Extension:Gadgets

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Gadgets Release status: stable
Implementation	MyWiki, Special page
Description	Allow users to enable JS-based, user-provided gadgets from their preferences page.
Author(s)	Duesentrieb
MediaWiki	1.11+ (or rev:24477+) Use the development version (trunk) if you are using MediaWiki v1.16+
License	No license specified
Download	Download snapshot Subversion [Help] Browse source code README log
Example	Wikimedia Commons: Gadget overview, user preferences (click "Gadgets"; you need to be logged in of course)
Hooks used InitPreferencesForm RenderPreferencesForm ResetPreferences BeforePageDisplay ArticleSaveComplete
check usage (experimental)

The Gadgets extension provides a way for users to pick JavaScript or CSS based "gadgets" that other wiki users provide.

Gadgets are made up of JavaScript and/or CSS snippets located on pages in the MediaWiki namespace. Each gadget is defined by a line in MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition, providing a name and description for the gadget, and a list of the JS and CSS snippets that it uses (see the Usage section below).

Since Gadgets reside in the MediaWiki namespace (the list defining the gadgets as well as the actual code snippets), only sysops (aka wiki admins) can edit the code. This is as should be: only users especially trusted by the wiki community should be able to edit JavaScript code that is used by other users, since JavaScript can easily be used to hijack accounts or spy on people.

[edit] Installing

Either download or browse to the Gadgets folder in the SVN repository. Copy the Gadgets directory into the extensions folder of your MediaWiki installation. Then add the following lines to your LocalSettings.php file (near the end):

  require_once( "$IP/extensions/Gadgets/Gadgets.php" );

[edit] Usage

Selection of some gadgets at the user preferences in de.wikipedia

The list of available gadgets is defined on MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition. Gadgets defined there show up in the "Gadgets" section of Special:Preferences, so users can pick the gadgets they would like to use. An overview of the gadgets defined by MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition is also shown on Special:Gadgets, along with links to the respective system messages, for easy editing.

Each line in MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition that starts with one or more "*" (asterisks) characters defines a gadget; it must have the following form:

 * mygadget|mygadget.js|mygadget.css

That is, each line consists of fields separated by a "|" (pipe) character. The first field ("mygadget" in the example) is the gadgets internal name, and references a system message (MediaWiki:Gadget-mygadget in the example) that contains a short description of the gadget, using wiki syntax.

Note: The internal name must start with a ASCII letter, and must contain between 1 and 25 ASCII letter and numbers!

The remaining fields on the line refer to the JavaScript or CSS code that makes up the gadget, contained in system messages (MediaWiki:Gadget-mygadget.js and MediaWiki:Gadget-mygadget.css in the example); the names of those messages must end with ".js" or ".css", respectively. A gadget can use any number of code messages, specifically, common code can be put into a code message used by several gadgets, in addition to their own specific code, e.g:

 * frobinator|commonStuff.js|frob.js|frob.css|pretty.css
 * l33t|commonStuff.js|tools.js|l33t.js

The list of gadgets in MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition can be broken into sections using lines that start and end with two or more "=" (equals) characters, enclosing the name of a system message that defines the section's name - for example:

 == interface-gadgets ==

This would define a new section, with the title defined on the page MediaWiki:Gadget-section-interface-gadgets.

[edit] ToDo

• show sections only depending on privileges (or maybe groups). i.e. allow stuff like an "admin tools" section.
• option page for any enabled gadget.
• Fulfill Basic gadgets

[edit] List of gadget scripts

This table is manually updated. Images link to scripts

Gadgets	Usage
	mediawiki.org	commons	meta	wikipedias
				en	es	fr	it	mk
	installed	i	i	i	i	i	i	i
UTCLiveClock.js
/SearchFocus.js
pages gadgets
edittop.js
/HomeArrow.js
category gadgets
/HotCat.js
Tab gadgets
/addsection-plus.js
Sidebar gadgets
/SubPages.js
/UserRights.js

[edit] See also

• known bugs at Bugzilla

• Extension:SecureWidgets
• Extension:SimpleScript
• Extension:Widgets

This extension is being used on one or more of Wikimedia's wikis. It means that the extension is stable and works well enough to be used by such high traffic websites. A full list of the extensions installed on a particular wiki is produced by Special:Version on that wiki.