What Is AI Assistant?

AI Assistant adds a chatbot widget to every page of your wiki. Your users type a question in plain language and get an answer drawn from your wiki's content.

Source citations tell you what pages the answers are based on and inline links allow for easy navigation.

Instead of browsing categories or guessing the right search terms, your users just ask. The AI retrieves relevant pages and synthesizes them into a single answer.

Capabilities

The chatbot is permission-aware: answers only draw from content the current user is allowed to see. If your wiki has restricted namespaces or role-based access, the AI respects those boundaries.

Users can save and resume conversations. The conversation history persists across page navigations and browser sessions, so you can pick up where you left off.

AI Assistant is multilingual. Your users can ask questions in their language of choice and get relevant answers, even if your wiki content is in other languages. The UI itself is also available in multiple languages.

You can choose between Anthropic Claude and OpenAI ChatGPT as the underlying AI provider. Other providers, including locally running models, are available on request.

Configuring AI Assistant

You can configure your AI Assistant through the Admin Panel.

The dedicated AI Assistant tab lets you set the AI provider, toggle features like source citations and conversation history, and customize the widget's appearance including its title, placeholder text, and icon.

We will likely add further customization options such as system prompt, namespace controls, and user-group-based access controls in the near future.

Using AI Assistant

The chatbot widget appears on every page of your wiki. You can navigate between pages while waiting for a response without losing it. The answer will be there when you come back.

Each user can personalize their experience via the settings panel: toggle source citations on or off, and enable or disable conversation history.

Conversation history is accessible via the history panel. Resume, view, or delete your previous conversations.

Keyboard shortcuts

Press / from any page to open the panel, Escape to close it, and use Alt combinations for quick actions like starting a new chat, browsing history, or toggling the enlarged view.

Get Started

AI Assistant is available via ProWiki and our other MediaWiki hosting options. Once we've made it available for your wiki, simply enable it via the Admin Panel and enjoy the highly-integrated AI chatbot experience. Contact us for a demo or a quote.

See Also

AI Assistant is one of several chatbot extensions for MediaWiki. If you want to see how it compares, read our MediaWiki Chatbot Extensions Compared article.

Explore more of our MediaWiki AI work, including the MediaWiki MCP Server.

Page Approvals, A New MediaWiki Extension

We designed Page Approvals for a large enterprise in a regulated industry with strict compliance needs. It adds lightweight approvals that signal review status of each page while keeping editing simple. You can use it for free as we open sourced the extension.

Page Approvals differs from existing approval extensions in some key manners. It marks pages as "pending approval" as soon as any displayed content changes. This includes changes to embedded content such as templates, parser functions, and Semantic MediaWiki queries. This is an important difference compared to extensions such as Approved Revs and Flagged Revisions, which only track changes to the wikitext, thus allowing for radical content changes of approved pages without requiring re-approval.

Another notable difference is that your editors can continue to make changes to pages while they are pending approval. Their changes are always published immediately, but the page remains marked as "pending approval" until an approver reviews the changes.

Administrators can assign users as approvers for categories from within the wiki. Each approver can view which pages assigned to them are pending approval via their "Pending Approvals" page.

Find the full feature list and setup instructions in the Page Approvals documentation.

New Approval Options On ProWiki

Page Approvals is now available on ProWiki alongside Approved Revs. You can use either extension or combine them.

You can choose which approval extension to enable and manage their configuration via the new dedicated Approvals tab in the Admin Panel.

These new approval options compliment existing MediaWiki moderation tools like page protection, abuse filters, permissions, and reversible edits, giving you plenty of options to manage quality control in your wiki in a manner that suits your team or organization's protocols.

Set up Captchas

If you have an open-registration wiki, you need a way to stop spambots from creating user accounts on your wiki. The simplest approach, which we have recommended for a long time, is to use the QuestyCaptcha extension.

If you host your wiki yourself, you'll first have to install and configure this extension, which is easy. Once the extension is installed and enabled, edit LocalSettings.php and add configuration like the below:

$wgCaptchaQuestions = [
    'What is six times seven' => [ '42', 'forty two', 'fortytwo' ],
    'What is the third character in "awesome"' => [ 'e' ],
];

If your wiki is hosted by Professional Wiki, the extension is already installed, and you can add the captcha questions via the Admin Panel:

Bot-proof Captcha Questions

Many of the questions people have historically used can now easily be solved by AI-powered bots. The above example questions fall into this category.

When adding a question, consider if a LLM like ChatGPT can easily solve it without having additional context. If yes, then it is a bad question.

Thus, do not ask general knowledge questions like "What is the capital of Germany?". Also avoid questions that only need reasoning, such as math questions or doing something else with information you provide in the question.

Instead, ask about your wiki. Example: "What is the 5-digit locomotive number shown in the featured article image on our homepage?". The spambot would need to navigate to your homepage, find and interpret the image. While this is within the capabilities of AI reasoning models, it is sufficient to stop today's spambot attempts. It also works without involving an image.

Stick to a single hard-to-crack question and rotate it if it gets broken. If you have multiple questions, you add more ways for the spambots to get into your wiki, and it'll be difficult to tell which question needs replacing if any spambots do end up getting through.

Prohibit Bot-like Usernames

Adding captchas should be enough. However, if you already got spammed, and observe a pattern in the names of the user accounts the bots created, you could disallow said pattern. For instance, if all bot created accounts contain hyphens in their names, like Window-Replacement-Service, you could disallow the hyphen character in new user accounts.

Configuration via LocalSettings.php:

$wgInvalidUsernameCharacters = '@:>=-'; // Added '-' to the default to thwart spambots

For wikis hosted by Professional Wiki, configure this via the Signup tab of the Admin Panel:

To Go Even Further Beyond

Use extensions like SpamBlacklist and TitleBlacklist, serve your wiki via Cloudflare, set up Web Application Firewall rules, and add Anubis. These are some of the tricks we employ to keep the wikis of our customers safe at Professional Wiki. Want the spam on your wiki to stop? Consider letting us deal with the problem by using our MediaWiki migration services.

What is a MediaWiki Extension?

You should check out MediaWiki extensions if you've ever wanted your wiki to do more, like highlight code sections or show interactive maps. Extensions enhance your wiki by bringing in new features or enriching existing ones, such as structured data handling, data exchange, rich text editing, and spam prevention. While some people call them "plugins" or "add-ons," the MediaWiki community refers to them as "extensions" because they extend your wiki into a genuine knowledge base with additional capabilities. Extensions are similar to WordPress plugins.

How Are They Added?
Someone with server access needs to install and configure MediaWiki extensions directly on the server. This approach distinguishes MediaWiki from other software, where users can typically manage add-ons through a web interface. Note that managed hosting with ProWiki works differently - you can enable and configure extensions via their Admin Panel.

Top 20 MediaWiki Extensions

All extensions included in our top list are free and compatible with versions from MediaWiki 1.35 to MediaWiki 1.43. They are also expected to support many upcoming MediaWiki releases.

#20: CodeMirror

The CodeMirror extension enhances wiki editing by providing real-time syntax highlighting for wikitext. It instantly flags syntax errors like unclosed brackets and tags, helping editors catch mistakes as they work. Recent improvements make it valuable for wiki editors at all skill levels.

#19: OATHAuth

The OATHAuth extension adds two-factor authentication (2FA) to wiki platforms, integrating with standard authenticator apps like Authy. Administrators can make 2FA optional or mandatory for specific user groups, improving account security and user accountability across the wiki platform.

#18: CategoryTree

CategoryTree is an extension that lets users explore wiki category hierarchies through an interactive tree interface. Users can expand/collapse categories to see their subcategories and contents.

It visualizes the category namespace structure, making browsing and understanding how content is organized within the wiki easier.

#17: InputBox

The InputBox extension adds customizable form fields to wiki pages. It provides a simple way to create text input forms for searching, making new pages, moving content, or adding comments.

This extension streamlines everyday wiki actions through an accessible interface.

#16: MsUpload

MsUpload is an extension that lets wiki users upload several files simultaneously instead of doing them one at a time. It is a drag-and-drop tool where you can select multiple files from your computer and upload them to the wiki in one go. It's pretty straightforward - pick your files, and upload them all together.

#15: TemplateData

TemplateData helps wiki editors work with templates by adding structured documentation. It shows what parameters a template uses, what they do, and how to fill them in. Think of it as a built-in manual that pops up when you're editing - it tells you exactly what information the template needs and how to use it properly.

When you're editing with the VisualEditor, it even gives you a nice form to fill in instead of having to remember all the parameter names as a light-weight alterntive to Page Forms.

#14: MultimediaViewer

Suppose you are using Wikimedia Commons as a foreign file repository on your wiki by utilizing the so-called InstantCommons feature, we recommend also adding the CommonsMetadata extension, which helps you extract and use the respective file metadata on your local wiki.

#13: EmbedVideo

#12: WikiSEO

WikiSEO is an extension extension that helps improve your wiki's visibility for search engines, generally called search engine optimization (SEO). It lets you customize how your wiki pages appear in search results by adding meta elements (aka meta tags), modifying page titles, setting descriptions, and other helpful information, including social media-related details. You can influence what shows up when people share your pages on social media, making your wiki content more visible and attractive.

If you are using Semantic MediaWiki, look at the Semantic Meta Tags extension, which serves the same purpose and integrates with it.

#11: Data Transfer

The Data Transfer extension is a practical tool to import data from CSV or spreadsheet files into your wiki. The import works by mapping the file content to templates and their parameters. Wiki pages are created automatically, and you can choose to do a full or partial import.

Data Transfer is an excellent tool for creating and updating structured data. This way it works well together with Semantic MediaWiki.

#10: Maps

Maps is the MediaWiki extension to visualize and work with geographical information. You can embed beautiful dynamic maps using either Leaflet or Google Maps.

The maps are highly customizable. Specify markers, lines, and polygons to show. Or choose the map layers, clustering options or the map's dimensions. Dozens of options give you an immense amount of control over the look and feel of the map, and it's behavior.

Maps comes with a visual map editor and GeoJSON support. It also provides parser functions for geocoding, coordinate formatting, and geospatial operations. Last but not least, it integrates with Semantic MediaWiki, enabling you to build maps from queried data.

#9: Gadgets

The Gadgets extension lets wiki administrators add custom JavaScript and CSS tools (called gadgets). Wiki users can enable these scripts according to their preferences. These gadgets can add new features or modify how the wiki works. The changes range from simple styling tweaks to more or less complex editing tools. Users can choose which gadgets to use, making their wiki experience more customizable and enjoyable than without them.

#8: Cite

The Cite extension adds citation support to your wiki. It provides tools for managing references, including footnotes and reference lists. You can add inline citations and generate organized reference lists. It also handles single and grouped references appearing multiple times on a page.

Wikis always benefit from strong citation support. Citations ensure accountability, transparency, and attribution while enhancing the reliability, accuracy, and trustworthiness of your wiki's content. Additionally, the extension allows you to add comments when needed.

#7: External Data

The External Data extension lets you fetch and display data from external sources on your wiki pages. It can pull content from URLs, files, databases, and APIs and then format that data in your wiki. You can use it to automatically update information from external sources, create dynamic lists, or integrate data from other systems into your wiki.

All the external data are used best in connection with Semantic MediaWiki on your wiki.

#6: Replace Text

The Replace Text extension provides a powerful tool for find-and-replace editing of strings within pages. Additionally, you can move pages via text replacements within their titles. Replace Text provides a concise interface with many options for wiki administrators.

Replace Text is a valuable and easy-to-use tool for correcting common typographical errors or changing content on a larger scale, such as renaming categories and templates or updating template parameters and their values.

#5: ParserFunctions

ParserFunctions adds logic and basic programming capabilities to wiki syntax. It lets power users directly employ conditional logic, do string manipulation, date and time handling, and mathematical calculations on wiki pages, preferably via templates. This extra set of parser functions makes your wiki content more dynamic without needing external scripts.

#4: Page Forms

Page Forms allows you to add, edit, and query data using forms. It is perfect for creating data-rich pages. When combined with Semantic MediaWiki, it simplifies the process of creating and maintaining data-driven pages.

#3: Semantic MediaWiki

Semantic MediaWiki lets you add details to wiki pages to help the software interpret content—such as information about a person, project, or event. This way, plain text is supplemented with structured data that the wiki can search, organize, and display automatically in lists, tables, or summaries on specific topics. It also makes building reports, creating visualizations, or sharing your wiki’s data with other systems easy.

While setting up and using Semantic MediaWiki can be challenging initially, its long-term value more than makes up for the learning curve.

Semantic MediaWiki integrates perfectly with other recommended extensions, such as Data Transfer, External Data, and Page Forms, which are also mentioned in this blog post.

#2: Visual Editor

The Visual Editor extension adds a solid and functional word processor–like interface for editing wiki pages. It includes a formatting toolbar, drag-and-drop content support, and a preview mode to show changes before saving. It is very easy to use, even for beginners without editing experience.

#1: ConfirmEdit

Preventing spam may not be glamorous, but it’s critical for wikis that allow public registration or open editing. Without protection, wikis become easy targets for bots—leading to spammed pages, mass account creation abuse, and time-consuming cleanup. In worst cases, search engines may even flag affected sites negatively.

ConfirmEdit offers several CAPTCHA options to reduce spam. We recommend the QuestyCaptcha module—it's simple to configure and highly effective.

Conclusion

MediaWiki is solid on its own, but with the right extensions, it becomes a much more capable and user-friendly system for knowledge management or information sharing. Whether you need better editing tools, structured data management, or improved content handling, a well-working extension will likely do the job.

The list above covers some of the most useful and actively maintained extensions in 2025. Not all will apply to every wiki in your company, institution, or project, but many are great for building a flexible, maintainable wiki.

Did we miss your favourites, or you are using something not mentioned here? What MediaWiki extensions do you think are indispensable? Let us know by replying to one of our below-linked social media posts!

Further Resources

If you are installing new extensions yourself, check out our LocalSettings.php and Installing MediaWiki Extensions with Composer guides.

Need customization beyond what is offered by existing extensions? Commission expert MediaWiki developers to develop your own extensions. Check out our MediaWiki project portfolio.

Similar articles: Best MediaWiki Themes, Top Wikibase Extensions

See also: How to Install MediaWiki, Extensions Bundled with MediaWiki

MediaWiki hosting

ProWiki comes with many MediaWiki extensions. Some of those are enabled by default, while others can be enabled via one click in the MediaWiki admin panel.

Create your wiki instantly via ProWiki. Never worry about upgrades again. Get started immediately via the free trial, or contact us to migrate your existing wiki.

The New Manage Blocks Interface and Multiblocks

With the new Manage Blocks interface for doing advanced user blocking, you have a cleaner and more powerful workflow. At the heart of this release is the Multiblocks capability, which empowers administrators to impose multiple, distinct restrictions on the same user or IP address concurrently.

• Layered Restrictions
  Apply overlapping blocks that target specific actions, including both standard and newly supported ones. You can block traditional actions like editing pages, account creation, or sending email, and take advantage of new options for moving pages and files, creating new pages, and uploading files. Each restriction has its own customizable expiration time.



• Transparent Status Display
  Users can view exactly which restrictions are in place and their expiration times, so they know where they stand. Administrators will see active and past blocks, with all details at their fingertips, simplifying audits and follow‑ups.

By enabling targeted, situation-specific restrictions instead of all-or-nothing bans, the new Manage Blocks interface ensures you apply only the necessary limits, and only when needed. With customizable sub-blocks and clear status visibility, you can now enforce rules more appropriately to the given situation, reduce collateral impact, and maintain community trust without overblocking.

If desired, you need to enable this feature via the configuration parameters ($wgEnableMultiBlocks and $wgUseCodexSpecialBlock).

Improved Patrolling

To improve quality-assurance workflows, MediaWiki’s Patrolling feature has been enhanced for better oversight:

• Recreated pages tagged
  New pages using a previously deleted title receive an automatic “Recreated” tag, which you can see on special pages listing new pages or recent changes. This way, patrollers can quickly spot and review them.
• Rollbacks marked “manually patrolled”
  Rolling back an unpatrolled edit now flags it as manually patrolled (not autopatrolled), accurately reflecting human review.

Together, these two enhancements give patrollers a clearer, more accurate view of new and reverted content, helping communities keep their wikis clean and trustworthy.

Smarter Redirect Handling

Several enhancements came to MediaWiki’s Redirects feature:

• Redirects to non-existent pages now trigger a warning.
• Warnings appear when you point a redirect at another redirect.

These checks prevent errors at their source, reducing the need for tedious follow-up later.

Additionally, editors will now find it easier to manage redirects: action tabs on redirect pages link back to the redirect itself, letting you edit without jumping to the target page.

Together, these improvements make redirects more manageable and mistakes easier to avoid.

File Protection Security Pitfalls Addressed

Several file protection issues were resolved by applying cascading protection to both file uploads and their description pages, while also enforcing reupload permissions for version reverts.

When you embed a file with [[File:Example.png]] on a cascade-protected page, only the upload itself is locked down; anyone can still edit the file’s description page. However, if you transclude the description page directly with {{:File:Example.png}}, the protection carries over, and you cannot change the metadata or licensing details either.

That means embedded files leave their documentation vulnerable, while transcluded files stay fully locked. For sensitive assets like legal logos, policy diagrams, or any image where the caption matters transclusion is the safer choice.

Additionally, reverting files now requires the same reupload permissions and respects cascading protection, preventing rollbacks without the proper rights.

Resolving Conflicts between Languages and Namespaces

Linking across wikis or languages gets messy when your local namespace clashes with an interwiki or language code. Two new parser functions are now available to solve precisely that problem:

1. #interwikilink – Forces an interwiki link, i.e., a link in your text, even if the prefix matches a local namespace.
2. #interlanguagelink – Adds an interlanguage link, i.e., a link in the sidebar, when the prefix overlaps a namespace.

The problem is conflicting prefixes. On your internal wiki, you may have an “EU:” namespace collecting your internal knowledge and data about the “European Union”, yet “eu:” is also the Basque Language code. Writing: [[eu:PageName]] will resolve to https://example.org/wiki/PageName instead of, e.g., https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageName since the local namepace takes precedence.

Now you can use {{#interwikilink:eu|PageName|PageTitle}} or {{#interlanguagelink:en|PageName}} with “eu” as your prefix to link to the external wiki or add a sidebar language link, depending on which kind of link you need.

With these new parser functions at hand, you will never accidentally link to the wrong “EU:” page again. Enjoy conflict-free cross-wiki linking!

Spotlight on Bundled Extensions

Several bundled MediaWiki extensions have received usability enhancements that make editing, maintenance, and customization faster and more powerful. Here is our pick of the key improvements in WikiEditor, Nuke, TemplateStyles, VisualEditor, and CodeEditor, although other bundled extensions may have also picked up enhancements.

WikiEditor

The WikiEditor, also known as “2010 Wikitext Editor,” offers the following improvements:

• Symbol tracking: Keeps your 32 most-recently used special characters front and center across sessions.
• List handling: Select one or more lines and click indent/outdent to build properly nested sub-lists instantly.
• Code button: Wrap selected text in <code> tags with a single click for quick inline code formatting.
• New keyboard shortcuts: “Ctrl +B” for bold, “Ctrl +I” for italics, and four more to speed up your editing.

Nuke

The Nuke extensions got streamlined bulk-deletion features with advanced filtering and preview options, and more:

• Namespace multi-select: Pick any combination of namespaces when fetching pages for bulk deletion.
• “Nuke” tagging: Mass deletions are now automatically labeled with the “Nuke” tag for easier review.
• 90-day history: When targeting a specific user or IP, you can delete pages they created in the last 90 days (up from 30).
• Size filter: Limit deletions to pages within a specified byte-size range.
• Include talk pages & redirects: Bulk delete associated talk pages and redirects alongside the main pages.
• Preview for all: Even non-admins can now see which pages would be deletable under Special:Nuke.
• Post-queue links: After queuing deletions, get one-click links to the user’s page and any pages you did not select.

TemplateStyles

Template editors working with the TemplateStyles extension can now tailor their output for users with specific accessibility needs using media queries like prefers-reduced-motion, prefers-reduced-transparency, prefers-contrast, and forced-colors.

VisualEditor

As the WikiEditor does, VisualEditor now tracks symbols, keeping your 32 most recently used special characters readily accessible across sessions.

CodeEditor

The CodeEditor extension now supports live code autocompletion across JavaScript, CSS, JSON, and Lua code pages.

Interwiki

The functionality of the Interwiki extension is now part of MediaWiki core. A separate install is no longer needed. Everyone can view the interwiki table, and users granted the “interwiki” permission can edit it.

Impact on Technical Teams

MediaWiki 1.44 brings quite some under-the-hood tweaks. The biggest one: if you are running DNS-based spam block lists, do not forget to add your extra spam-DB URLs. There are a handful of other minor changes as well, so give the RELEASE NOTES’ configuration changes a quick review to avoid any surprises.

This release also brings notable enhancements for developers and integrators. Extension authors and API consumers will love the expanded Action API capabilities, including authenticated cross-origin requests, alongside refreshed front-end tooling. The updated Codex library gets minor visual and breaking changes to core MediaWiki and extensions. A range of new hooks, services, and a new system of events and listeners further help create and maintain extensions. For a complete overview of every technical change, be sure to consult the “New developer features,” “Action API changes,” “Breaking changes,” and “Deprecations” sections of the 1.44 RELEASE NOTES.

Upgrading: Planning, Compatibility, and Considerations

Before upgrading to MediaWiki 1.44, check your upgrade path, system requirements, and compatibility:

System Requirements and Compatibility

PHP Requirements
MediaWiki 1.44 continues to require PHP 8.1 or later as the minimum supported version. PHP 8.2 to 8.4 are also supported though support for PHP 8.4 is somewhat less mature.

Database Requirements
MediaWiki 1.44 maintains the minimum database requirement of MariaDB 10.3 or later, or MySQL 5.7 or later.

Essential Information for MediaWiki Upgrades

MediaWiki 1.35 is the oldest version from which a direct upgrade to MediaWiki 1.44 is possible. However, we advise upgrading via MediaWiki 1.39 and 1.43 as intermediate steps.

If you want to minimize upgrade hassle, consider sticking with MediaWiki 1.43, which remains a rock-solid choice, although 1.44 is now available. It will continue getting long-term support through December 2027.

If you are using MediaWiki 1.39, 1.40, 1.41, or 1.42 (or older), consider moving to either 1.43 (recommended) or the new 1.44 release soon.

For comprehensive assistance on handling MediaWiki, check out our upgrade guide. It contains detailed instructions for installation and configuration.

Conclusion

MediaWiki 1.44 makes life easier for editors, admins, and programmers alike. A redesigned user blocking interface and cleaner review flows streamline processes. Better redirect handling and file protection mean less cleanup and wiki gardening afterward. Bundled extensions, such as WikiEditor and Nuke, bring useful new features. All of this delivers a quicker, safer, and smoother wiki experience from the very start for everybody.

MediaWiki Hosting

Create your wiki instantly via ProWiki. Never worry about upgrades again. Get started immediately via the free trial, or contact us to migrate your existing wiki.

What Are MediaWiki Themes?

MediaWiki supports multiple themes. MediaWiki themes (or "MediaWiki skins") let you customize your wiki's look and feel to match its purpose. This customization is necessary because whether sleek and modern for technical topics or classic and formal for educational content, the suitable theme for your knowledge management with MediaWiki can significantly enhance every user's experience.

As the wiki creator, you decide on the MediaWiki theme to use, e.g., the popular Chameleon skin. The wiki's system administrators then set which themes are available to their users, what the default wiki theme is, and the theme configuration.

What Makes A Great MediaWiki Theme?

A modern MediaWiki theme must be responsive and mobile-friendly. Since many users use mobile devices, your wiki should work seamlessly across all devices, ensuring usability, accessibility and engagement.

A well-designed theme improves navigation by placing frequently used tools where users expect them, minimizing clicks and frustration. Transparent menus, intuitive layouts, and fast-loading pages keep visitors engaged. At the same time, proper color contrast and keyboard navigation also play a key role in enhancing accessibility.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Vector 2022 offers a familiar design with modern refinements, while the Chameleon or Tweeki skins provide flexibility. The right theme depends on your wiki’s purpose—lightweight themes like Medik suit knowledge bases, while customizable layouts like Citizen work well for community-driven sites. Choosing the right theme enhances both usability and visitor retention.

In summary, the best MediaWiki themes blend aesthetic appeal with functionality, ensuring ease of use and user-friendly navigation across various devices. Remember, a suitable theme can significantly enhance both the user experience and the effectiveness of your wiki.

If your wiki still has an outdated design, now is a great time to explore better options. This blog post introduces the best themes for 2025.

Top MediaWiki Themes

All themes included in our top list are free and compatible with versions from MediaWiki 1.35 to MediaWiki 1.43. They are also expected to support many upcoming MediaWiki releases.

#1 Chameleon

Chameleon is the most popular responsive MediaWiki theme, and the top MediaWiki theme, according to our wiki experts.

It stands out as being the most customizable MediaWiki theme. You can configure which layout elements to show and where to place them. Unfortunately, some technical know-how is required because you do the configuration via XML. The upside is that you can use Chameleon to create a well-designed wiki in-line with your brand identity.

Because Chameleon uses the Bootstrap framework, you can utilize the BootstrapComponents extension to embed Bootstrap elements, components, and grids right within your wiki pages.

Suppose you have wondered how to utilize Bootstrap components on your wiki. In that case, we recommend checking out the Bootstrap for MediaWiki wiki. It demos them and provides the respective code examples for easy adoption.

Stephan Gambke released the first version of Chameleon in 2013. The theme has received many enhancements since and is nowadays maintained by Professional Wiki. Create your Chameleon-based wiki today via ProWiki.

Chameleon links:

• Chameleon documentation
• Example website: Triple Performance
• Example website: Wien Geschichte Wiki
• Example website: Rhizome Artbase
• Example website: Dermoscopedia
• Example website: Bootstrap for MediaWiki wiki
• Chameleon source code
• Create your Chameleon-based wiki today

#2 Medik

Medik looks great out of the box and is naturally responsive and mobile-friendly.

Medik provides a somewhat classic wiki-look with a sidebar on the left side of the screen. You can find the user menu at the top right and the page actions and tools right above the page content on the left. On mobile devices the sidebar turns into a Hamburger menu holding the links.

You can use Bootstrap elements, components, and grids within your wiki pages when using Medik. Like Chameleon, Medik optimizes for the best mobile user experience. For detailed instructions on implementing this quickly, visit our Bootstrap for MediaWiki wiki, a resource we have created to facilitate your adoption process.

The first version of Medik was released in 2019. It is now one of the most popular responsive MediaWiki themes and is available on ProWiki.

Medik links:

• Medik documentation
• Example website: Wetzipedia
• Example website: Karsten Hoffmeyer
• Example website: The New Zealand Musculoskeletal Medicine Wiki
• Example website: WikiSkripta
• Medik source code
• Create your Medik-based wiki today

#3 Citizen

Citizen, new in our 2025 list of the top MediaWiki themes. Citizen brings a fresh, content design-inspired look to MediaWiki platforms.

Its responsive layout adapts smoothly to various screen sizes and includes a convenient light/dark (night) mode toggle. Readers can also personalize their experience by modifying page width, font size, and line height.

The skin includes modern features like collapsible sections, persistent Table of Contents for easy navigation, and rich search suggestions with images.

The Citizen MediaWiki theme takes a unique approach by creating its responsive design from scratch, rather than using established responsive frameworks that other MediaWiki themes rely on.

The first version of Citizen theme was released in 2020. Its features and configuration options are well documented, making it easy for your wiki community to adopt.

Citizen links:

• Citizen documentation
• Example website: Tolkien Gateway
• Example website: Star Citizen Wiki
• Example website: Coasterpedia
• Example website: Prism Party
• Citizen source code

#4 Timeless

Timeless is a popular responsive theme focusing on content and editing tools. You can find the navigation menu and wiki tools in a sidebar on the left. A second sidebar on the right side of the screen contains the page tools.

Timeless comes bundled with MediaWiki. Enabling it is thus very easy, even for inexperienced MediaWiki system administrators.

Unlike most responsive MediaWiki themes, Timeless does not build upon one of the popular responsive web frameworks.

The first version of Timeless was released in 2015. It is the default theme of ProWiki.

Timeless links:

• Timeless documentation
• Example website: KeukenWiki
• Example website: Wiki der Herner Stadtgeschichte
• Example website: Wiki Law School
• Timeless source code
• Create your Timeless-based wiki today

#5 Vector 2022

Vector 2022, in our list of top MediaWiki themes since 2024, is an update to the original Vector theme, bringing the mobile-friendliness and other MediaWiki theme feature improvements the original lacked. It is now the default for several Wikimedia projects.

The objectives for the Vector 2022 MediaWiki theme focus on enhancing the welcoming nature of MediaWiki-run wikis and boosting their usefulness for readers while improving trust and positive feelings towards MediaWiki wikis, enhancing the practicality of standard functions like search and tables of content presentation.

Compared to Vector, Vector 2022 brings new traits like a collapsible sidebar, enforces a limited content width, makes the header and the table of contents stick, and moves the page tools out of the sidebar, combined with visual refinements. Last but not least, it is mobile devices friendly and responsive. However, the Vector 2022 MediaWiki theme does not build upon one of the popular responsive web frameworks.

As of 2024, Vector 2022 includes a dark mode feature known as night mode. This feature allows users to switch to a dark color scheme that reduces eye strain in low-light conditions. Moreover, an easy settings menu now allows users to set page width, font size, and line height.

As the name suggests, the first version of Vector 2022 was released in 2022. It is now the default theme of some Wikipedias, including major ones like the English Wikipedia and the French Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation maintains it.

Unlike a typical theme, Vector 2022 shares its codebase with its predecessor, Vector, and both are downloaded together. The MobileFrontend MediaWiki extension must no longer installed alongside since it no longer brings extra value to the user experience of the MediaWiki.

Vector 2022 links:

• Vector 2022 documentation
• Example website: English Wikipedia
• Example website: MediaWiki.org
• Example website: Traditional Tune Archive
• Vector 2022 source code
• Create your Vector 2022-based wiki today

#6 Tweeki

Tweeki provides a clean layout with a menu bar above your wiki content.

This responsive MediaWiki theme utilizes the Bootstrap framework to be mobile-friendly. It uses as much Bootstrap tooling as possible and provides excellent support for Semantic MediaWiki and Page Forms.

Tweeki is a good choice for wiki-as-website projects. Like with other Bootstrap-based themes, you can use the BootstrapComponents extension to embed Bootstrap elements right into your wiki pages.

Tweeki links:

• Tweeki documentation
• Example website: Tweeki Demo Wiki
• Example website: TheaterEncyclopedie
• Example website: Prachteinbände
• Tweeki source code

#7 Foreground

Foreground emphasizes the wiki content by bringing it into the foreground.

Focus on the wiki content is achieved by not having any sidebars. Tools typically found in a sidebar on the left of the wiki content can be found in the menu on the top. A second bar is located below the wiki content, resulting in no tool links between the two bars.

Foreground leverages the Foundation framework to be responsive and mobile-friendly.

Over 200 public wikis use this popular and feature-rich MediaWiki theme. Foreground has been around since 2014 and is still actively developed by the community of its users.

Foreground links:

• Foreground documentation
• Example website: Foreground Demo Wiki
• Example website: MediaWiki Widgets Catalog Wiki
• Example website: Wikimanche
• Foreground source code

#8 Pivot

Pivot focuses on mobile first but pivots to all viewports with elegance. It resembles the classic and well-known Vector theme used on Wikipedia. Thus it is an excellent alternative to the default MediaWiki theme for those that desire something more mobile-friendly.

Pivot, like Foreground, leverages the Foundation framework to be responsive and mobile-friendly. It also self-describes as being awesome by bundling the popular Font Awesome library.

Pivot has been around since 2017 and is still actively developed by the community of its users.

Pivot links:

• Pivot documentation
• Example website: Pivot Demo Wiki
• Example website: International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki
• Example website: Znilwiki
• Pivot source code

#9 Vector + MobileFrontend

Vector is the default MediaWiki theme. Many Wikipedias and other Wikimedia projects use Vector, so this theme is instantly recognizable.

Wikimedia developed Vector in 2010 to replace the then-Wikipedia-theme MonoBook. Because it is the default MediaWiki theme for many Wikipedias, many 1000s of wikis use Vector.

The Wikimedia Foundation now refers to this MediaWiki theme as 'legacy Vector' since they shifted their focus on the MediaWiki Vector 2022 after two years of development and continuous improvements; we finally look at a MediaWiki theme that brings responsive and mobile-friendly features we dearly missed in the past years.

Vector links:

• Vector documentation
• Example website: German Wikipedia
• Example website: OberpfalzWiki
• Example website: OpenStreetMap Wiki
• Vector source code
• Create your Vector-based wiki today

MediaWiki Theme Help

• Create a wiki with one of the top responsive themes
• Commission a new theme
• Get professional help with theme installation or customization
• Enhance Your MediaWiki with Bootstrap
• How to change your MediaWiki theme
• Installing new MediaWiki themes
• Full list of all themes

Main MediaWiki 1.43 Improvements

New Tools and Features

Summary:
MediaWiki 1.43 introduces powerful tools like enhanced password reset security, smarter template cleanup, and better namespace management with “Special:NamespaceInfo”. These updates streamline workflows, improve security, and enhance user experience.

Why this matters:
These tools make it easier for wiki users and admins to manage content effectively, saving time and reducing the risk of errors, especially for large or complex wikis.

Improved Multilingual Support

Summary:
With features like the {{USERLANGUAGE}} magic word and smarter text direction handling, MediaWiki 1.43 simplifies multilingual content delivery, offering greater personalization and performance for diverse wiki communities.

Why this matters:
For wikis serving multilingual audiences, these updates improve the user experience by tailoring content to individual language preferences and ensuring smooth, accessible navigation across languages.

Enhanced Accessibility and Usability

Summary:
Accessibility improvements in MediaWiki 1.43 include refined color schemes, better image handling, and an updated search page for modern browsing. Usability enhancements, such as more apparent page protection indicators, further enhance user experience.

Why this matters:
These enhancements make wikis easier to use for everyone, including those with visual impairments or other accessibility needs, ensuring a more inclusive and enjoyable browsing experience.

Updates Affecting Technical Teams

MediaWiki 1.43 introduces only a few operational adjustments for those managing MediaWiki systems. System administrators should review the configuration updates outlined in the RELEASE NOTES to ensure their installations run smoothly.

This release also brings notable improvements for the development community. Software engineers and extension developers will benefit from the improved API and expanded evelopment tools that enhance their ability to create custom solutions. These updates support the development of more efficient and adaptable extensions, resulting in better-performing MediaWiki sites. For a detailed breakdown of all technical modifications, developers should reference the sections on new developer features, breaking changes, and deprecations within the RELEASE NOTES.

Upgrade Planning and Compatibility Insights

Before upgrading to MediaWiki 1.43, check your upgrade path, system requirements, and compatibility:

Essential Information for MediaWiki Upgrades

Upgrade Path Facts

• Direct upgrade from MediaWiki 1.34 or earlier versions is not supported.
• Upgrade to MediaWiki 1.35 before transitioning to MediaWiki 1.43 to prevent data loss.
• MediaWiki 1.35 is the oldest version compatible with a direct upgrade to MediaWiki 1.43.

PHP Requirements

• MediaWiki 1.43 maintains its minimum PHP requirement of version 8.1.x, continuing the shift introduced in MediaWiki 1.42 from the PHP 7.4.3 support seen in MediaWiki 1.35.
• PHP 8.2.x and 8.3.x are also supported by MediaWiki 1.43. PHP 8.4.x is not.
• The OpenSSL PHP extension must be installed on your system.

Upgrading from MediaWiki 1.39

If you’re using MediaWiki 1.39, it’s time to start thinking about your next move. Sure, support for 1.39 doesn’t end until December 2025, but that doesn’t mean you should put off your upgrade until the last minute. Moving to MediaWiki 1.43 now is the smart choice—and here’s why.

Why Make the Move to 1.43?

Beyond the latest security, performance and stability improvements, upgrading now means you'll also get all the features added in versions 1.40 through 1.42. Curious about what's in each version? We've covered all the highlights in our previous blog posts about MediaWiki 1.40, MediaWiki 1.41, and MediaWiki 1.42. Plus, you won't have to rush when support ends in December 2025. It's better to handle any hiccups now rather than under pressure later.

Check Your Extensions and Skins First

Before you upgrade, examine the extensions and skins you’re using closely. The bundled extensions and skins with MediaWiki will work fine in 1.43, but custom or third-party extensions and skins might not be ready. If you’ve built specific functionality around those, it’s vital to double-check their compatibility before upgrading.

Special Note: If you are using the Linter extension, take extra care when upgrading to 1.43. This release makes major changes to how the Linter extension stores its data in the database, so be sure to review the RELEASE NOTES for details to avoid any surprises during the upgrade.

Running an Older Version?

Don’t wait if you’re on a version older than 1.39. The need to upgrade is even more urgent. Old versions can open your wiki to security vulnerabilities and compatibility problems with newer tools and systems. 1.43 is the way to go if you want a system that’s reliable, secure, and ready for whatever comes next.

Start Planning Now

As always, we strongly recommend thoroughly testing the upgrade process in a staging environment before deploying it to production to identify and resolve potential issues with the software.

For comprehensive assistance on handling MediaWiki, check out our upgrade guide. It contains detailed instructions for installation and configuration.

Conclusion

Having spent time with MediaWiki 1.43, it's clear this isn't just another version bump. For wiki administrators who've wrestled with multilingual content issues or struggled to make their sites more accessible, this update delivers real solutions. The community's fingerprints are all over these improvements – from the way language direction handling has been simplified to the smart new protection indicators that even new users intuitively understand.

Sure, upgrading requires careful planning – especially if you're running custom extensions or coming from a pre-1.35 version. However, with three years of long-term support and a wealth of new features that address real-world challenges, version 1.43 is an upgrade worth making. Start evaluating your environment today to take advantage of the advancements that can make your platform more efficient, accessible, and secure. Whether you're managing documents for a small team or running a community platform with thousands of users, this release proves that MediaWiki is evolving to serve you.

MediaWiki hosting

Create your wiki instantly via ProWiki. Never worry about upgrades again. Get started immediately via the free trial, or contact us to migrate your existing wiki.

About The Authors

We are Wikibase experts with unmatched professional Wikibase hosting and Wikibase software development expertise. We provide two of the hosting options, so we have a stake in how these are presented. That said, we attempted to create a fair and useful comparison, similar to what we did in our comparison between Wikibase and Semantic MediaWiki.

You can find more of our Wikibase writings on our Wikibase blog.

Option 1: ProWiki

Highlights:

• Instant setup
• SLA
• Optimized MediaWiki experience
• No Query service or QuickStatements

ProWiki is the most modern MediaWiki hosting service on the market. Create your wiki instantly. No waiting, no talking to someone first. Activate any of dozens of MediaWiki extensions with a click or configure your Wikibase via the admin panel.

Because ProWiki is first and foremost a MediaWiki hosting platform, it does not provide the most comprehensive Wikibase experience. Most notably, it does not currently come with the Wikibase Query Service. It also does not come with popular Wikibase tools like QuickStatements and OpenRefine. For some use cases this will be a deal-breaker. For other use cases the best-in-class MediaWiki tooling makes ProWiki the perfect fit.

Our Wikibase extensions such as Automated Values and Wikibase Local Media are all included with ProWiki. You get quick access to new functionality via frequent software updates and additions of new extensions.

ProWiki comes with a support and uptime SLA and is a paid service. Pricing starts at 119 EUR a month for organizations and 33 EUR a month for individuals. You can try out ProWiki wikibase hosting via the free trial.

Conclusion

ProWiki gives you a well-rounded wiki with Wikibase but is not for those that need the Query Service.

Option 2: Wikibase.Cloud

Highlights:

• Free
• Query service and QuickStatements
• Limited customizability
• No SLA
• Unstable
• Advertising by Wikimedia Deutschland

Wikibase.Cloud is a project run by the non-profit Wikimedia Deutschland. Its biggest selling point is that it is free. The hosting and people costs are paid for with money of people who donate to Wikipedia.

Wikibase Cloud comes with both the Query Service and QuickStatements. It also comes with a number of extensions and a configuration UI for a handful of Wikibase settings.

As a free service, Wikibase Cloud comes with some notable downsides. Queries and search are unreliable and sometimes down completely. The wiki isn't really yours: Wikimedia has used Wikibase Cloud wikis to advertise their own programmes. Do you want a big banner to show up on every page of your wiki shown to all your users with a message you do not control, all without warning?

Another downside of Wikibase Cloud is that it does not come with an SLA. It is also not clear what will happen if internal Wikimedia politics changes, or if there is some outrage about donor money being spent on a hosting service. Wikimedia has a track record of discontinuing projects and classifying "third-party concerns" as not important. These risks and the lack of an SLA are not a big deal for disposable wikis, such as when trying out Wikibase.

Wikibase Cloud is also not very customizable. It comes without many of the most popular MediaWiki extensions, and you cannot use any Wikibase tools beyond those that are already included. This makes it unsuitable for your typical serious Wikibase instance, a sentiment we have heard voiced by Wikimedia Deutschland itself several times. Luckily there are good Wikibase Cloud alternatives.

Conclusion

Wikibase.Cloud is great for those without a budget and those who wish to try out the Query Service.

Option 3: Wikibase Hosting by Professional Wiki

Highlights

• Query service, QuickStatements and more
• Most customizable and can be on-prem
• SLA
• Most expensive

We provide dedicated and tailored Wikibase hosting on request.

This includes the core Wikibase software, the Wikibase Query Service, ElasticSearch, tools such as QuickStatements and OpenRefine, Wikibase extensions, MediaWiki extensions and more. You want it, we include it. Don't know what tools you need? Not to worry, we will analyze your use case and make a recommendation, including a short summary of how we got there.

Out of all Wikibase hosting options, this one is the most customizable. It is the only option for organizations that need an on-premises Wikibase, custom integrations with other systems, or wish to use specialized Wikibase tools.

Our tailored Wikibase hosting comes with uptime and support guarantees in the form of an SLA. We can bundle your Wikibase hosting together with other Wikibase services. For instance, we can help you import data into your Wikibase, or develop new Wikibase features for you.

Naturally, all of this comes with a price tag attached. If your budget is very constrained, then this option might not be suitable for you, as it is the most expensive.

Learn more about our dedicated Wikibase Hosting

Conclusion

Our Wikibase hosting is for Organizations that need a reliable or customizable Wikibase.

Comparison Table

Quickly see the differences between the Wikibase hosting options. Common features are omitted for brevity.

We're excited to announce that ProWiki now supports Mermaid diagrams, bringing powerful visualization capabilities to your wiki! This new feature allows you to create a wide variety of diagrams and charts directly within your wiki pages.

What is Mermaid?

Mermaid is a JavaScript-based diagramming and charting tool that dynamically renders plaintext definitions to create and modify diagrams. With Mermaid, you can easily create:

• Flowcharts
• Sequence diagrams
• Gantt charts
• Class diagrams
• State diagrams
• Pie charts
• And more!

Why Mermaid on ProWiki?

Adding Mermaid support to ProWiki empowers you to:

1. Enhance Documentation: Create clear, visual representations of processes, structures, and timelines.
2. Improve Collaboration: Share complex ideas more effectively with easy-to-understand diagrams.
3. Save Time: Generate diagrams quickly without leaving your wiki or using external tools.

Easy to Enable and Use

Mermaid can be enabled easily by using our ProWiki admin panel:

Once enabled, you can create diagrams immediately using the #mermaid parser function.

Learn More

Check out our guide to Mermaid in MediaWiki to learn how to create various types of diagrams, Mermaid syntax, and how to use Mermaid effectively.

We're Here to Help

As always, if you have any questions about using Mermaid or any other ProWiki feature, don't hesitate to contact us.

Start visualizing your ideas today with Mermaid on ProWiki!

We take security seriously at ProWiki. That's why we're excited to announce the release of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your wiki. 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring a second form of verification in addition to your password. This feature helps protect your account from unauthorized access, even if your password is compromised.

2FA is available for all users on ProWiki. To enable 2FA, go to your user preferences and click the "Manage" button next to "Two-Factor Authentication". You can then set up 2FA with an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy by scanning the QR code or entering the secret key.

Administrators can mandate 2FA for users with elevated permissions or for all users via the MediaWiki admin panel.

Get Started With 2FA

2FA is one of the many features included in ProWiki. Create your wiki today.