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Project:Bots

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Bots are automated or semi-automated processes that edit pages with reduced or no direct human supervision. Because bots may potentially strain server resources or accidentally disrupt the project, bots must follow special policies and guidelines. Additionally, as bots can be used to intentionally create vast amounts of damage very quickly, bots editing very quickly without permission (a bot "flag") or in a questionable manner, will be immediately blocked. Running a bot on a normal (human) account is not allowed, a bot must have its own account, generally including the word "bot" in the name and preferably some way to connect it to the operator (e.g. User:RobBot operated by User:Robchurch). MediaWiki.org generally follows the policy stated at meta:Bot policy; however, as a development project, user trustworthiness and experience are of greatest importance and little to no discussion may take place before granting, or denying, a bot flag. Inactive bots may have their flags summarily removed for security purposes, the bot flag is merely intended to indicate that the bot is allowed to make relatively high speed direct edits for the purposes for which it was approved. Because this is a development project, the normal rules for bots on other WMF projects may not apply here, especially to developers.

There is some use for bots on mediawiki.org, but it is not the same as on community content based WMF projects, such as Wikipedia. Please post a request at Project:Requests if you plan to run a bot on MediaWiki.org. You may also speak to a bureaucrat directly via talk page or IRC, though requests from new, inexperienced, or unknown users will generally be denied.

Registered bots

A full list of approved ("flagged") bots can be viewed here: Special:Listusers/bot. Note that "MediaWiki default" is the account used internally by the MediaWiki software when it needs to make content changes as part of the installation/upgrade process, and is not a real bot and is not a blockable (although the account has been ostensibly blocked on some projects as an inactive or unapproved bot, this should have no effect). Also note that at times, the bot flag may be used by developers and other highly trusted users as a Flood flag.

Active bots

This list does not include any declared bots that are active but do not have a flag

Bots defined by the software

Inactive bots

Bot inactivity may not mean the bot is not needed, bots belonging to trusted and active users may be inactive for extended periods of time. This list only includes bots that are or were flagged. Bots active elsewhere on Wikimedia Foundation Projects may have SUL accounts on MediaWiki.org but may have never edited.

Bot flag as a flood flag

Analogous to m:Meta:Flood_flag, these are restricted to developers and other highly trusted users who have a real need for them, these are not bots

Requests for bot jobs

Here are some things that it would be useful to set up a bot to deal with. If adding to this list then please include your signature (~~~~) so that any potential bot writers can contact you for more info if needed: This page is not actively monitored so things may languish here for a while without response.

Requests for ongoing bot jobs

  • A bot that checks all links from this site to meta (both using the meta: interwiki prefix, and by full URL [1]), and if that page is a redirect to MediaWiki.org replaces the external link with the correct internal one. Ideally (though it's not a requirement) the bot should follow redirects if the meta redirect is out of date. Even more ideally, it would fix meta to skip the redirect too, but perhaps that is too much to ask of a single bot. --HappyDog 19:53, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Requests for one off bot jobs

  • Replace raw tabbed window markup with templates

Requests for permissions