This page documents a
procedural policy of Wikipedia. It documents various processes by which the English Wikipedia operates. |
This page in a nutshell: Interface administrators are highly trusted users able to edit all JS/CSS/JSON pages, gadgets, and MediaWiki messages. |
Interface administrators (interface-admins) are users who can edit all JavaScript (JS), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) pages in the MediaWiki and User namespaces. 1 They are the only local user group with the ability to edit all JS/CSS pages. 2 These pages are executed by the browser of wiki editors and readers as code, which can be used to change how content is styled, change the behavior of pages, or even create complex tools to help with editing.
There are currently 10 interface administrators (including one bot). If you need assistance from an interface administrator, you can make a request at the interface administrators' noticeboard or use {{ edit interface-protected}}.
The ability to edit JS/CSS that is executed in other users' browsers is very powerful, and extremely dangerous in the hands of a malicious user; interface administrators should be users who are highly trusted, have at least a basic understanding of JS and CSS, are aware of the privacy expectations of Wikimedia wikis, and have a decent understanding of how to secure their accounts (such as choosing strong and unique passwords and avoiding malware infection). The WMF Office requires all interface administrators to use two-factor authentication. 3
There is a similar global interface editors group, who may use their access subject to the global rights policy.
The interface administrator right may be granted only to existing administrators. 4 5 Interface administrators are required to use two-factor authentication (2FA). 6
Permission should be removed by bureaucrats in the following circumstances: 7
Any bot operator requesting access for their bot(s) must permanently possess the user right themselves. 7 As with regular interface administrator accounts, bot accounts with this permission must have 2FA enabled and use a strong password.
There are two general kinds of pages in the MediaWiki namespace: Message pages and site configuration pages. Interface administrators can edit and delete these pages, and can modify user configuration pages that live in the user space of other editors. Administrators who are not interface administrators can instead edit and delete most message pages (but not all of them).
Administrators and oversighters who are not interface administrators can delete and revision delete (or suppress in the case of oversighters) JS or CSS pages that live in the user space of other editors, as well as view their deleted revisions. However, they cannot undelete pages, or restore revisions of those pages. Both regular administrators and interface administrators can modify JSON pages in the MediaWiki namespace or within the user space of other editors.
Action | User | Administrator | Interface administrator |
---|---|---|---|
View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Create | No | No | Yes |
Edit | No | No | Yes |
Move | No | No | Yes |
Revision Delete | No | Yes | Yes |
Delete (MediaWiki space) | No | No | Yes |
Delete (user space) | No | Yes | Yes |
View deleted history | No | Yes | Yes |
Undelete | No | No | Yes |
This page documents a
procedural policy of Wikipedia. It documents various processes by which the English Wikipedia operates. |
This page in a nutshell: Interface administrators are highly trusted users able to edit all JS/CSS/JSON pages, gadgets, and MediaWiki messages. |
Interface administrators (interface-admins) are users who can edit all JavaScript (JS), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) pages in the MediaWiki and User namespaces. 1 They are the only local user group with the ability to edit all JS/CSS pages. 2 These pages are executed by the browser of wiki editors and readers as code, which can be used to change how content is styled, change the behavior of pages, or even create complex tools to help with editing.
There are currently 10 interface administrators (including one bot). If you need assistance from an interface administrator, you can make a request at the interface administrators' noticeboard or use {{ edit interface-protected}}.
The ability to edit JS/CSS that is executed in other users' browsers is very powerful, and extremely dangerous in the hands of a malicious user; interface administrators should be users who are highly trusted, have at least a basic understanding of JS and CSS, are aware of the privacy expectations of Wikimedia wikis, and have a decent understanding of how to secure their accounts (such as choosing strong and unique passwords and avoiding malware infection). The WMF Office requires all interface administrators to use two-factor authentication. 3
There is a similar global interface editors group, who may use their access subject to the global rights policy.
The interface administrator right may be granted only to existing administrators. 4 5 Interface administrators are required to use two-factor authentication (2FA). 6
Permission should be removed by bureaucrats in the following circumstances: 7
Any bot operator requesting access for their bot(s) must permanently possess the user right themselves. 7 As with regular interface administrator accounts, bot accounts with this permission must have 2FA enabled and use a strong password.
There are two general kinds of pages in the MediaWiki namespace: Message pages and site configuration pages. Interface administrators can edit and delete these pages, and can modify user configuration pages that live in the user space of other editors. Administrators who are not interface administrators can instead edit and delete most message pages (but not all of them).
Administrators and oversighters who are not interface administrators can delete and revision delete (or suppress in the case of oversighters) JS or CSS pages that live in the user space of other editors, as well as view their deleted revisions. However, they cannot undelete pages, or restore revisions of those pages. Both regular administrators and interface administrators can modify JSON pages in the MediaWiki namespace or within the user space of other editors.
Action | User | Administrator | Interface administrator |
---|---|---|---|
View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Create | No | No | Yes |
Edit | No | No | Yes |
Move | No | No | Yes |
Revision Delete | No | Yes | Yes |
Delete (MediaWiki space) | No | No | Yes |
Delete (user space) | No | Yes | Yes |
View deleted history | No | Yes | Yes |
Undelete | No | No | Yes |