monthly Global GLAM Call. The topics include AI-Bridges, the connection between AI tools and platforms and cultural heritage collections, CommonsDB, a registry of public domain and open access materials, as well as info about partnerships in the ESEAP and SA regions! There will of course also be time for general discussion and questions. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Global_GLAM_call_2026-04-28 Don’t forget to register ahead of time. Hope to see you online! Best, Connor

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Fwd: [WikimediaMobile] Commons Android app: v6.5.0 is live!
by Pine W 19 Apr '26

19 Apr '26

Forward Pine🌲 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ritika Pahwa via Mobile-l <mobile-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Date: Sun, Apr 19, 2026 at 1:44 AM Subject: [WikimediaMobile] Commons Android app: v6.5.0 is live! To: <commons-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, <mobile-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Hi everyone, We are thrilled to announce that v6.5.0 is live on Google Play! What's new? 🚀 - Redesigned license selection for a simpler, more intuitive experience - Users can now depictions directly from an interactive map view during uploads - Upload HEIC images directly from supported devices without conversion - Deletion requests now require specific reasons, reducing vague or invalid nominations - Bug fixes and security improvements Please feel free to test the latest changes and report any issues you face with v6.5.0 at https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons/issues. Best, Ritika _______________________________________________ Mobile-l mailing list -- mobile-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe send an email to mobile-l-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org

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Etherpad cleanup, save your pads now!
by Jelto Wodstrcil 19 Apr '26

19 Apr '26

Hello everyone If you don't use etherpad, you can ignore this message. We will *delete all pads after 1st March 2026*! If you need any of your pads, please make a local backup. We will not be able to recover the data after 1st March. The pad cleanup helps to reduce the size of the database and the footprint on our infrastructure. After the cleanup, etherpad can still be used for real-time collaboration but please do not expect long term storage. Additional cleanups might happen after that unannounced. See also https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T415237 for more information. Greetings and thank you Jelto

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mirrors.wikimedia.org will be sunset on May 15
by Moritz Mühlenhoff 16 Apr '26

16 Apr '26

What happens mirrors.wikimedia.org will be sunset on May 15. What do I need to do? Probably nothing. This is not a widely used service. If you use the service via the Debian mirror rotation one of the many other servers will take over. If you have actively configured mirrors.wikimedia.org in your APT configuration on Debian/Ubuntu (desktop, virtual machine or server) you need to switch to a different server. This shouldn’t take more than a minute. You can find alternatives on https://www.debian.org/mirror/list and https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+cdmirrors. If you use Windows or Mac you will not be affected. Why The usefulness of this service has diminished over time. Since the initial creation Debian has built a CDN (deb.debian.org) to provide Debian packages and most systems use it today for more fine-grained geographical access and overall better resiliency. The service is not behind the Wikimedia CDN which provides all the countermeasures to aggressive scraping. Sometimes AI scrapers degrade the service temporarily and moving it behind the CDN would involve substantial engineering efforts. The hardware running the mirror server is at its estimated lifetime and would need to be replaced. Since it is no longer needed the way it was when it was created, we can be of more use to the Wikimedia movement by spending these resources elsewhere. Where can I follow the process? This Phabricator ticket: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T416707 Cheers, Moritz

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AI agents editing Wikipedia?
by Strainu 16 Apr '26

16 Apr '26

Hi all, I am asking this question here as I am interesting in the technical part of it. *Have you encountered/heard of AI agents who edit Wikipedia like a human?* I recently saw a significant number of new article creations through VE with a very peculiar edit description. The exact text varies a bit, but the gist is the same: an emphasis on the existence of sources (although the text does not always have them). I'm 99% sure that AI has been used for writing the text and the similar description made me think of automation. However, I would have expected an agent to try and use the API to publish the article, so the VE tag confused me, thus my question. As a follow up question, if indeed there is an agent out there using VE to edit, would it be possible to detect it? Thanks, Strainu

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Correction: MediaWiki 1.46-alpha will be branched as a beta on 21st April 2026
by Mateus Santos 14 Apr '26

14 Apr '26

Hey all, apologies for the previous email with incorrect dates and title. This is a quick note to highlight that in the week of 21st of April 2026, the REL1_46 branch will be created for MediaWiki core and each of the extensions and skins in Wikimedia git, with some (the 'tarball') included as sub-modules of MediaWiki itself[0]. This is the first step in the release process for MediaWiki 1.46, which should be out in June 2026, approximately six months after MediaWiki 1.45. The branches will reflect the code as of the last 'alpha' branch for the release, 1.46.0-wmf.25, which will be deployed to Wikimedia wikis in the week beginning 21 April 2026 for MediaWiki itself and those extensions and skins available there. After that point, patches that land in the main development branch of MediaWiki and its bundled extensions and skins will be instead be slated for the MediaWiki 1.47 release unless specifically backported[1]. If you are working on a new feature that you wish to land for the release, you now have a few days to finish your work and land it in the development branch; feature changes should not be backported except in an urgent case. If your work might not be complete in time, and yet should block release for everyone else, please file a task against the `mw-1.46-release` project on Phabricator.[2] If you have tickets that are already tagged for `mw-1.46-release`, please finish them, untag them, or reach out to get them resolved in the next few weeks. We hope to issue the first release candidate, 1.46.0-rc.0, two weeks after the branch point, and if all goes well, to release MediaWiki 1.46.0 a few weeks after that in the beginning of June. [0]: <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Bundled_extensions_and_skins> [1]: <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Backporting_fixes> [2]: <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/mw-1.46-release/>

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MediaWiki 1.45-alpha will be branched as a beta on 21st April 2026
by Mateus Santos 14 Apr '26

14 Apr '26

Hey all, This is a quick note to highlight that in the week of 21st of April 2026, the REL1_46 branch will be created for MediaWiki core and each of the extensions and skins in Wikimedia git, with some (the 'tarball') included as sub-modules of MediaWiki itself[0]. This is the first step in the release process for MediaWiki 1.46, which should be out in June 2024, approximately six months after MediaWiki 1.45. The branches will reflect the code as of the last 'alpha' branch for the release, 1.46.0-wmf.25, which will be deployed to Wikimedia wikis in the week beginning 21 April 2024 for MediaWiki itself and those extensions and skins available there. After that point, patches that land in the main development branch of MediaWiki and its bundled extensions and skins will be instead be slated for the MediaWiki 1.47 release unless specifically backported[1]. If you are working on a new feature that you wish to land for the release, you now have a few days to finish your work and land it in the development branch; feature changes should not be backported except in an urgent case. If your work might not be complete in time, and yet should block release for everyone else, please file a task against the `mw-1.46-release` project on Phabricator.[2] If you have tickets that are already tagged for `mw-1.46-release`, please finish them, untag them, or reach out to get them resolved in the next few weeks. We hope to issue the first release candidate, 1.46.0-rc.0, two weeks after the branch point, and if all goes well, to release MediaWiki 1.46.0 a few weeks after that in the beginning of June. [0]: <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Bundled_extensions_and_skins> [1]: <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Backporting_fixes> [2]: <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/mw-1.46-release/>

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