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MediaWiki
MediaWiki · San Francisco, California, United States
What it is
MediaWiki is free, server-based wiki software for collecting, organizing, and sharing knowledge. Contributors edit pages in wikitext without needing HTML or CSS, and earlier versions remain available for reverting changes. Administrators can use extensions to adjust appearance and behavior, while caching is designed to support large, high-traffic wikis. Its REST API provides HTTP access to wiki content and functions such as search, page transformations, and history, with JSON or HTML responses. MediaWiki is self-hosted and licensed under GNU GPL version 2 or later; the download page says it comes without warranty to the extent permitted by law. The latest stable version requires PHP 8.3.0 or later, a web server, and a supported database: MariaDB 10.3.0+, MySQL 5.7.0+, PostgreSQL 10.0+, or SQLite 3.31.0+. Each release receives security updates for one year, and developers recommend following the mediawiki-announce list. The site offers documentation, FAQs, community channels, and a community support desk. Third-party extensions can be unmaintained, vulnerable, incompatible with some versions, or unreliable in combination.
For and against
For
- Free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later.
- Page history allows edits to be reverted.
- REST API supports search and page history.
- Caching is designed for large, high-traffic wikis.
Against
- Requires self-hosting, a web server, and a database.
- Latest stable version requires PHP 8.3.0 or later.
- Third-party extensions may be vulnerable or incompatible.
- Provided without warranty to the extent permitted by law.
The verdict
MediaWiki provides a self-hosted foundation for collaborative knowledge pages, with version history, extensions, and a REST API. Plan for its server and database requirements, and assess extensions carefully.
Who it suits
MediaWiki suits organizations and communities that want to host a knowledge wiki and can manage the required server and database. The manual notes it may not fit projects needing partial access restrictions or dedicated forum or blogging software.
Plans and prices
MediaWiki
Free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later · self-hosted software
Read 3 Oct 2026 · mediawiki.org
On the record
- API
- The REST API provides HTTP access to wiki content and functions, including searching, transforming pages, and accessing page history.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- API formats
- The REST API can return JSON or HTML and can expose extension-specific endpoints.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Publishing audience
- bothmediawiki.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Audience fit
- The manual says MediaWiki may not suit wikis needing partial access restrictions, smaller sites constrained by disk or memory, or projects seeking dedicated forum or blogging software.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Content analytics
- Yesmediawiki.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Custom domain
- Yesmediawiki.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Customization
- Extensions let administrators customize MediaWiki's appearance and behavior, and developers can write or contribute extensions.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Editing
- Pages use wikitext, which lets users edit without knowing HTML or CSS, and previous page versions remain available for reverting edits.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Extension risk
- Third-party extensions may be unmaintained, vulnerable, incompatible with some MediaWiki versions, or unreliable together.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- License and warranty
- MediaWiki is free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later, and the download page states that it is provided without warranty to the extent permitted by law.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Platform setup
- The installation requirements page describes software bundles such as XAMPP for Linux, Windows, and Mac, and MAMP for Windows and Mac.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- MediaWiki is server-based wiki software for collecting, organizing, and sharing knowledge.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Requirements
- The latest stable version requires PHP 8.3.0 or later, a web server, and MariaDB 10.3.0+, MySQL 5.7.0+, PostgreSQL 10.0+, or SQLite 3.31.0+.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Scale
- MediaWiki was designed for high-traffic websites and supports caching for large wikis.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Security updates
- The developers recommend subscribing to the low-traffic mediawiki-announce list, and each release receives security updates for one year.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- SSO support
- Yesmediawiki.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Support
- The MediaWiki site directs users with questions to its community support desk and offers documentation, FAQs, and community communication channels.mediawiki.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Version history
- Yesmediawiki.org · read 20 Sep 2026
