Manual:Pywikibot/Compat/Basic use

Select and run a bot script
Now we are ready to really start using the bot. You need to get to a textual interface to your Operating System.

On Windows this is done by opening the start menu, and clicking on 'Run'. You are asked to give the name of a program, type "cmd.exe".
 * Change the root to C: by typing chdir C:\
 * Type chdir \"name of the folder where pywikipedia bot has been downloaded" (For example: chdir \"pywikipedia" if the file is in the C: folder.)

On Mac, find Terminal.app in /Applications/Utilities.

On Linux or any other Unix, use any terminal application such as gnome-terminal, konsole, xterm, or simply the text-mode console.

Run the script login.py by typing "python login.py" (or just "login.py").

Python will then return:

''' Password for user your_bot on your_site:en: '''

Use the password you used for the bot's login name. The bot can't work anonymously. Unless you change your password, you normally need to run this program only once, the bot usually does not get logged off.

The bots are in the main pywikipedia folder when downloaded. But if necessary, use the command cd to go to the directory where the bot files are saved.

Now run any of the bots here by typing "python botname.py" (If you are using Windows, you can leave out "python").

Scripts

 * Main page: Pywikipediabot/Scripts

Command-line arguments
Although many bot scripts have their own command line arguments, which should be documented on their respective pages (or in their source code), all bots unless specifically stated to the contrary recognize the following command line arguments:


 * -help
 * Print a list of global bot arguments (this list), followed by bot-specific help if available.


 * -lang:xx
 * Set the language of the wiki you want to work on to language code, overriding the configuration in.


 * -family:xyz
 * Set the family of the wiki you want to work on, e.g., wikipedia, wiktionary, wikitravel, ... This will override the configuration in.


 * -log
 * Enable the logfile. Logs will be stored in the logs subdirectory.


 * -log:xyz
 * Enable the logfile, using  as the filename.


 * -nolog
 * Disable the logfile (if it's enabled by default).


 * -putthrottle:nn
 * Set the minimum time (in seconds) the bot will wait between saving pages. The default value is 10.

For example,  will run the "scriptname" bot on wiktionary articles, overriding the default family setting in your user configuration.

Bot mailing list
It can be useful to subscribe to the bot mailing list (see http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/Pywikipedia-l). Every time a file of the bot software is changed, a mail is sent to the list, so you know when you need to update to the new version.

Permission on wikimedia projects
Make sure that your bot is approved by the wiki community where you are going to use it. Strictness of this differs greatly between various projects; at some you need to announce it in advance and get approval before you start, at others you can do whatever you want.

Using your normal browser, create a login name and password for the bot. It is best to use a name that makes clear that it is a bot, and preferably also who is operating it. A common method is to use your own login name and add the word 'bot' to it, but several other forms also exist.

On the English Wikipedia, bots are only allowed to be used if they are approved at en:Wikipedia:Bots/Requests for approval.

Request a bot flag
If you heavily use a bot, it will clutter recent changes. To avoid that, you can get your bot registered as such. In that case it will not be shown on Recent changes unless a user specifically asks to get bots included.

This can be done by a Bureaucrat. You can put a request to get your or someone else's bot registered at Requests for bot status. You will probably be asked for some kind of evidence that your local community agrees with your bot. On the English language Wikipedia, requests should be made at Requests for approvals. It is probably good to get your bot registered whenever it will edit many pages in a single run.