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What is MediaWiki?
MediaWiki is a free, open-source wiki platform for collecting and organising knowledge and publishing it to readers. It is the software behind Wikipedia and this site, and it is used by tens of thousands of websites, companies and organisations. It is multilingual, extensible and customisable, and free of charge.
What it is good at
- Collaborative writing and editing: many people can work on the same pages, with a public edit history.
- Structured knowledge: categories, links and templates help organise large bodies of content.
- Extensibility: extra features are added through extensions.
- Multilingual content: pages and interfaces can be translated.
What it is not
- Not a general-purpose website builder or a design-first CMS; its strength is text-heavy, interlinked content.
- Not a hosted service by itself. You install and run it, or arrange hosting.
Who uses it
- Communities and organisations building internal or public knowledge bases.
- Documentation teams that need version history and discussion pages.
- Developers who want to extend the platform with custom features.
A quick comparison
| Need | MediaWiki fits | A simpler tool may fit better |
|---|---|---|
| Public wiki with edit history | Yes | If you only need a few static pages, a static site is lighter |
| Many editors, permissions, discussion | Yes | Small teams may prefer a hosted wiki or shared docs |
| Custom features and APIs | Yes, via extensions | If no customisation is needed, avoid the setup work |
Next step: if you want to try it, read the setup and installation guidance, or look for hosting if you do not run your own server. Official starting points are MediaWiki and, for the wider ecosystem and developer resources, Wikimedia Foundation.
How do I install MediaWiki on my own server?
Install MediaWiki by downloading the official release, placing it on a web server with PHP and a database, then running the web-based installer to create configuration. The project itself lists the core steps as download, install, configure, and add extensions, with hosting services available if you do not run your own server — see MediaWiki.
Core requirements
- A web server (commonly Apache or Nginx).
- A supported PHP version.
- A database: MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite.
- Write access to the directory where you will place the files.
Typical install flow
- Download the latest MediaWiki release from the official site and extract it into your web root or a subdirectory.
- Create a database and a database user with permissions on it.
- Open your wiki URL in a browser; the installer (
/mw-config/) guides you through database details, the wiki name, and an administrator account. - After installation, move or secure the configuration file as instructed and restrict installer access.
Practical decision criteria
- Shared hosting: easiest if PHP and a database are preinstalled; use the host's file manager or SSH to upload files.
- VPS or dedicated server: gives control over PHP versions, caching, and security, but you manage updates yourself.
- Local testing: SQLite can simplify a trial setup, though production wikis often use MySQL/MariaDB.
After install
- Install extensions for added functionality, and check the error and FAQ pages when something fails.
- Keep up with security and maintenance releases; the news section lists current versions and events.
- If you prefer not to manage a server, the project points to hosting services and professional consulting.
Your next step: confirm your PHP and database versions match the current release requirements before uploading, then run the installer.
How can I find a hosting provider for MediaWiki?
MediaWiki's own project page points people who don't run their own server to a list of hosting services, so the intended path is to start from the official "Find hosting services" section on MediaWiki rather than from a general web-hosting search.
What to check before choosing a host
MediaWiki has requirements that ordinary shared hosting sometimes fails to meet, so screen candidates on these points:
- PHP and database support — a current PHP version plus MySQL/MariaDB (or another supported database). A host that only offers a fixed, older PHP build is a poor fit.
- Shell or Composer access — installing and updating extensions and dependencies is much easier with command-line access.
- File and database space — wikis grow through page history and uploaded files, so headroom matters more than it does for a small static site.
- Backups and restore — confirm you can export both the database and the file uploads yourself.
- Managed versus self-managed — managed wiki hosting handles upgrades and security patches for you; a plain VPS gives you more control and more maintenance work.
A practical next step
Write down three things first: your expected number of editors, whether you need file uploads, and whether you can run commands on the server. Then compare two or three hosts against the MediaWiki requirements page and against that list. If you want a wiki without maintaining a server at all, look at wiki-specific hosting and hosted wiki farms, which trade some customisation for far less administration. For a company or institution with existing infrastructure, installing MediaWiki on your own server and following the official installation guide is often the cheaper long-term route.
How do I add functionality to MediaWiki with extensions?
Extensions are MediaWiki's official way to add features without changing the core software, and the project's own front page lists "Add functionality by installing extensions" as a standard setup step alongside downloading and configuring the software. The general process is: find an extension, download it, place it in the right directory, register it in your configuration file, and then check that it works.
The basic workflow
- Choose an extension. Browse the official extension catalogue (linked from MediaWiki's site) and read each extension's page for compatibility with your MediaWiki version and any dependencies.
- Download it. Extensions are typically distributed as archives you unpack into a dedicated extensions directory in your MediaWiki installation.
- Register it. You enable an extension by adding a line to
LocalSettings.php, the main configuration file. The exact line is given on each extension's documentation page — copy it rather than inventing it. - Run any setup steps. Some extensions need database schema changes (often via a maintenance script) or additional configuration variables.
- Verify. Load a page that should show the new feature. If nothing changes, check the extension page's troubleshooting notes.
Practical things that trip people up
- Version matching. An extension built for a different MediaWiki release may fail silently or throw errors. Confirm the supported versions before installing.
- Order and placement. Configuration lines usually go near the bottom of
LocalSettings.php, after the base settings, and the requiredwfLoadExtension()call must come before any settings that depend on it. - Caching. After changing configuration, you may need to purge pages or clear caches before changes appear.
- Skins vs. extensions. Changing appearance is done with skins; adding capability is done with extensions. They are configured similarly but serve different purposes.
A concrete scenario
Suppose a small internal team wiki needs a way to embed structured data tables. Rather than editing core files (which makes future upgrades painful), the administrator searches the extension catalogue, picks a well-maintained extension, unpacks it, adds the registration line, runs any required update script, and tests on a staging copy first. If the extension turns out to be unmaintained, removing it means deleting the folder and the configuration line — no core surgery required.
Where to go next
MediaWiki's own documentation is the authoritative starting point: MediaWiki hosts the extension catalogue and installation instructions, and Wikimedia Foundation provides related project context. For developer-level work such as writing your own extension, the MediaWiki developer documentation is the right reference; for hosted setups where you cannot edit server files, look for hosting services that support extension installation.
How do I start editing and managing content on a MediaWiki site?
Start by creating an account on the wiki if it allows public registration, then open any page and use the Edit link to change its wikitext. MediaWiki is the software behind Wikipedia and thousands of other sites, and its editing model is the same whether you are fixing a typo or building a documentation wiki: every change is a page revision, and most wikis let you preview before saving.
MediaWiki is the project's own documentation hub. Its Help area covers navigating, editing a page, and personal customisation, and it links to a support desk when you get stuck.
The basic editing loop
- Log in (or note that your IP address will be recorded if you edit anonymously).
- Click Edit on a page. You will see wikitext — markup such as
[[Page name]]for links,== Heading ==, and''italics''. - Use Show preview to check formatting, then write a short edit summary and click Save changes.
- Use View history to see who changed what, and Talk pages to discuss contested changes rather than reverting repeatedly.
Managing content beyond a single page
- Categories group related pages automatically; adding
[[Category:Topic]]at the bottom of a page files it there. - Templates let you reuse a block of content or an infobox across many pages.
- Special pages handle maintenance tasks: recent changes, wanted pages, unused files, and user lists.
- User rights decide who can protect pages, delete them, or block accounts. On a small wiki, one or two trusted editors usually hold these rights.
Choosing your role
| If you want to… | Start with | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fix content | Editing and talk pages | Slow for large-scale changes |
| Run a wiki | Installation, configuration, backups | You need server access or a hosting provider |
| Add features | Extensions | More extensions mean more upgrade and security work |
| Build tools | Developer documentation | Requires programming knowledge |
A practical next step
Pick one page you know well and make a small, well-summarised edit. If you are setting up your own wiki rather than editing someone else's, the install and configuration guides are the right entry point, and the project points to hosting services if you do not own a server. For deeper questions, the support desk and the MediaWiki Stakeholders user group are the two most direct routes to help.
How can I get involved in the MediaWiki community as a contributor?
You can contribute to MediaWiki in several distinct roles, and you don't need to write PHP to start. The project's own front page lists translation, design, documentation, testing, tech ambassadorship, and development as ways to get involved, alongside reporting software bugs or proposing features.
H3 Ways to contribute, and who each suits
- Translation — best if you're fluent in a language other than English. Interface messages and documentation both need localizing, and this is often the lowest-barrier entry point.
- Documentation writing — suits people who enjoy explaining things clearly. MediaWiki's help and developer docs are community-maintained, so gaps you notice are usually gaps you can fill.
- Design — for UX and visual contributors willing to work within an established, long-lived interface.
- Testing — manual testing and reporting of software behaviour. A good fit if you use MediaWiki regularly and can describe reproducible steps.
- Tech ambassador — for people connected to an organization or user group who can relay needs and knowledge between their community and the project.
- Development — extending or fixing the software itself. Start from the developer documentation and the Wikimedia Developer Portal linked from the main page.
H3 A practical first step
Don't begin with a large feature. Pick one small, verifiable task: fix a confusing sentence in a help page, translate a batch of interface messages, or file a well-described bug with exact steps and expected versus actual behaviour. Small accepted contributions teach you the project's conventions — how pages are structured, how patches are reviewed, how discussions happen — which is the real prerequisite for bigger work.
H3 Where to ask and meet people
The support desk is the documented route for questions you can't answer yourself. For in-person contact, the project advertises the MediaWiki Users and Developers Conference (Fall 2026 in Ljubljana, Slovenia) and Wikimedia Hackathon participation. If you'd rather learn by reading before contributing, the "Learn how to navigate" and "Learn how to edit a page" links are the intended starting points.
H3 Choosing between contributing and running your own wiki
These are different commitments, and newcomers sometimes confuse them:
| Goal | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Improve MediaWiki itself | Translation, docs, testing, design, code, bug reports |
| Run a wiki on MediaWiki | Downloading, installing, configuring, and adding extensions |
| Use a wiki without a server | Finding a hosting service |
If your actual aim is to publish knowledge rather than improve the software, the setup path is the relevant one, and the project points to hosting services for people who don't own a server. If your aim is to join the community, pick a contribution type above and make one small, concrete contribution this week — then introduce yourself at the support desk or a community event.
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