Help:Edit check

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Edit check is a tool in the visual editor that suggests improvements to Wikipedia articles before the edit is published. It can be configured locally by interface admins.

This page is meant to equip people who are seeking to understand, use, and/or contribute to the Edit Check project with the information and resources they need to do so.

Several features are available within Edit Check:

Reference check
Link check and Reference reliability

See our deployment page.

Reference check

Reference check as of September 2023

If you add a large amount of text without any citations, the reference check will remind you to add a citation. This only works for edits made using the visual editor.

It can be configured to your wiki's needs.

The reference check was introduced in late 2023. Please report problems on the talk page.

Testing Reference check

URL snippet

Edit any article in the main namespace using the visual editor.
- The feature is only available for articles.
Add &ecenable=1 to the URL in your browser.
- Example: https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soleil&veaction=edit&ecenable=1
Reload the page with the new URL.
Create a new paragraph, that is at least 50 characters long without adding a citation
Press the Publish…
Notice the prompt that appears
✅ Test is completed.
- Don't save your edit unless you know what you are doing!

Logged out mode

On Wikipedias where References check is deployed by default , you can test it while being logged out of your account (using the "incognito mode" in your browser, for instance). Adding a new paragraph with no reference to any article will show you References check.

Tags used

We use the following tags in Recent Changes and Watchlist, so that users can identify edits where Edit Check was activated, and the reasons why a user decided not to add a citation.

editcheck-references: EditCheck thinks a reference might have been needed

editcheck-newcontent: EditCheck thinks new content was added to the page

editcheck-references-activated: Edit Check (references) activated; EditCheck thinks a reference might have been needed, and the UI was shown

editcheck-reference-decline-common-knowledge: Edit Check (references) declined (common knowledge); EditCheck reference was declined as common knowledge

editcheck-reference-decline-other: Edit Check (references) declined (other); EditCheck reference was declined for an unlisted reason

editcheck-reference-decline-uncertain: Edit Check (references) declined (uncertain); EditCheck reference was declined as being uncertain

editcheck-reference-decline-irrelevant: Edit Check (references) declined (irrelevant); EditCheck reference was declined as irrelevant

List of all tags

References check default configuration

Reference check is shown to all logged-out users, and to logged-in users with less than 100 edits.
Reference check is shown when a new paragraph of more than 50 characters is added.

Link check and Reference reliability

Reference reliability

Feedback people will receive when attempting to link to a blocked domain while using Citoid.

Reference reliability evaluates all external domains people attempt to insert using Citoid to against defined sources.

Link check

Feedback people will receive when attempting to link to a blocked domain within the visual editor.

Link Check evaluates all external domains people attempt to link using the link insertion inspector to against defined sources.

Defined sources for rejected URLs

The following sources are used by Link check and Reference reliability to verify if a URL is blocked:

Local lists, defined by each community: MediaWiki:BlockedExternalDomains.json, MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist
Global list, shared by all wikis : meta:Spam_blacklist

Configuration

Communities can configure how Edit check works at their wiki.

Glossary

All terms we use are defined in the glossary.

FAQ

How do you decide what Checks to build?

The Editing team prioritizes building Edit Checks that have the potential to reduce the likelihood that an edit someone publishes causes a negative consequence for:

The person making the edit
People who read Wikipedia
Experienced volunteers who work to make Wikipedia a resource people can depend on.

What editing interfaces is Edit Check being developed for?: To start, Edit Check is being developed for the visual editor on both mobile and desktop.
How does Edit Check and AbuseFilter relate? What are the distinctions between these two capabilities?: As of June 2024, Edit check provides feedback when the editor clicks on "Publish changes...". This is where AbuseFiter is shown. The difference is that Edit Check offers feedback within the editing experience. The Editing team is also looking into the possibility of displaying checks during the editing experience. These checks would react to actions taken by the user. We also plan to display multiple checks within the editing experience, to highlight a few different improvements at once.

Reference Check is displayed when a new paragraph is added. Some published edits show some text and a citation being added to an existing paragraph, tagged for Reference Check. Why?: Edit Check is shown to the user who then add a new citation. Then, they can decide to change their edit before publishing, by merging it with an existing paragraph.

What is the next check you plan to work on?: Our next check is "Paste Check". You can submit your ideas for a new check on our Ideas page.