Wikipedia:Administrators' guide/Tools
Unless you're okay with repetitive strain injury, it's best you get comfortable with the wealth of tools out there to assist you with administrative tasks. Getting the job done faster means less stress for you, smaller backlogs, and hence better overall stability of the project.
General
- Twinkle – Offers a wealth of powerful administrative tools. More info in the sections below.
- MoreMenu – Adds up to two drop-down menus to the menu bar containing links to useful common tasks, user/page logs, analytic tools/statistics, and tools for administrators.
- Popups – provides a small pop-up window when hovering over links and has a list of option including (un)block/delete/protect.
Rollback
- Twinkle – Provides "good-faith revert", "rollback", and "rollback (vandal)" links when viewing the diff of the most recent edit to a page. Only requires autoconfirmed permissions to work.
- massRollback – Rollback all edits made by a particular user. Proceed with caution!
- Huggle - A tool for anti-vandalism that, on the English Wikipedia, requires rollback permissions to work.
- RedWarn - Includes an option to use rollback to make reverting quicker, but, like Twinkle, can be used by any autoconfirmed user.
- AntiVandal - Web-based counter-vandalism tool, similar to Huggle in interface and usage but more lightweight. Requires rollback permission or inclusion in the AntiVandal whitelist.
Protecting
- Twinkle – A comprehensive (un)protect+template tool. Allows you to choose a preset that auto-supplies the standard protect settings for a given scenario. If the page has been protected in the past, a link will be shown to the protect log or pending changes log accordingly.Batch-protect: Click on the "P-batch" link to activate Twinkle's batch protect feature, allowing you to protect multiple pages at once. The module loads all links on the current page and lets you select which ones to protect. For instance, to protect all pages in your userspace, you can generate the page of links with Special:PrefixIndex/Example. To batch protect a specific group of pages (for example multiple articles arising from the same RfPP request), you can create a page in your userspace that contains a link to each of the pages you want to protect.
Blocking
Executing blocks
- Twinkle – A comprehensive block+template tool. Allows you to choose a preset that auto-supplies the standard block duration, block summary, and template to issue to the user. You will see different presets and options when blocking IPs versus accounts. You can also use this gadget just to template the user and not block, and vice versa. If the user has been blocked in the past, a link to the block log will be shown. Also automatically disables a hard block when blocking bots.
- EasyBlock – Block+template script with numerous options on types of blocks. This is quicker than Twinkle but does not allow you to choose block options. Many admins use both scripts.
- EasyBlock-modern – Same as the above, but tweaked to work on the Modern skin.
- massblock – Block multiple users at once. Use with caution!
- Note you can also block while patrolling recent changes with Huggle
WHOIS
- Domaintools – Probably the most comprehensive of the WHOIS tools, however requires you enter a CAPTCHA and has a limit of about 50 lookups a day. Be sure to check not just the ASN but the network name, etc, when attempting to determine if an IP belongs to a school or is otherwise shared.
- Whois Gateway on labs – free, CAPTCHA-less and limitless WHOIS lookups for IPs. May not show the network name in some situations.
- Betacommand's WHOIS tool – returns the ASN and CIDR range for an IP, checks for global blocks and returns the block log. To use, append the IP to the URL like
?ip=1.2.3.4 - For an up-to-date list of the most commons tools used when checking IPs, refer to {{anontools}}, passing it an IPv6 address if needed.
Range blocks
General information
- mw:Help:Range blocks, help on MediaWiki
- mw:Help:Range blocks/IPv6, IPv6 help
Calculating a range
Checking range contributions
Range contributions are now supported in MediaWiki core. Simply enter the range at Special:Contributions.
You can also do a wildcard search (e.g. 83.217.178.*) using the Contribsrange gadget gadget. Enable "Allow /16, /24 and /27 – /32 CIDR ranges" at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets under "Advanced". Then type in any CIDR range into Special:Contribs.
Deleting
Deleting pages
- Twinkle – Allows you to delete a page and optionally its talk page, all the redirects to that page, and even unlink any links to that page. Ability to delete under multiple criteria is now supported
- Batch-delete: Click on the "D-batch" link to activate Twinkle's batch delete feature, allowing you to delete multiple pages at once. The module loads all links on the current page and lets you select which ones to delete, along with options to also delete their talk pages, redirects to those pages, and removing links to those pages. Very useful for instance when closing a discussion at WP:AfD as delete, where you need to delete all pages in a category. You can also use Special:PrefixIndex to generate a list of subpages of a page, and then use D-batch to delete all of them.
- CSDHelper - Allows to easily handle speedy deletion requests, both deleting and declining, with multiple customizing options.
- SpamUserPage (WP:SUPG) – Allows you to delete a userspace page, block the user, and issue them with a block notice, all in one click, with options for types of blocks, deletion rationale, etc.
- spamublock – Delete a userpage, block the user, and issue {{uw-spamublock}} with one click
- User:Mr. Stradivarius/gadgets/Draftify (WP:DFY) – allows you to move a userspace draft to the draft namespace without a redirect (deleting the userpage), tag the new draft with a draft template, and notify the user of your action
- User:MPGuy2824/MoveToDraft – Allows you to move an article page to the draft namespace without leaving a redirect, tag the new draft with the draft template, and notify the user of your action. Forked from User:Evad37/MoveToDraft.
- Special:Nuke – MediaWiki-provided tool to selectively delete all pages created by a user.
Deleting revisions
- massRevdel – Selectively revdel/suppress all edits by a user
- url-select-revdel – Helpful for responding to RD1 requests. {{copyvio-revdel}} will now have a link to open the history page with the relevant checkboxes already filled out.
- revdel-responder – Additional tools for responding to RD1 requests, useful with url-select-revdel
Granting and revoking user rights
Executing user rights changes
- User:MusikAnimal/userRightsManager.js - for use at WP:PERM. Click "assign permissions" on any PERM page, enter any closing remarks in the popup dialog, and the script will grant the right with a permalink to the discussion, and issue the corresponding talk page template.
- User:Amalthea/MakeReviewer.js - provides a link on userpages to give the user reviewer rights; notifies the user with a template.
- User:Amalthea/MakeRollbacker.js - provides a link on userpages to give the user rollback rights; notifies the user with a template.
Checking candidate's eligibility
- xtools
- Supercount
- Global contributions
- Pages created
- Nonautomated edit counter
- BLP edit counter
- WikiChecker (if you get a "Forbidden" keep refreshing until it goes away)
- Special:CentralAuth
Cleaning backlogs
- XFDcloser gadget (source) – Close XfD discussions at AfD, CfD, FfD, MfD, RfD, and TfD, including actions to implement closes (e.g. deleting pages for "delete" results, removing nomination templates and adding 'old xfd' templates for "keep" results, etc)
- Close XfD[1] (source) – Adds the latest semi-automated closure tools for XfD discussions (AfD, CfD, FfD, TfD, etc.)—accessible either in-line or via a tab at the top of standalone XfD discussion pages
- CSD Helper (source) – helps admins delete speedy deletions much more quickly, including changing rationales, and assists everyone in declining/contesting speedy deletions and changing speedy deletions to PRODs
- editProtectedHelper (WP:EPH) – adds the ability to respond to edit requests quickly
- responseHelper – Makes it easier to respond to requests/reports at WP:AIV, WP:ANEW, WP:PERM, WP:RFPP and WP:UAA. Links are added to your sidebar to quickly insert administrator notation templates and supply an informative edit summary.
- Timotheus Canens' spihelper.js – essentially a must if you regularly work at WP:SPI
- GeneralNotability's spihelper.js – an updated version of the above
- RFUD-helper – Makes it easier to process WP:REFUND requests.
Dealing with spam
- SpamUserPage (WP:SUPG) – Allows you to delete a userspace page, block the user, and issue them with a block notice, all in one click, with options for types of blocks, deletion rationale, etc.
- spamublock – Delete a userpage, block the user, and issue {{uw-spamublock}} with one click
- ^ Copy the following code, edit your user JavaScript, then paste:
{{subst:lusc|1=User:Czar/closexfd.js}}