Extension:Renameuser

Renameuser provides a special page which allows authorized users to rename user accounts. This will cause page histories, etc. to be updated. If you want to rename an account "into" another one, you need the User Merge and Delete extension.

Requirements
This extension requires MediaWiki version 1.11.0 or greater. Due to the nature of this extension, and its use in production on Wikimedia web sites, it is often updated, and can become incompatible with old versions of the software with little advance warning.

Older versions of MediaWiki
The latest trunk version uses AuthPlugin::getUserInstance. This is a new feature in MW 1.14. The latest Renameuser will not work with MW 1.13 and earlier. On the download page, be sure to choose the correct version.

Installation

 * 1) Check out all extension files from Subversion or Download the snapshot, and place them in a Renameuser directory within your MediaWiki extensions directory
 * 2) Add the following to LocalSettings.php:

If a subversion download:

If a non-subversion download and version 1.15.x or greater add this:

Installation can be verified through the Special:Version page.

Use

 * 1) As a bureaucrat, access the Special:Renameuser page
 * 2) Enter the name of the user to be renamed, and the desired new name, toggle the options to move user/talk pages and their subpages and to create redirects as desired, and click OK

The user will be renamed, and (if the appropriate option was checked) the user page, user talk page and all their subpages will be moved as well.

You can grant other groups the right to rename users, for example:

Notes:
 * If CentralAuth is installed, you'll get a warning if you try to rename a local user from an account attached to a global account or to a username reserved by a global account; a check box to rename anyway will be provided (this requires caution).
 * You won't be able to rename users to invalid usernames (which doesn't equal usernames which match a blacklist but includes for instance reserved usernames).