API:Restricting API usage

There are several ways to restrict usage of (certain parts of) the API to certain groups of users, or to disable it altogether. Some of these require changing group permissions.

Disabling the entire API
You can disable the API as a whole by setting  in LocalSettings.php. The API is enabled by default.

Disabling the write API
You can disable all write modules by setting  in LocalSettings.php. The write API is enabled by default as of MediaWiki 1.14, and disabled by default in older versions.

Restricting access to the write API
You can deny certain groups the right to use the write API by denying them the writeapi right. By default, all groups have the writeapi right; however, both the writeapi right and  are required in order to use the write API.

Disabling modules
You can disable individual modules for all users by adding a line to LocalSettings.php. Exactly what to add depends on the type of module you want to disable:
 * For  modules, use
 * For  modules, use
 * For  modules, use
 * For  modules, use

Example
To disable anyone who isn't a sysop from using :