---
title: "MediaWiki API help - DreamFactory Wiki"
source: "https://wiki.dreamfactory.com/api.php"
canonical_url: "https://wiki.dreamfactory.com/api.php"
converted_at: "2026-11-15T23:54:10.306Z"
format: "markdown"
converted_by: "html-to-md-ai"
---
# MediaWiki API help

	
		This is an auto-generated MediaWiki API documentation page.

Documentation and examples: [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API:Main_page](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API:Main_page)

## Main module

- Source: MediaWiki
- License: [GPL-2.0-or-later](/Special:Version/License/MediaWiki)

- [Documentation](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API:Main_page)

- [Etiquette & usage guidelines](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API:Etiquette)

- [FAQ](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API:FAQ)

- [Mailing list](https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/mediawiki-api.lists.wikimedia.org/)

- [API Announcements](https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/mediawiki-api-announce.lists.wikimedia.org/)

- [Bugs & requests](https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/maniphest/query/GebfyV4uCaLd/#R)

**Status:** The MediaWiki API is a mature and stable interface that is actively supported and improved. While we try to avoid it, we may occasionally need to make breaking changes; subscribe to [the mediawiki-api-announce mailing list](https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/mediawiki-api-announce@lists.wikimedia.org/) for notice of updates.

**Erroneous requests:** When erroneous requests are sent to the API, an HTTP header will be sent with the key "MediaWiki-API-Error" and then both the value of the header and the error code sent back will be set to the same value. For more information see [API: Errors and warnings](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API:Errors_and_warnings).

**Testing:** For ease of testing API requests, see [Special:ApiSandbox](/Special:ApiSandbox).

Specific parameters:actionWhich action to perform.

[acquiretempusername](/api.php?action=help&modules=acquiretempusername)
Acquire a temporary user username and stash it in the current session, if temp account creation is enabled and the current user is logged out. If a name has already been stashed, returns the same name.
[block](/api.php?action=help&modules=block)
Block a user.
[changeauthenticationdata](/api.php?action=help&modules=changeauthenticationdata)
Change authentication data for the current user.
[changecontentmodel](/api.php?action=help&modules=changecontentmodel)
Change the content model of a page
[checktoken](/api.php?action=help&modules=checktoken)
Check the validity of a token from [action=query&meta=tokens](/api.php?action=help&modules=query%2Btokens).
[clearhasmsg](/api.php?action=help&modules=clearhasmsg)
Clears the `hasmsg` flag for the current user.
[clientlogin](/api.php?action=help&modules=clientlogin)
Log in to the wiki using the interactive flow.
[compare](/api.php?action=help&modules=compare)
Get the difference between two pages.
[createaccount](/api.php?action=help&modules=createaccount)
Create a new user account.
[delete](/api.php?action=help&modules=delete)
Delete a page.
[edit](/api.php?action=help&modules=edit)
Create and edit pages.
[emailuser](/api.php?action=help&modules=emailuser)
Email a user.
[expandtemplates](/api.php?action=help&modules=expandtemplates)
Expands all templates within wikitext.
[feedcontributions](/api.php?action=help&modules=feedcontributions)
Returns a user's contributions feed.
[feedrecentchanges](/api.php?action=help&modules=feedrecentchanges)
Returns a recent changes feed.
[feedwatchlist](/api.php?action=help&modules=feedwatchlist)
Returns a watchlist feed.
[filerevert](/api.php?action=help&modules=filerevert)
Revert a file to an old version.
[help](/api.php?action=help&modules=help)
Display help for the specified modules.
[imagerotate](/api.php?action=help&modules=imagerotate)
Rotate one or more images.
[import](/api.php?action=help&modules=import)
Import a page from another wiki, or from an XML file.
[linkaccount](/api.php?action=help&modules=linkaccount)
Link an account from a third-party provider to the current user.
[login](/api.php?action=help&modules=login)
Log in and get authentication cookies.
[logout](/api.php?action=help&modules=logout)
Log out and clear session data.
[managetags](/api.php?action=help&modules=managetags)
Perform management tasks relating to change tags.
[mergehistory](/api.php?action=help&modules=mergehistory)
Merge page histories.
[move](/api.php?action=help&modules=move)
Move a page.
[opensearch](/api.php?action=help&modules=opensearch)
Search the wiki using the OpenSearch protocol.
[options](/api.php?action=help&modules=options)
Change preferences of the current user.
[paraminfo](/api.php?action=help&modules=paraminfo)
Obtain information about API modules.
[parse](/api.php?action=help&modules=parse)
Parses content and returns parser output.
[patrol](/api.php?action=help&modules=patrol)
Patrol a page or revision.
[protect](/api.php?action=help&modules=protect)
Change the protection level of a page.
[purge](/api.php?action=help&modules=purge)
Purge the cache for the given titles.
[query](/api.php?action=help&modules=query)
Fetch data from and about MediaWiki.
[removeauthenticationdata](/api.php?action=help&modules=removeauthenticationdata)
Remove authentication data for the current user.
[resetpassword](/api.php?action=help&modules=resetpassword)
Send a password reset email to a user.
[revisiondelete](/api.php?action=help&modules=revisiondelete)
Delete and undelete revisions.
[rollback](/api.php?action=help&modules=rollback)
Undo the last edit to the page.
[rsd](/api.php?action=help&modules=rsd)
Export an RSD (Really Simple Discovery) schema.
[setnotificationtimestamp](/api.php?action=help&modules=setnotificationtimestamp)
Update the notification timestamp for watched pages.
[setpagelanguage](/api.php?action=help&modules=setpagelanguage)
Change the language of a page.
[tag](/api.php?action=help&modules=tag)
Add or remove change tags from individual revisions or log entries.
[unblock](/api.php?action=help&modules=unblock)
Unblock a user.
[undelete](/api.php?action=help&modules=undelete)
Undelete revisions of a deleted page.
[unlinkaccount](/api.php?action=help&modules=unlinkaccount)
Remove a linked third-party account from the current user.
[upload](/api.php?action=help&modules=upload)
Upload a file, or get the status of pending uploads.
[userrights](/api.php?action=help&modules=userrights)
Change a user's group membership.
[validatepassword](/api.php?action=help&modules=validatepassword)
Validate a password against the wiki's password policies.
[watch](/api.php?action=help&modules=watch)
Add or remove pages from the current user's watchlist.
[cspreport](/api.php?action=help&modules=cspreport)
Internal. Used by browsers to report violations of the Content Security Policy. This module should never be used, except when used automatically by a CSP compliant web browser.
[stashedit](/api.php?action=help&modules=stashedit)
Internal. Prepare an edit in shared cache.One of the following values: [acquiretempusername](/api.php?action=help&modules=acquiretempusername), [block](/api.php?action=help&modules=block), [changeauthenticationdata](/api.php?action=help&modules=changeauthenticationdata), [changecontentmodel](/api.php?action=help&modules=changecontentmodel), [checktoken](/api.php?action=help&modules=checktoken), [clearhasmsg](/api.php?action=help&modules=clearhasmsg), [clientlogin](/api.php?action=help&modules=clientlogin), [compare](/api.php?action=help&modules=compare), [createaccount](/api.php?action=help&modules=createaccount), [delete](/api.php?action=help&modules=delete), [edit](/api.php?action=help&modules=edit), [emailuser](/api.php?action=help&modules=emailuser), [expandtemplates](/api.php?action=help&modules=expandtemplates), [feedcontributions](/api.php?action=help&modules=feedcontributions), [feedrecentchanges](/api.php?action=help&modules=feedrecentchanges), [feedwatchlist](/api.php?action=help&modules=feedwatchlist), [filerevert](/api.php?action=help&modules=filerevert), [help](/api.php?action=help&modules=help), [imagerotate](/api.php?action=help&modules=imagerotate), [import](/api.php?action=help&modules=import), [linkaccount](/api.php?action=help&modules=linkaccount), [login](/api.php?action=help&modules=login), [logout](/api.php?action=help&modules=logout), [managetags](/api.php?action=help&modules=managetags), [mergehistory](/api.php?action=help&modules=mergehistory), [move](/api.php?action=help&modules=move), [opensearch](/api.php?action=help&modules=opensearch), [options](/api.php?action=help&modules=options), [paraminfo](/api.php?action=help&modules=paraminfo), [parse](/api.php?action=help&modules=parse), [patrol](/api.php?action=help&modules=patrol), [protect](/api.php?action=help&modules=protect), [purge](/api.php?action=help&modules=purge), [query](/api.php?action=help&modules=query), [removeauthenticationdata](/api.php?action=help&modules=removeauthenticationdata), [resetpassword](/api.php?action=help&modules=resetpassword), [revisiondelete](/api.php?action=help&modules=revisiondelete), [rollback](/api.php?action=help&modules=rollback), [rsd](/api.php?action=help&modules=rsd), [setnotificationtimestamp](/api.php?action=help&modules=setnotificationtimestamp), [setpagelanguage](/api.php?action=help&modules=setpagelanguage), [tag](/api.php?action=help&modules=tag), [unblock](/api.php?action=help&modules=unblock), [undelete](/api.php?action=help&modules=undelete), [unlinkaccount](/api.php?action=help&modules=unlinkaccount), [upload](/api.php?action=help&modules=upload), [userrights](/api.php?action=help&modules=userrights), [validatepassword](/api.php?action=help&modules=validatepassword), [watch](/api.php?action=help&modules=watch), [cspreport](/api.php?action=help&modules=cspreport), [stashedit](/api.php?action=help&modules=stashedit)Default: helpformatThe format of the output.

[json](/api.php?action=help&modules=json)
Output data in JSON format.
[jsonfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=jsonfm)
Output data in JSON format (pretty-print in HTML).
[none](/api.php?action=help&modules=none)
Output nothing.
[php](/api.php?action=help&modules=php)
Output data in serialized PHP format.
[phpfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=phpfm)
Output data in serialized PHP format (pretty-print in HTML).
[rawfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=rawfm)
Output data, including debugging elements, in JSON format (pretty-print in HTML).
[xml](/api.php?action=help&modules=xml)
Output data in XML format.
[xmlfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=xmlfm)
Output data in XML format (pretty-print in HTML).One of the following values: [json](/api.php?action=help&modules=json), [jsonfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=jsonfm), [none](/api.php?action=help&modules=none), [php](/api.php?action=help&modules=php), [phpfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=phpfm), [rawfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=rawfm), [xml](/api.php?action=help&modules=xml), [xmlfm](/api.php?action=help&modules=xmlfm)Default: jsonfmmaxlagMaximum lag can be used when MediaWiki is installed on a database replicated cluster. To save actions causing any more site replication lag, this parameter can make the client wait until the replication lag is less than the specified value. In case of excessive lag, error code maxlag is returned with a message like Waiting for $host: $lag seconds lagged.
See [Manual: Maxlag parameter](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Maxlag_parameter) for more information.

Type: integersmaxageSet the `s-maxage` HTTP cache control header to this many seconds. Errors are never cached.

Type: integerThe value must be no less than 0.Default: 0maxageSet the `max-age` HTTP cache control header to this many seconds. Errors are never cached.

Type: integerThe value must be no less than 0.Default: 0assertVerify that the user is logged in (including possibly as a temporary user) if set to user, *not* logged in if set to anon, or has the bot user right if bot.

One of the following values: anon, bot, userassertuserVerify the current user is the named user.

Type: user, by any of username and Temporary userrequestidAny value given here will be included in the response. May be used to distinguish requests.

servedbyInclude the hostname that served the request in the results.

Type: boolean ([details](#main/datatype/boolean))curtimestampInclude the current timestamp in the result.

Type: boolean ([details](#main/datatype/boolean))responselanginfoInclude the languages used for uselang and errorlang in the result.

Type: boolean ([details](#main/datatype/boolean))originWhen accessing the API using a cross-domain AJAX request (CORS), set this to the originating domain. This must be included in any pre-flight request, and therefore must be part of the request URI (not the POST body).

For authenticated requests, this must match one of the origins in the `Origin` header exactly, so it has to be set to something like [https://en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org) or [https://meta.wikimedia.org](https://meta.wikimedia.org). If this parameter does not match the `Origin` header, a 403 response will be returned. If this parameter matches the `Origin` header and the origin is allowed, the `Access-Control-Allow-Origin` and `Access-Control-Allow-Credentials` headers will be set.

For non-authenticated requests, specify the value *. This will cause the `Access-Control-Allow-Origin` header to be set, but `Access-Control-Allow-Credentials` will be `false` and all user-specific data will be restricted.

uselangLanguage to use for message translations. [action=query&meta=siteinfo&siprop=languages](/api.php?action=help&modules=query%2Bsiteinfo) returns a list of language codes. You can specify user to use the current user's language preference or content to use this wiki's content language.

Default: uservariantVariant of the language. Only works if the base language supports variant conversion.

errorformatFormat to use for warning and error text output

plaintext
Wikitext with HTML tags removed and entities replaced.
wikitext
Unparsed wikitext.
html
HTML
raw
Message key and parameters.
none
No text output, only the error codes.
bc
Format used prior to MediaWiki 1.29. errorlang and errorsuselocal are ignored.One of the following values: bc, html, none, plaintext, raw, wikitextDefault: bcerrorlangLanguage to use for warnings and errors. [action=query&meta=siteinfo&siprop=languages](/api.php?action=help&modules=query%2Bsiteinfo) returns a list of language codes. Specify content to use this wiki's content language or uselang to use the same value as the uselang parameter.

Default: uselangerrorsuselocalIf given, error texts will use locally-customized messages from the MediaWiki namespace.

Type: boolean ([details](#main/datatype/boolean))
Examples:Help for the main module.[api.php?action=help](/api.php?action=help) [[open in sandbox]](/Special:ApiSandbox#action=help)All help in one page.[api.php?action=help&recursivesubmodules=1](/api.php?action=help&recursivesubmodules=1) [[open in sandbox]](/Special:ApiSandbox#action=help&recursivesubmodules=1)
Permission:apihighlimitsUse higher limits in API queries (slow queries: 500; fast queries: 5000). The limits for slow queries also apply to multivalue parameters.Granted to: bot and sysop

### Data types

Input to MediaWiki should be NFC-normalized UTF-8. MediaWiki may attempt to convert other input, but this may cause some operations (such as [edits](/api.php?action=help&modules=edit) with MD5 checks) to fail.

Parameters that take multiple values are normally submitted with the values separated using the pipe character, e.g. param=value1|value2 or param=value1%7Cvalue2. If a value must contain the pipe character, use U+001F (Unit Separator) as the separator *and* prefix the value with U+001F, e.g. param=%1Fvalue1%1Fvalue2.

Some parameter types in API requests need further explanation:

booleanBoolean parameters work like HTML checkboxes: if the parameter is specified, regardless of value, it is considered true. For a false value, omit the parameter entirely.

expiryExpiry values may be relative (e.g. 5 months or 2 weeks) or absolute (e.g. 2014-09-18T12:34:56Z). For no expiry, use infinite, indefinite, infinity or never.

timestampTimestamps may be specified in several formats, see [the Timestamp library input formats documented on mediawiki.org](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Timestamp) for details. ISO 8601 date and time is recommended: 2001-01-15T14:56:00Z. Additionally, the string now may be used to specify the current timestamp.

### Templated parameters

Templated parameters support cases where an API module needs a value for each value of some other parameter. For example, if there were an API module to request fruit, it might have a parameter fruits to specify which fruits are being requested and a templated parameter {fruit}-quantity to specify how many of each fruit to request. An API client that wants 1 apple, 5 bananas, and 20 strawberries could then make a request like fruits=apples|bananas|strawberries&apples-quantity=1&bananas-quantity=5&strawberries-quantity=20.

### Credits

API developers:

- Yuri Astrakhan (creator, lead developer Sep 2006–Sep 2007)

- Roan Kattouw (lead developer Sep 2007–2009)

- Victor Vasiliev

- Bryan Tong Minh

- Sam Reed

- Brad Jorsch (lead developer 2013–2020)

Please send your comments, suggestions and questions to [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection)
or file a bug report at [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/](https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/).

Retrieved from "[https://wiki.dreamfactory.com/Special:ApiHelp](https://wiki.dreamfactory.com/Special:ApiHelp)"