Wiki markup, also known as wikitext or wikicode, consists of the syntax and keywords used by the MediaWiki software to format a page. To learn how to see this markup, and to save an edit, see: Help:Editing. There is a short list of markup and tips at Help:Cheatsheet.
In addition to wiki markup, some HTML elements are also allowed for presentation formatting. See Help:HTML in wikitext for information on this.
The = through ====== markup are headings for the sections with which they are associated.
A single = is styled as the article title and should not be used within an article.
Headings are styled through CSS and add an [edit] link.
Four or more headings cause a table of contents to be generated automatically.
Do not use any markup after the final heading markup – this will either break the heading, or will cause the heading to not be included in an edit summary.
Markup
Renders as
== Section ==
Section
=== Subsection ===
Subsection
==== Sub-subsection ====
Sub-subsection
And so on.
Wiki headings translate to HTMLheading elements, <h1> through <h6>, styled as follows by default:
The horizontal rule represents a paragraph-level thematic break. Do not use in article content, as rules are only used after main sections, and this is automatic.
When a page has at least four headings, a table of contents (TOC) will automatically appear after the lead and before the first heading. The TOC can be controlled by magic words or templates:
__FORCETOC__ forces the TOC to appear at the normal location regardless of the number of headings.
__TOC__ forces the TOC to appear at the point where the magic word is inserted instead of the normal location.
__NOTOC__ disables the TOC entirely.
{{TOC limit}} can be used to control the depth of subsections included in the TOC. This is useful where the TOC is long and unwieldy.
Indentation as used on talk pages:
:Each colon at the start of a line
::causes the line to be indented by three more character positions.
:::(The indentation persists
so long as no carriage return or line break is used.)
:::Repeat the indentation at any line break.
::::Use an extra colon for each response.
:::::And so forth ...
::::::And so on ...
{{Outdent|::::::}}The outdent template can give a visual indicator that we're deliberately cancelling the indent (6 levels here)
Indentation as used on talk pages:
Each colon at the start of a line
causes the line to be indented by three more character positions.
(The indentation persists
so long as no carriage return or line break is used.)
Repeat the indentation at any line break.
Use an extra colon for each response.
And so forth ...
And so on ...
ਫਰਮਾ:OutdentThe outdent template can give a visual indicator that we're deliberately cancelling the indent (6 levels here)
Template {{center}} uses the same markup. To center a table, see Help:Table#Centering tables.
Please do not use <center>...</center>, as it is obsolete.
Align text to right
You can align content in a separate container:
Markup
Renders as
<divstyle="text-align: right; direction: ltr; margin-left: 1em;">Text on the right</div>
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Text on the right
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Or; make the text float around it:
Markup
Renders as
<divclass="floatright">Text on the right</div>
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Text on the right
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
{{stack|Text on the right}}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Text on the right
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Do not leave blank lines between items in a list unless there is a reason to do so, since this causes the MediaWiki software to interpret each item as beginning a new list.
Unordered lists
Markup
Renders as
* Item1
* Item2
* Item3
* Item4
** Sub-item 4 a)
*** Sub-item 4 a) 1.
**** Sub-item 4 a) 1. i)
**** Sub-item 4 a) 1. ii)
** Sub-item 4 b)
* Item5
To list terms and definitions, start a new line with a semicolon (;) followed by the term. Then, type a colon (:) followed by a definition. The format can also be used for other purposes, such as make and models of vehicles, etc.
Description lists (formerly definition lists, and a.k.a. association lists) consist of group names corresponding to values. Group names (terms) are in bold. Values (definitions) are indented. Each group must include one or more definitions. For a single or first value, the : can be placed on the same line after ; – but subsequent values must be placed on separate lines.
The MediaWiki software suppresses single newlines and converts lines starting with a space to preformatted text in a dashed box. HTML suppresses multiple spaces. It is often desirable to retain these elements for poems, lyrics, mottoes, oaths and the like. The Poem extension adds HTML-like <poem>...</poem> tags to maintain newlines and spaces. These tags may be used inside other tags such as <blockquote>...</blockquote>. CSS styles may be applied to this tag, e.g.: <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">.
Markup
Renders as
<poem>
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
</poem>
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
Format
Text formatting
Description
What you type
What it looks like
italics, bold, small capital letters
To ''italicize text'', put two
consecutive apostrophes on each side
of it.
Three apostrophes each side will
'''bold the text'''.
Five consecutive apostrophes on each
side (two for italics plus three for
bold) produces '''''bold italics'''''.
'''''Italic and bold formatting'''''
only works correctly within a single
line.
For text as {{smallcaps|small caps}},
use the template {{tl|smallcaps}}.
To italicize text, put two consecutive apostrophes on each side of it.
Three apostrophes each side will bold the text.
Five consecutive apostrophes on each side (two for italics plus three for bold) produces bold italics.
Italic and bold formatting only works correctly within a single line.
For text as small caps, use the template {{smallcaps}}.
Small chunks of source code within a line of normal text.
Use <small>small text</small> only
when necessary.
Use small text only when necessary.
a <small> span
To match, for example, the font-size
used in an [[Help:Visual file
markup#Caption|image caption]],
the "small" tag can also be used to
<smallstyle="font-size:87%;">reduce
a text's font-size to 87%</small>.
To match, for example, the font-size used in an image caption, the "small" tag can also be used to reduce a text's font-size to 87%.
Big text
Better not use <big>big text</big>,
unless <small>it's <big>within</big>
small</small> text.
Better not use big text, unless it's within small text.
To prevent two words from becoming separated by a linewrap (e.g. Mr. Smith or 400 km/h) a non-breaking space, sometimes also called a "non-printing character", may be used between them. (For three or more words, the template {{nowrap}} is probably more suitable.)
Mr. Smith or 400 km/h
Mr. Smith or 400 km/h
Extra spacing within text is usually best achieved using the {{pad}} template.
The <pre> and <nowiki> markup tags are also available, for writing "[", "{", "&", "}", "]" for example. These tags prevent these characters from being recognised as wiki markup, which is a possibility in some circumstances.
The Manual of Style prefers the <sub> and <sup> formats, for example x<sub>1</sub>. So this should be used under most circumstances.
The latter methods of sub/superscripting cannot be used in the most general context, as they rely on Unicode support which may not be present on all users' machines.
Invisible and PUA (Private Use Areas) characters should be avoided where possible. When needed, they should both be substituted with their (hexa)decimal code values (as "&#(x)...;"). This renders invisible characters visible, for manual editing, and allows AWB to process pages with PUA characters. The latter should also be tagged with the {{PUA}} template for tracking and future maintenance.
Formulae that include mathematical letters, like x, and operators like × should not use the plain letter x. See . For a comprehensive set of symbols, and comparison between <math> tags and the {{math}} template see section TeX vs HTML.
The <math> tag typesets using , which may render as an image or as HTML, depending on environmental settings. The <math> tag is best for the complex formula on its own line in an image format. If you use this tag to put a formula in the line with text, put it in the {{nowrap}} template.
The {{math}} template , and will size-match a serif font, and will also prevent line-wrap. All templates are sensitive to the = sign, so remember to replace = with {{=}} in template input, or start the input with 1=. Use wikimarkup '' and ''' inside the {{math}} template, as well as other HTML entities. The {{math}} template is best for typeset formulas in line with the text.
Using to prevent line break is not needed; the {{math}} template will prevent line breaks anyway; you can use <br /> if you need an explicit line break inside a formula.
Markup
Renders as
It follows that {{math|''x''<sup>2</sup>≥ 0}} for real {{mvar|x}}.
In Wikipedia's markup language, you create free links by putting double square brackets around text designating the title of the page you want to link to. Thus, [[Texas]] will be rendered as Texas. Optionally, you can use a vertical bar (|) to customize the link title. For example, typing [[Texas|Lone Star State]] will produce Lone Star State, a link that is displayed as "Lone Star State" but in fact links to Texas.
Link to another wiki article
Internally, the first letter of the target page is automatically capitalized and spaces are represented as underscores (typing an underscore in the link has the same effect as typing a space, but is not recommended).
Thus the link hereafter is to the Web address en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport, which is the Wikipedia article with the name "Public transport". See also Canonicalization.
A red link is a page that doesn't exist yet; it can be created by clicking on the link.
Simply typing the pipe character | after a link will automatically rename the link in certain circumstances. The next time you open the edit box you will see the expanded piped link. When previewing your edits, you will not see the expanded form until you press Save and Edit again. The same applies to links to sections within the same page.
The part after the hash sign (#) must match a section heading on the page. Matches must be exact in terms of spelling, case, and punctuation. Links to non-existent sections are not broken; they are treated as links to the beginning of the page.
Include "| link title" to create a stylish (piped) link title.
If sections have the same title, add a number to link to any but the first. #Example section 3 goes to the third section named "Example section". You can use the pipe and retype the section title to display the text without the # symbol.
What you type
What it looks like
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Italics]] is a link to a section within another page.
[[#Links and URLs]] is a link to another section on the current page. [[#Links and URLs|Links and URLs]] is a link to the same section without showing the # symbol.
#Links and URLs is a link to another section on the current page. Links and URLs is a link to the same section without showing the # symbol.
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Italics|Italics]] is a piped link to a section within another page.
Italics is a piped link to a section within another page.
Create a page link
To create a new page:
Create a link to it on some other (related) page.
Save that page.
Click on the link you just made. The new page will open for editing.
Redirect one article title to another by placing a directive like the one shown to the right on the first line of the article (such as at a page titled "USA").
It is possible to redirect to a section. For example, a redirect to United States#History will redirect to the History section of the United States page, if it exists.
After the launch of Wikidata, interlanguage links are now added through it. Links in articles should only exist in special cases, for example when an article in one language has two articles in another language.
To link to a corresponding page in another language, use the form: [[language code:Foreign title]].
It is recommended interlanguage links be placed at the very end of the article.
Interlanguage links are not visible within the formatted article, but instead appear as language links on the sidebar (to the left) under the menu section "languages".
To put an article in a category, place a link like [[Category:Example]] into the article. As with interlanguage links, placing these links at the end of the article is recommended.
To link to a category page without putting the article into the category, use a colon prefix (":Category") in the link.
Single square brackets indicate an external link. Note the use of a space (not a pipe |) to separate the URL from the link text in a named link. Square brackets may be used as normal punctuation when not linking to anything – [like this].
A URL must begin with a supported URI scheme: http:// and https:// will be supported by all browsers; irc://, ircs://, ftp://, news://, mailto: and gopher:// will require a plugin or an external application. IPv6 addresses in URLs are currently not supported.
A URL containing certain characters will display and link incorrectly unless those characters are percent encoded. For example, a space must be replaced by %20. Encoding can be achieved by:
Use the link button on the enhanced editing toolbar to encode the link; this tool will add the bracket markup and the linked text, which may not always be desirable.
Or manually encode the URL by replacing these characters:
space
"
'
,
;
<
>
?
[
]
%20
%22
%27
%2c
%3b
%3c
%3e
%3f
%5b
%5d
Or use the {{urlencode:}} magic word. See Help:Magic words in the MediaWiki documentation for more details.
Magic links are automatic links for certain unique identifiers, that require no markup. They can be used for ISBN numbers, RFC numbers, and PMID numbers.
Book sources
Link to books using their ISBN, which creates a link to Special:BookSources. This is preferred to linking to a specific online bookstore, because it gives the reader a choice of vendors. However, if one bookstore or online service provides additional free information, such as table of contents or excerpts from the text, then a link to that source will aid the user and is recommended. ISBN links do not need any extra markup, provided you use one of the indicated formats.
To create a link to Special:BookSources using alternative text (e.g. the book's title), use the internal link style with the appropriate namespace.
Text mentioning an RFC number anywhere, e.g. RFC 4321.
Text mentioning an RFC number anywhere, e.g. RFC 4321.
Miscellaneous
"As of" template
The As of template generates phrases like "As of April 2009" or "as of April 2009", and categorize information that will need updating. For an explanation of the parameters see the {{As of}} documentation.
These create links that directly go to the edit or view source tab. For example, to create links to the edit tab for this page, either of the following works:
Musical notation is added by using the <score>...</score> extension tag. For example:
Markup
Renders as
<score>\relative c' { fis d fis a d f e d c cis d e a g f ees }</score>
Images
Only images that have been uploaded to Wikipedia can be used. To upload images, use the upload page. You can find the uploaded image on the image list.
See the Wikipedia's image use policy for the policy used on Wikipedia.
With alternative text:
[[File:wiki.png|alt=Puzzle globe logo]]
With alternative text:
Alternative text, used when the image is unavailable or when the image is loaded in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud, is strongly encouraged. See Alternative text for images for help on choosing it.
With link:
[[File:wiki.png|link=Wikipedia]]
With link:
The link directs to a page, Wikipedia, instead of the file.
Floating to the right side of the page
using the ''frame'' attribute and a caption:
[[File:wiki.png|frame|alt=Puzzle globe|Wikipedia logo]]
Floating to the right side of the page using the frame attribute and a caption:
Wikipedia logo
The frame tag automatically floats the image right.
The last parameter is the caption that appears below the image.
Floating to the right side of the page
using the ''thumb'' attribute and a caption:
[[File:wiki.png|thumb|alt=Puzzle globe|Wikipedia logo]]
Floating to the right side of the page using the thumb attribute and a caption:
Wikipedia logo
The thumb tag automatically floats the image right.
An enlarge icon is placed in the lower right corner.
Floating to the right side of the page
''without'' a caption:
[[File:wiki.png|right|Wikipedia encyclopedia]]
Floating to the right side of the page without a caption:
Wikipedia encyclopedia
Making a reference citing a printed or online source can be accomplished by using the <ref>...</ref> tags. Inside these tags details about the reference are added.
Details about the citation can be provided using a structure provided by various templates; the table below lists some typical citation components.
What it's for
What you type
To create the reference
<ref name="name for reference">Use a closing tag</ref>
Examples for templates: {{pad|...}}, {{math|...}}, {{as of|...}}, {{edit}}
Templates are segments of wiki markup that are meant to be copied automatically ("transcluded") into a page.
You add them by putting the template's name in {{double braces}}. It is also possible to transclude other pages by using {{:colon and double braces}}.
There are three pairs of tags that can be used in wikitext to control how transclusion affects parts of a template or article.
They determine whether or not wikitext renders, either in its own article, which we will call "here", or in another article where it is transcluded, which we will call "there".
<noinclude>: the content will not be rendered there. These tags have no effect here.
<includeonly>: the content will render only there, and will not render here (like invisible ink made visible by means of transclusion).
<onlyinclude>: the content will render here and will render there, but it will only render there what is between these tags.
There can be several such section "elements". Also, they can be nested. All possible renderings are achievable. For example, to render there one or more sections of the page here use <onlyinclude> tags. To append text there, wrap the addition in <includeonly> tags before, within, or after the section. To omit portions of the section, nest <noinclude> tags within it.
If a page is transcluded without transclusion markup, it may cause an unintentional categorization. Any page transcluding it will contain the same category as the original page. Wrap the category markup with <noinclude> tags to prevent incorrect categorization.
Some templates take parameters, as well, which you separate with the pipe character |.
This template takes two parameters,
and creates underlined text with a
hover box for many modern browsers
supporting CSS:
{{H:title|This is the hover text|
Hover your mouse over this text}}
Go to this page to see the H:title
template itself: {{tl|H:title}}
This template takes two parameters,
and creates underlined text with a
hover box for many modern browsers
supporting CSS:
Hover your mouse over this text
Go to this page to see the H:title
template itself: {{H:title}}
Linking to old revisions of pages, diffs, and specific history pages
The external link function is mainly used for these. Open an old revision or diff, and copy the URL from the address bar, pasting it where you want it.
What you type
What it looks like
[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Wiki_markup&diff=330350877&oldid=330349143 Diff between revisions 330349143 and 330350877]
For an old revision, you can also use a permalink. Though here only the main text is guaranteed to be retained (images and templates will be shown as they are today, not as they were at the time).
When editing your own previous remarks in talk pages, it is sometimes appropriate to mark up deleted or inserted content:
It is best to indicate deleted content using the strike-through markup <s>...</s>.
It is best to indicate inserted content using the underline markup <u>...</u>.
When editing regular Wikipedia articles, just make your changes, and do not mark them up in any special way. However, when the article itself discusses deleted or inserted content, such as an amendment to a statute:
It is best to indicate deleted content using the strike-through markup <del>...</del>.
It is best to indicate inserted content using the underline markup <ins>...</ins>.
Note: <s></s> and <u></u> (speced in HTML 3 & 4) are considerably more popular than <del></del> and <ins></ins> (speced in HTML 5) on Wikipedia.
What you type
What it looks like
You can <del>strike out deleted material</del> and <ins>underline new material</ins>.
You can strike out deleted material and underline new material.
Alternative markup:
You can <s>strike out deleted material</s> and <u>underline new material</u>.
You can strike out deleted material and underline new material.
Limiting formatting / escaping wiki markup
A few different kinds of formatting will tell the wiki to display things as you typed them – what you see is what you get!
What you type
What it looks like
'''<nowiki> tag:'''
<nowiki>
The nowiki tag ignores [[wiki]]
''markup''. It reformats text by
removing newlines and multiple
spaces. It still interprets
characters specified by
&name;: →
</nowiki>
<nowiki> tag:
The nowiki tag ignores [[wiki]]
''markup''. It reformats text by
removing newlines and multiple
spaces. It still interprets
characters specified by
&name;: →
'''<pre> tag:'''
<pre>The <pre> tag ignores [[wiki]]
''markup'' as does the <nowiki>
tag. Additionally, <pre> displays
in a mono-spaced font, and does
not reformat text spaces.
It still interprets special
characters: →
</pre>
<pre> tag:
The <pre> tag ignores [[wiki]]
''markup'' as does the <nowiki>
tag. Additionally, <pre> displays
in a mono-spaced font, and does
not reformat text spaces.
It still interprets special
characters: →
'''[Text without a URL]:'''
Single square brackets holding
[text without a HTTP URL] are
preserved, but single square
brackets containing a URL are
treated as being an external
[http://example.com/ Web link].
[Text without a URL]:
Single square brackets holding
[text without a HTTP URL] are
preserved, but single square
brackets containing a URL are
treated as being an external
Web link.
'''Leading space:'''
Leading spaces are another way
to preserve formatting.
Putting a space at the
beginning of each line
stops the text from
being reformatted.
It still interprets [[wiki]]''markup'' and special characters: &rarr;
Leading space:
Leading spaces are another way
to preserve formatting.
Putting a space at the
beginning of each line
stops the text from
being reformatted.
It still interprets wikimarkup and special characters: →
<nowiki>...</nowiki> and <nowiki /> tags stop parsing of wiki markup, exceptHTML character entity references (e.g., for special characters). Unlike <pre>, "nowiki" doesn't change formatting.
An example of <nowiki>...</nowiki>:
Markup
Renders as
<nowiki>{{cite book}}</nowiki>
{{cite book}}
(However in this particular case probably you prefer {{tl|cite book}} to create a link as {{cite book}}, or {{tlf|cite book}} prints {{cite book}}.)
A singular <nowiki /> can be used to break wikimarkup.
Markup such as *, #, ; and : only and always take effect at the beginning of a line. A <nowiki /> before the markup will cause the characters to not parse as markup.
An internal link immediately followed by characters are blended to form a single link. Where this is not desired, add a <nowiki /> after the link.
HTML(-like) tags can be stopped parsing by inserting <nowiki /> after the opening angle bracket.
<pre> is a parser tag that emulates the HTML <pre> tag. It defines preformatted text that is displayed in a fixed-width font and is enclosed in a dashed box. HTML and wiki markups are escaped and spaces and line breaks are preserved, but HTML entities are parsed.
<pre> examples
Markup
Renders as
<pre><!--Comment-->
[[wiki]] markup &</pre>
<!--Comment-->
[[wiki]] markup &
<pre> formatted text does not wrap, thus text may extend past the browser window:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
To resolve this, <pre> may use CSS styling to add wrapping or a horizontal scrollbar:
It's uncommon – but on occasion acceptable for notes to other editors – to add a hidden comment within the text of an article. These comments are only visible when editing or viewing the source of a page. Most comments should go on the appropriate Talk page. The format is to surround the hidden text with "<!--" and "-->" and may cover several lines, e.g.:
<!-- An example of hidden comments
This won't be visible except in "edit" mode. -->
Another way to include a comment in the wiki markup uses the {{Void}} template, which can be abbreviated as {{^}}. This template "expands" to the empty string, generating no HTML output; it is visible only to people editing the wiki source. Thus {{^|A lengthy comment here}} operates similarly to the comment <!-- A lengthy comment here -->. The main difference is that the template version can be nested, while attempting to nest HTML comments produces odd results.
{{ns:index}} e.g. {{ns:1}} → full name of namespace
{{SITENAME}}
ਵਿਕੀਪੀਡੀਆ
{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} is the number of pages in the main namespace which contain a link and are not a redirect. This includes full articles, stubs containing a link, and disambiguation pages.
{{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}} is the genitive (possessive) grammatical form of the month name, as used in some languages but not in English; {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} is the nominative (subject) form, as usually seen in English.
In languages where it makes a difference, you can use constructs like {{grammar:case|word}} to convert a word from the nominative case to some other case. For example, {{grammar:genitive|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}}} means the same as {{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}}.