Project:Manual

This page is for the discussion and co-ordination of the MediaWiki Manual. The manual is located in the Manual: namespace (starting at Manual:Contents ) and is released under the GNU Free Documentation License. Note that manual content must be kept completely separate from the PD Help pages located in the Help: namespace, as they are released under a different, incompatible license (see Project:Copyrights for details).

For general information about what should go in which namespace, see Project:Namespaces .

• What content should be in the Manual: namespace?
  • Information on setting up a new wiki
  • Information on moving/upgrading/exporting/importing
  • Documentation for Maintenance scripts
  • Information about hooks/API/Database layout etc.
• What should not be in the Manual: namespace?
  • Basic help on using and editing. This belongs in the Help: namespace
  • Extensions and tools, that are not part of the default MediaWiki distribution. (Extension: namespace)

Skin documentation describes how developers and admins can use and create skins.

• Landing page: Manual:Skins
• Navigation template: Template:Skins

Documentation for individual skins is stored outside the Manual: namespace in the Skin: namespace.

Extension documentation describes how developers and admins can use and create extensions.

• Landing page: Manual:Extensions
• Navigation template: Template:Extensions

Documentation for individual extensions is stored outside the Manual: namespace in the Extension: namespace.

There is a set of pages that provides information for developers about how to create and modify extensions. Some of these pages are specific to extensions, like the extension.json schema, while others also include information that is relevant to MediaWiki core developers, like the hooks documentation.

The landing page for extension development is Manual:Developing extensions . All pages related to extension development should include the navigation template Template:Extension development at the end of the page, with the exception of individual hook and configuration variable pages.

In the docs, strategies for extending MediaWiki core in extensions, skins, and user scripts/gadgets are referred to as extension points. Documentation about how to use extension points should be stored on a dedicated page in the Manual: namespace, such as Manual:Hooks . To help developers discover these extension points, the extension points available to extensions, skins, and user scripts are linked from their respective development landing pages.

Extension points used by extensions should be listed on:

• Manual:Developing extensions
• Template:Extension development

Extension points used by skins should be listed on:

• Manual:How to make a MediaWiki skin

Extension points used by user scripts/gadgets should be listed on:

• Gadget kitchen

Some discussion has been held regarding the layout of the Manual: namespace, but no formal decision has been made. The main debate is whether Manual pages should be organized in a flat hierarchy, with all pages at the root level, or with subtopics as subpages of the main topics. Here is where prior discussion has taken place:

• User talk:Bdk#Config. stuff
• Project:Flat namespace
• Project:Village Pump/Archive 1#Page Hierarchy

• Documentation/Style guide

to be discussed

to be discussed

• Use http://test.leuksman.com/view/Main_Page for taking screenshots (note: currently not working)
• Screenshots should be cut to show only the relevant part of the site (no browser surroundings).

to be discussed

Some general discussions about internationalisation are at Project:Language policy .