Manual:User rights (older versions)

This page describes user rights assignment and the use of $wgGroupPermissions, $wgAddGroups/$wgRemoveGroups, $wgGroupsAddToSelf/$wgGroupsRemoveFromSelf and Special:Userrights.

This page is for older versions of MediaWiki (before 1.12), refer to Manual:User rights for user rights and user groups in more recent versions.

Default
The default setting is:

This means that a user in the 'bureaucrat' group can add/remove any group, using Special:UserRights. Default Settings can be overloaded in the LocalSettings.php file from the root website.

Managing user rights of certain groups
This can be set using $wgAddGroups and $wgRemoveGroups. Introduced in 1.11, and behaviour changed in 1.12. For earlier versions you will need to use an extension.

1.11
Set the following in your LocalSettings.php file:

Here are some examples, assuming you haven't changed anything yet (so bureaucrat still has his default 'userrights' right).


 * Example: Setting this lets the specified user level remove groups. It does not, however, let them add any.


 * Example: Setting this lets the specified user level add the specified groups. It does not, however, let them remove any.


 * Example: Setting this lets a sysop add and remove the specified group.

1.12
Here are some examples, assuming you haven't changed anything yet (so bureaucrat still has his default 'userrights' right).


 * Example: If a group (bureaucrat in this case) can remove any right. Bureaucrat can't add any groups.


 * Example: If a group (bureaucrat in this case) can add only some groups (sysop and bot groups in this case). Bureaucrat can't remove any group.

Set the following in your LocalSettings.php file:
 * Example: You want a sysop to be able to add/remove the bot group, and a bureaucrat be able to add/remove all groups.
 * This is for sysops. A bureaucrat has the 'userrights' right by default, so you don't need to set this unless you changed it in your LocalSettings.php.

Managing user rights of users on foreign wikis
This can be set using the right "userrights-interwiki", for example:

All wikis you want to manage should be added to $wgLocalDatabases. You can add this setting to LocalSettings.php (e.g. )

In pre-1.12 versions you have to use Extension:Makesysop.

Automatically promote users
This can be done using $wgAutopromote. By default, there is a group "autoconfirmed". Until 1.13 there was another default group called "emailconfirmed":

Allow users to manage groups specifically on themselves

 * $wgGroupsAddToSelf can be set to allow users to add groups to themselves only.
 * $wgGroupsRemoveFromSelf can be set to allow users to remove groups from themselves only.

This replaces Extension:Resign.

Extensions
There are various extensions for user rights management. See Category:User rights extensions for a full list of them. Below are alternative ways described using core instead of extensions.

GiveRollback
Alternative ways for 1.11 and 1.12. Note that the actions are now logged in Special:Log/rights, not in Special:Log/gvrollback.

Do not forget to replace 'other groups' by the groups a bureaucrat should be able to add/remove, e.g. 'sysop'!
 * Alternative way for the GiveRollback extension, for version 1.11 only.

Do not forget to replace 'other groups' by the groups a bureaucrat should be able to add/remove, e.g. 'sysop'!
 * Alternative way for the GiveRollback extension, for version 1.12 only.

MakeBot
Alternative ways for 1.11 and 1.12. Note that the actions are now logged in Special:Log/rights, not in Special:Log/makebot.

Do not forget to replace 'other groups' by the groups a bureaucrat should be able to add/remove, e.g. 'sysop'!
 * Alternative way for the MakeBot extension, for version 1.11 only.

Do not forget to replace 'other groups' by the groups a bureaucrat should be able to add/remove, e.g. 'sysop'!
 * Alternative way for the MakeBot extension, for version 1.12 only.