Extension:WikiForum

**MediaWiki extensions manual**
WikiForum; Release status: stable
Implementation	Database, Special page
Description	Forum extension
Author(s)	Michael Chlebek; Jack Phoenix; Adam Carter;
Latest version	2.9.0
MediaWiki	1.43+
Database changes	Yes
	Parameters $wgWikiForumAllowAnonymous; $wgWikiForumAbuseFilterGroup; $wgWikiForumLogInRC; $wgWikiForumAutoLockInactiveHours;
	Tags ‎<WikiForumList>; ‎<WikiForumThread>;
	Added rights wikiforum-admin; wikiforum-moderator;
	Hooks used BeforeCreateEchoEvent; LoadExtensionSchemaUpdates; ParserFirstCallInit;
	Hooks provided WikiForumSig;
Licence	GNU General Public License 3.0 or later
Download	Download extension ; Git [?]: Browse repository (Phabricator · GitHub); Gerrit code review; Git commit log; Download source tarball;
	Translate the WikiForum extension if it is available at translatewiki.net
Issues	Open tasks · Report a bug

Translate this page

The WikiForum extension adds a discussion forum in the form of a new special page, Special:WikiForum. WikiForum pages for the most part are indexed by search engines (such as Google) and you can search them by using WikiForum's internal search.

If the SocialProfile extension is installed, its avatars will be displayed on forum threads. Currently WikiForum has no built-in avatar support.

Please see the WikiForum help page on ShoutWiki for more information.

Installation

Download and move the extracted WikiForum folder to your extensions/ directory.
Developers and code contributors should install the extension from Git instead, using:
```
cd extensions/
git clone https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/mediawiki/extensions/WikiForum
```
Add the following code at the bottom of your LocalSettings.php file:
```
wfLoadExtension( 'WikiForum' );
```
Run the update script which will automatically create the necessary database tables that this extension needs.
Done – Navigate to Special:Version on your wiki to verify that the extension is successfully installed.

Configuration

Via LocalSettings.php

Parameter	Default value	Description
`$wgWikiForumAbuseFilterGroup`	`'wikiforum'`	Custom group name for AbuseFilter, for when that extension is installed. It ensures that AbuseFilter only pulls the filters related to WikiForum. If you would like AbuseFilter to pull all of the filters, enter `'default'` here.
`$wgWikiForumAllowAnonymous`	`true`	Allow anonymous users to write threads and replies?
`$wgWikiForumLogInRC`	`true`	Show WikiForum logs at Special:RecentChanges?
`$wgWikiForumAutoLockInactiveHours`	`null`	If set to a numeric value, threads are automatically closed by a background job after this many hours. When set to `null` (which is the default), threads are not automatically closed by the software.

Via MediaWiki namespace

MediaWiki page	Default value	Description
`MediaWiki:Wikiforum-day-definition-new`	3	A thread is considered new for this many days
`MediaWiki:Wikiforum-max-threads-per-page`	20	Number of threads which shall be shown per page on a forum
`MediaWiki:Wikiforum-max-replies-per-page`	10	Number of replies which shall be shown per page on a thread

Anti-abuse features

CAPTCHAs (ConfirmEdit extension)

CAPTCHAs have now been integrated into WikiForum. If Extension:ConfirmEdit is installed, CAPTCHAs will be shown to users without the skipcaptcha permission. You may need to set $wgCaptchaTriggers['wikiforum'] = true; in LocalSettings.php below where ConfirmEdit is required in order for CAPTCHAs to show. To disable CAPTCHAs, simply set that to false.

AbuseFilter

WikiForum version 2.9.0 (released 5 October 2026) supports filtering threads and replies via the AbuseFilter extension. Note that by default WikiForum only uses filters that have been explicitly set for it. A system administrator can change this by setting $wgWikiForumAbuseFilterGroup to 'default' to enable WikiForum to use all the filters meant for regular on-wiki content.

SpamBlacklist

WikiForum version 2.9.0 (released 5 October 2026) supports filtering threads and replies via the SpamBlacklist extension.

SpamRegex

WikiForum version 2.9.0 (released 5 October 2026) supports filtering threads and replies via both the $wgSpamRegex configuration global and the SpamRegex extension.

User rights

WikiForum adds two new user rights, wikiforum-admin and wikiforum-moderator. Users with the wikiforum-admin permission can create, delete and edit categories and forums, while the wikiforum-moderator permission is required to edit and delete threads and individual replies.

By default administrators (the sysop group) have both of these rights. WikiForum also creates a new group, forumadmin, which has both of these user rights. Bureaucrats can assign users to the forumadmin group and remove them from the group.