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API:Categories

From mediawiki.org
MediaWiki version:
1.11

GET request to view categories associated with a page or pages.

This module can be used as a generator .

API documentation

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prop=categories (cl)

(main | query | categories)
  • This module requires read rights.
  • This module can be used as a generator.
  • Source: MediaWiki
  • License: GPL-2.0-or-later

List all categories the pages belong to.

Specific parameters:
Other general parameters are available.
clprop

Which additional properties to get for each category:

sortkey
Adds the sortkey (hexadecimal string) and sortkey prefix (human-readable part) for the category.
timestamp
Adds timestamp of when the category was added.
hidden
Tags categories that are hidden with __HIDDENCAT__.
Values (separate with | or alternative): hidden, sortkey, timestamp
clshow

Which kind of categories to show.

Values (separate with | or alternative): !hidden, hidden
cllimit

How many categories to return.

Type: integer or max
The value must be between 1 and 500.
Default: 10
clcontinue

When more results are available, use this to continue. More detailed information on how to continue queries can be found on mediawiki.org.

clcategories

Only list these categories. Useful for checking whether a certain page is in a certain category.

Separate values with | or alternative.
Maximum number of values is 50 (500 for clients that are allowed higher limits).
cldir

The direction in which to list.

One of the following values: ascending, descending
Default: ascending
Examples:
Get a list of categories the page Albert Einstein belongs to.
api.php?action=query&prop=categories&titles=Albert%20Einstein [open in sandbox]
Get information about all categories used in the page Albert Einstein.
api.php?action=query&generator=categories&titles=Albert%20Einstein&prop=info [open in sandbox]


Example

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GET request

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GET request to view categories on a page.

Response

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{
    "continue": {
        "clcontinue": "13828397|Afrofuturists",
        "continue": "||"
    },
    "query": {
        "pages": {
            "13828397": {
                "pageid": 13828397,
                "ns": 0,
                "title": "Janelle Mon\u00e1e",
                "categories": [
                    {
                        "ns": 14,
                        "title": "Category:1985 births"
                    },
                    {
                        "ns": 14,
                        "title": "Category:21st-century American actresses"
                    },
                    {
                        "ns": 14,
                        "title": "Category:21st-century American singers"
                    },
                    ...
                ]
            }
        }
    }
}

Sample code

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Python

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#!/usr/bin/python3

"""
    get_categories.py

    MediaWiki API Demos
    Demo of `Categories` module: Get categories associated with a page.

    MIT License
"""

import requests

S = requests.Session()

URL = "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php"

PARAMS = {
    "action": "query",
    "format": "json",
    "prop": "categories",
    "titles": "Janelle Monáe"
}

R = S.get(url=URL, params=PARAMS)
DATA = R.json()

PAGES = DATA["query"]["pages"]

for k, v in PAGES.items():
    for cat in v['categories']:
        print(cat["title"])

PHP

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<?php
/*
    get_categories.php

    MediaWiki API Demos
    Demo of `Categories` module: Get categories associated with a page.

    MIT License
*/

$endPoint = "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php";
$params = [
    "action" => "query",
    "format" => "json",
    "prop" => "categories",
    "titles" => "Janelle Monáe"
];

$url = $endPoint . "?" . http_build_query( $params );

$ch = curl_init( $url );
curl_setopt( $ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true );
$output = curl_exec( $ch );
curl_close( $ch );

$result = json_decode( $output, true );

foreach( $result["query"]["pages"] as $k => $v ) {
    foreach( $v["categories"] as $k => $v ) {
        echo( $v["title"] . "\n" );
    }
}

JavaScript

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/*
    get_categories.js

    MediaWiki API Demos
    Demo of `Categories` module: Get categories associated with a page.

    MIT License
*/

var url = "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php"; 

var params = {
    action: "query",
    format: "json",
    prop: "categories",
    titles: "Janelle Monáe"
};

url = url + "?origin=*";
Object.keys(params).forEach(function(key){url += "&" + key + "=" + params[key];});

fetch(url)
    .then(function(response){return response.json();})
    .then(function(response) {
        var pages = response.query.pages;
        for (var p in pages) {
            for (var cat of pages[p].categories) {
                console.log(cat.title);
            }
        }
    })
    .catch(function(error){console.log(error);});

MediaWiki JS

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/*
	get_categories.js

	MediaWiki API Demos
	Demo of `Categories` module: Get categories associated with a page.

	MIT License
*/

var params = {
		action: 'query',
		format: 'json',
		prop: 'categories',
		titles: 'Janelle Monáe'
	},
	api = new mw.Api();

api.get( params ).done( function ( data ) {
	var pages = data.query.pages,
		p;
	for ( p in pages ) {
		pages[ p ].categories.forEach( function ( cat ) {
			console.log( cat.title );
		} );
	}
} );

Possible errors

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Code Info
clshow Incorrect parameter - mutually exclusive values may not be supplied.

Parameter history

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  • v1.20: Introduced cldir
  • v1.16: Introduced clprop=hidden
  • v1.15: Introduced clcategories
  • v1.14: Introduced clshow
  • v1.13: Introduced clcontinue, cllimit, clprop=timestamp

See also

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