Wikimedia Mobile engineering/Contribute

Helping out to the Wikimedia mobile efforts is simple and fun. Below you will see that no matter if you're a reader, editor, or developer... there are numerous ways to participate and make mobile more successful.

= Readers =


 * Report any issues you encounter casually browsing to our feedback list.
 * Help us expand our currently set of tested browsers.
 * Test the Wikimedia mobile projects in the languages you know and report any issues.
 * Help translate the mobile user interface and apps by volunteering at translatewiki.
 * Promote the Wikimedia Mobile Projects among your friends and Wikimedia fellows through Twitter, Facebook and other social networking tools.
 * Browse not only Wikipedia but our sister sites on mobile and send us feedback.
 * Try the iOS app or Android app.
 * Check the App Catalog to find more mobile apps developed by third parties relying on Wikimedia content.
 * You might want to try also the WikiSnaps app developed by the Wikimedia community.

= Editors =


 * Help us brain storm what features you need most on mobile.

= Developers =

Mobile development for the Wikimedia projects centers around two main focal points: Mobile Web & Apps. Mobile Web refers to any of the tools that are used to power m.wikipedia.org while Apps refer to the applications that are currently available on iOS and Android.

Key resources

 * MobileFrontend extension for MediaWiki (the code that powers Wikimedia's mobile sites)
 * MobileFrontend API
 * MediaWiki core API

Please use bug reports to track progress and make comments.

Mobile Web
The main mobile browsing experience on all the Wikimedia projects is controlled by an extension named MobileFrontend. It's written in PHP and is currently responsible for all the device detection, rendering, and custom content delivered to mobile devices. It's currently in very active development as the main piece of WMF mobile infrastructure.


 * Feature Roadmap
 * Open Bugs list
 * Extension documentation
 * Get the source

Apps
Some of our users prefer the simplicity of having an app on their smart phone to quickly access Wikipedia. To support these users we've developed both a native iOS app and a Android app using phonegap.


 * Feature Roadmap
 * Open Bugs iOS Android
 * App documentation iOS Android
 * Get the source iOS Android


 * Start your new Wikimedia based mobile app. We don't have much documentation (hint hint) but the API documentation should be a good start.
 * First step is to properly identify your app.

Identifying your App
We recommend and encourage third party applications to properly ID themselves by setting a distinct user agent when sending requests. This allows us to identify your app traffic distinctly from anyone else in case any problems arise. To do this easily please set your UA consistent with your app. The supported format is

App name / App version

ex. 'WikipediaMobile' ~ 'Wikipedia Mobile/2.0'

= Mobile companies =

Professional mobile developers can get involved individually in any of the tasks listed above, and here is more:


 * If you maintain a mobile app using the Wikimedia content or API, you can make sure that it is listed and updated at the Catalog of Mobile Apps.
 * If you maintain a mobile browser or a mobile platform, you can include Wikimedia web pages to your test rounds and we are looking forward to get your feedback and bug reports. You can also keep your information up to date in the Table of Browsers Supported and the Table of Languages Supported.
 * Consider the contribution of developer resources to Wikimedia projects fitting in your roadmap. The Wikimedia Foundation can help your developers getting involved efficiently in the community work.
 * Are your mobile customers happier thanks to the fantastic work of the Wikimedia community? Please consider a donation or becoming a Benefactor or the Wikimedia Foundation. Funds for specific projects fitting in our mobile strategy are welcome too.

= Feedback & Support =

If you have a question, just ask in the IRC channel or via [mailto:mobile@wikipedia.org e-mail].

The best way to report problems is by filing a new bug. First time? It takes just a bit longer than sending an email but in exchange your issue is never forgotten and you get email notifications about the progress and resolution.

= Ways to reach us = You can find the mobile team at a number of places including but not limited to


 * #wikimedia-mobile IRC channel
 * twitter #WikimediaMobile
 * mobile-l@lists.wikimedia.org - MediaWiki techincal mailing list