Extension management 2018 feedback

One of MediaWiki's greatest strengths is the diverse extension ecosystem. But navigating that ecosystem and managing those extensions can be difficult and cumbersome. The goal of this RfC is to solicit requirements and feature requests for what people want MediaWiki's extension management system to do.

To keep things organized, we'll split the discussion into four categories: finding extensions, installing extensions, upgrading extensions, and other for anything that doesn't fit into the first three.

For each suggestion you have, use the input box to create a new section, outlining your feature request:


 * Focus on the functionality you desire, rather than the specific implementation. For example, Be able to programatically enable/disable extensions from the command line is better than Have a bash script that can enable/disable extensions.
 * Mention any relevant details about your MediaWiki installation if it is pertinent to your request (e.g. installed on a shared host/a containerized cloud provider)
 * If there are any relevant wiki pages, Phabricator tickets, mailing list discussions, etc., please link them as well.

Underneath each proposal will be a section for endorsements (and any brief comments) and another for longer comments.

= Finding =

Extensions that have passed a security review should be searchable
I typically browse through mediawiki.org to find extensions to install. I'd like to be able to narrow my search results to extensions that have passed a security review. Legoktm (talk) 06:04, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Endorsements

 * Legoktm (talk) 05:21, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Comments
= Installing =

Programatically enable/disable extensions from the command line
I use Debian packages to install MediaWiki. I'd like to be able to programatically enable/disable extensions from the command line. The main way I envision this being used is that when people install a Debian package of an extension, the package can automatically enable the extension without needing to create or edit PHP files. This would also be applicable to MediaWiki-Vagrant as well I believe. Legoktm (talk) 05:21, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Endorsements

 * Legoktm (talk) 05:21, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Comments
= Upgrading =

Identify outdated extensions from a web interface
I would like to be able to identify extensions that have updates available from a web interface. Extensions that have known security issues would be highlighted in some way. Legoktm (talk) 06:00, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Endorsements

 * Legoktm (talk) 05:21, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Comments
= Other =