Template talk:ExtensionInstall

Misleading for developers, just use git
Pointing developers to Special:ExtensionDistributor is a bad idea if the extension has a git repository, and I think all the extensions it supports have one. Developers want the latest code, and want to be set up for git updates. ExtensionDistributor seems to just get a tagged release from github, so you might as well use git and pick a tag or branch.

One approach is to check out a particular branch of core, then use  to get all the extensions that WMF uses (whether or not you deploy them all), then check out master of particular extensions you're developing: -- S Page (WMF) (talk) 04:15, 11 January 2014 (UTC)
 * I updated the template to tell developers to use git clone instead. -- S Page (WMF) (talk) 04:23, 11 January 2014 (UTC)
 * I've added the parameter "repo-name" to the template, to be filled with the git repository name for the extension. When filled, it generates the "git clone" command to be used. --LFS (talk) 20:52, 9 February 2014 (UTC)


 * This is incorrect. MediaWiki-associated branches are branches, not tags. They are in git. ExtensionDistributor gets them directly from Git. There is already a dedicated Git-download section on most extension documentation pages, plus there's several pointers about Git in the extension infobox. Having another dedicated block about it in the install section is rather excessive and imho confusing to the user. And the extension distributor snapshot is exactly the same as what you'd get when cloning the repository. I don't see how that would be a bad idea. If you're experienced issues with outdated snapshots or missing submodules, please file a bug. Krinkle (talk) 15:11, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

different names and different names for php files
hi please add support for extension with different name for the extensions and different names for the php file please for example wikibase has three main files it has repo and lib and client. 86.135.250.146 18:54, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

__DIR__, $IP or nothing
I noticed that the $IP has been replaced by __DIR__, allegedly because it's the "preferred way". But isn't it just the same to omit $IP or __DIR__ altogether? Are there some cases in which they may become necessary? --LFS (talk) 20:28, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

Yes, "__DIR__" crashes (on a wiki I host at DreamHost) because apparently I'm still using an old version of PHP. Both "dirname( __FILE__ )" and "$IP" seem to work fine for me. While sometimes there are good reasons to mandate newer versions of PHP, this looks like a gratuitous unnecessary incompatibility. I see people recommend replacing every "__DIR__" with "dirname( __FILE__ )" for compatibility reasons -- so the PHP scripts work in both old and new versions of PHP. . I would prefer to omit them entirely from these instructions if none of "$IP", "dirname( __FILE__ )", or "__DIR__" are necessary. So I repeat LFS's question: Are there some cases in which they may become necessary?

So I reverted the edit that added "__DIR__", since it doesn't work for me. --DavidCary (talk) 18:49, 18 February 2014 (UTC)


 * Recently there have been so many changes to this template regarding how to invoke extensions that I stopped caring about which one might be the preferred method or not. What I do not like about this frantic editing is that is just confuses everybody. Thus I suggest to protect this template so only admins may edit it after or before we get our act together. Cheers --&#91;&#91;kgh&#93;&#93; (talk) 19:07, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
 * $IP is definitely preferred, and will break less things. I've restored it to the way it originally was. Legoktm (talk) 22:45, 21 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Would you care to explain why, Legoktm? --LFS (talk) 14:43, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Using __DIR__ or dirname( __FILE__ ) assumes that the file with that line in it is in the same directory as the "extensions/" directory. Using $IP doesn't. Legoktm (talk) 23:53, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * That seems like an argument for using __DIR__, which is what I recommend doing. Why would you use a global? If you have a file in a dir or a subdir, then __DIR__ is the right tool for the job. --Jeroen De Dauw (talk) 23:59, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * The whole point of using $IP is that you don't want to make the assumption that it is in the same directory. Legoktm (talk) 00:27, 2 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Dear Jeroen De Dauw, I tried all three of "__DIR__", "dirname( __FILE__ )", and "$IP". I found that the LocalSettings.php MediaWiki script halts with an error message when I use "__DIR__" in any of the lines that set up a MediaWiki extension. I found 3 links to people who discuss situations where "__DIR__" doesn't work for them, either. Does that answer your question? --DavidCary (talk) 15:45, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Any arguments to this template end up outside of the box!
Any arguments to this template end up outside of the box! See e.g., Extension:MobileFrontend. Jidanni (talk) 06:43, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Installing without command prompt access
Extension:Checkuser has one such section. This is not extension-specific so it should not be maintained on an extension page. Should it be handled by the template when an extension needs install.php/update.php, or live in some manual page and be linked from it? Cf. Thread:Project:Current_issues/Installation_guide_consolidation. --Nemo 17:32, 29 May 2014 (UTC)


 * It shouldn't be necessary if the extension is doing the right thing and using the necessary hooks to perform the custom installation steps through MediaWiki's installation script (either the web updater or update.php), which sadly it's not the case (see ). --Ciencia Al Poder (talk) 09:12, 30 May 2014 (UTC)