Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser

AutoWikiBrowser 6.4.0.0

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This is the discussion page for the AutoWikiBrowser (AWB) project. It is also the place to discuss using the AWB program (for help, questions, or general inquiries about AWB). Specific guidelines on where to make particular reports or requests are provided in the § Before you post section below. Before asking a question, please refer to the read the § Frequently asked questions below.

Before you post

Do you want to ...	Please use
Report a bug or request a feature in AWB?	Check reported bugs on Phabricator before filing a new bug report. You do not need to create another account there; just log in with your global Wikimedia account. See this MediaWiki wiki page on how to report bugs and request features on Phabricator. Report a bug Try to report bugs in the current version of the software. Update to the most recent version and check to make sure your bug has not already been reported on Phabricator. See How to Report Bugs Effectively for advice on how to write bug reports. Before posting anything related to non-Wikimedia Foundation wikis, verify that the site is running a recent version of MediaWiki with enabled Bot API. Older versions of MediaWiki or without the Bot API are not supported. Be sure to mention the exact URL of your wiki. Request a feature details Please use the feature request button to submit new feature requests. This format helps the developers track and manage requests efficiently. Before submitting, take a moment to search the archives—both on-wiki and on Phabricator—to see if a similar request has already been discussed.​
Report an incorrectly fixed typo?	Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Typos
Request approval to use AWB?	Wikipedia:Requests for permissions/AutoWikiBrowser
Ask a question about AWB or ask for help?	This page

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

• When I start it up I get one of the following errors:

  "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.", or

  "To run this application, you must first install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework..."

  This error means your computer does not have the .NET framework version 2 installed properly. You can choose from various versions for download here, or you can run Windows Update and select version 2 of the .Net framework from the "Optional Updates" section, if you want the choice made for you.

• Does AWB run on Linux or Mac?
  • AWB runs reasonably under Wine. See details here

    AWB might also run under Mono.

  • AWB (Windows) with Unix scripts can be done with Cygwin or Virtualbox
  • On the Mac, AWB is not natively available, but an option is to use virtualisation with Parallels Desktop for Mac (subject to meeting supported operating systems requirements) and then run Microsoft Windows virtually with AWB as the Windows instructions above. Note this option is not free, as a license is required for both Parallels Desktop for Mac and Microsoft Windows. An alternative visualization method is to use the free VirtualBox, see also Comparison of platform virtual machines.
  • You can use the JavaScript Wiki Browser instead.
• Does AWB work on other projects and languages?

  Many Wikimedia projects and languages are supported, see the "User and project preferences" option in the general menu. Other languages will be added on request, though at the moment the interface is always in English. You are also able to use AWB with third-party wikis: Options > Preferences > Site, you can change the wiki there. The wiki must support the Bot API required by AWB. This means that it should have latest HEAD version of MediaWiki or something close to that. The wmf-deployment branch is also recommended, as this is what is currently live on WMF sites.

• Under Windows Vista (and newer), AWB is using wrong font size, which results in clipped text and lost buttons and options, (see example here). How to fix it?
  Tracked in Phabricator
  Task T103506
  
  • Solution #1: Go to "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Display" and switch resizing of the fonts to 100%.
  • Solution #2: Right click on AutoWikiBrowser.exe --> Properties -> Compatibility (tab) --> enable the "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option or for Windows 10, if available, select System (Enhanced).
• AWB puts stubs after categories, though categories are always rendered the last by MediaWiki?

  According to WP:STUB#Categorizing stubs, by convention they are placed at the end of the article, after the External links section, any navigation templates, and the category tags, so that the stub category will appear last. If your wiki uses another order, please let us know here.

• I don't like or use Internet Explorer; please use Firefox instead.

  AWB does not use Internet Explorer per se. It does, however, use the same web browser control (MSHTML) as Internet Explorer; the equivalent Firefox component does not provide the needed functionality.

• How do I open the page in another browser if I can't use the one in AWB?

  Right click on the edit box in the bottom right side of your screen. Select "Open page in browser".

• How do I edit a page that doesn't exist?

  Uncheck "Ignore non existing pages" in the "Skip articles" box.

• How do I skip certain articles?

  Use the "Skip if contains" and "Skip if doesn't contain" on the "Skip" tab

• Can't you leave up a "stable" version, so I don't have to download new versions?

  It is important to keep people up to date with the latest versions, because their use of the software doesn't just affect them, but the whole of Wikipedia. As any bugs that remain will be trivial, hopefully releases won't be too frequent.

• How can I stop AWB clicking when it changes pages?

  This is a Windows sound theme setting. This page explains how to turn off the clicking sound.

  Alternatively, delete the following key from the Windows registry:

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Current

• AWB randomly crashes upon page load on my system, and I always use a browser other than Internet Explorer when using Wikipedia.

  You may have installed custom scripts incompatible with IE. Wrap the contents of your monobook.js into conditional:

               //Detect IE5.5+
               if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE")==-1)
               {
                   // Previous contents go here
                   ....
               }

• I get Just In Time Debugger Messages when loading AWB/loading pages.

  In Internet Explorer, go to Tools → Options → Advanced. Make sure 'Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer)' and 'Disable Script Debugging (Other)' Are both checked. Press apply and close.

• Why does AWB run very, very slowly if I try to make changes in the edit window on larger pages, especially pages with long lists or tables?

  If running on Windows, exit the Speech Recognition software that is built into some versions of Windows; don't just turn it 'Off', you must 'Exit' the software if you have started up Speech Recognition.

• When I do a clean install of AutoWikiBrowser the application seems to find old setting data somewhere. I'd like to do a really clean install. Any ideas?

  Clean up your registry and remove the folder "C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Local Settings\Application Data\AutoWikiBrowser" (Windows XP) or "C:\Users\user name\AppData\Local\AutoWikiBrowser\" (Windows 7). Note that the application data folder may be hidden.

• AWB prompts that there is a newer version but won't update

  Check the version number of your AWBUpdater.exe. The current version is 2.4.0.0. If you have an older version, you have to download the latest AWB version and make a clean install.

• Which .NET Framework version do I have?

  You can find your .NET Framework version in Help → About box.

• Where are the default settings stored?

  • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\AutoWikiBrowser
  • Windows Vista onwards: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\AutoWikiBrowser\Default.xml

• I cannot copy text from the diff window using the Control+C keyboard shortcut.

  You must have Microsoft.mshtml.dll available for AWB to use for this functionality to work. You can try downloading the file (there are a number of third-party websites offering DLL file downloads) and putting it in the same folder as AutoWikiBrowser.exe. This is reported not to work for all users, presumably due to .NET Framework problems.

• Is there any way to set AWB to not use https? (GFW blocks 443 port)

  In preferences, set project to "custom". Set the left box to http. In the webpage box, type en.wikipedia.org/w/ (English Wikipedia) or zh.wikipedia.org/w/ (Chinese Wikipedia). Note that leaving off the /w/ will result in a "root element missing" error.

• How do I login to AWB with accounts enabled with two-factor authentication?

  You should use a bot password. Despite the name, they aren't just for bots. See Wikipedia:Using AWB with 2FA.

Discussion

Win7 support

Is Win7 still supported? As AWB 6.4.0.0 requires .NET 4.8.1, it's unable to run on Win7, because 4.8.1 doesn't support Win7 (last supported version should be 4.8). — Draceane ^talk_contribs. 20:42, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

Reedy changed the .NET versions earlier this year under T385223. I think the bigger picture answer you will get is that Wikmedia/Wikipedia want to support/enforce the current/latest browser encryption standards so that means dropping older operating systems. The major browsers are doing something similar - Firefox support for Windows 7 has been extended to next year but won't continue for ever, so at some point you may have to use a newer Windows version (or other modern OS) for Wikipedia editing. However, I think the snapshot releases I build here only require .NET 4.8 so you should be able to use one of those in the meantime. Rjwilmsi 18:25, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

@Rjwilmsi: Not that I have looked at the downloaded bits, but I think those four builds postdate the 4.8.1 update, which was in source rev 12730. The last archive on sourceforge that predates the change seems to have been of release 6.3.1.1, and that will be missing some useful updates. I've made a version of the latest update (rev 13010) using framework 4.8, and it seems to work OK on Windows 11. You can find it without plugins on my onedrive. As usual, unblock the exe before running. LMK if it works or doesn't; obviously this isn't a longterm solution. David Brooks (talk) 19:17, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

Yes, but I have custom AWB solution/projects which target .NET 4.8 and the snapshots I've uploaded are from that. For me they do run under wine with .NET 4.6.2 installed. Rjwilmsi 19:47, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

Ah, thanks for the clarification. David Brooks (talk) 20:55, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

Maintainers, should the official build be reverted to using 4.8, if there are still enough Win7 users? As far as I can tell, the main advantage of 4.8.1 is native ARM64 support for people like me, and some accessibility improvements. The current build tree creates x86 binaries which run under emulation on ARM64 boxes (more slowly and using much more memory than native, but it works). So downgrading to 4.8 wouldn't make a difference in that respect; I have a private build with native support but I'm not suggesting that be shoehorned into the official build. David Brooks (talk) 04:05, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

+1 for Windows 7 support. I'm still using Windows 7 and have no plans to "upgrade" to anything later (other than ultimately Linux), and I use AWB quite a lot. Mitch Ames (talk) 03:20, 22 November 2025 (UTC)

Request for AWB access – Will229

Hi! I would like to request access to AutoWikiBrowser (AWB) for my account User:Will229. I plan to use it for small helpful edits, such as fixing typos, formatting, and adding categories. I understand and will follow all Wikipedia policies regarding the use of AWB. Thanks! Will229 (talk) 15:20, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

Will229 Requests go to WP:AWB/R.Naraht (talk) 16:15, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

Anybody know about WikiProject tagging

There was a request about tagging a page with a specific WikiProject (still checking for authorization before going through with it). Does anyone know of a script that can be used in an AutoWikiBrowser module to make it happen? Can't just prepend the Wikitext since it has to go at the bottom of the header materials and be added inside any WikiProject banner shells if they are present. Any ideas? aaronneallucas (talk) 22:46, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

How many pages need to be added to the WikiProject? If it's not many, AWB is overkill. If it's just several pages, it's best to go with WP:Rater. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 23:19, 12 December 2025 (UTC)

@StefenTower Per the user's request, it would be well over 1,000 pages that would have to be processed and potentially tagged. I'd use rater if it was only a few, but I definitely can't do it on that many. I'd think this would be a common enough need to have a script for it in AWB, but I'm totally lost in finding one. aaronneallucas (talk) 01:40, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

I've been using AWB for a long time, and I know of no script for this per se. This is a Find/Replace matter where regular expressions will need to be used to insert a WikiProject banner template into the banner shell, assuming the pages have already been added to other projects. I have done this kind of job several times, but how it's done depends on what the WikiProject is (like whether it's a top-level project or a subproject or a taskforce). If you can tell me what WikiProject you're inserting, I should be able to provide specific guidance. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 01:52, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

@StefenTower: There is a AWB plugin for this, Kingbotk plugin. — Ganeshk (talk) 02:17, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Let me revise then. There's no script that can be trusted for this kind of work. Major changes to how WikiProject banners are placed have occurred since that plugin was relevant. Find/Replace is where it's at. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 02:43, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

@StefenTower: One other option is to a create a custom module for it, but I get your point; the current solutions are rudimentary. I suggest asking at Version 1.0 Editorial Team or Content assessment; there may be solutions that I am unaware of. — Ganeshk (talk) 17:02, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

We already have a solution I mentioned above that works, as I have regularly used it. It's called Find/Replace with regular expressions. I was waiting to hear back from Aplucas0703 on the specific WikiProject they are adding so I can suggest the find and the replace. And please stop pinging me. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 18:28, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

@StefenTower Should be for WikiProject Books, no sub-project or task force was requested by the user. aaronneallucas (talk) 19:16, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Find & Replace

Aplucas0703: Here is a find/replace approach that checks for any form of the banner shell, and adds WikiProject Books as the first project entry within it:

• For good measure, set a Skip (on the Skip tab) to skip pages that contain "{{WikiProject Books".
• Use "Find and replace/Advanced settings" for most convenience as the Find part is long.
• Add a new "Find and replace" rule and check these options: Regular expression, Case sensitive, Singleline
• Set the Find to:
  • \{\{(?:Article assessment|Bannershell|Coopshell|Multiple wikiprojects|Project banner holder|Project shell|Scope shell|WP Banner Shell|WP Bannershell|WP banner shell|WPB|WPBS|WPBannerShell|WikiProject Banner Shell|WikiProject BannerShell|WikiProject Banners|WikiProject Banners Shell|WikiProject Shell|WikiProject banner|WikiProject banner shell|WikiProject bannershell|WikiProject cooperation shell|WikiProject shell|WikiProjectBanner Shell|WikiProjectBannerShell|WikiProjectBanners|Wikiproject banner holder|Wikiproject banner shell|WikiprojectBannerShell|Wikiprojectbanners|Wikiprojectbannershell|Wpb|Wpbannershell|Wpbs)\s*\|(.*?)\{\{WikiProject
• Set the "Replace with:" to:
  • {{WikiProject banner shell|$1{{WikiProject Books}}\n{{WikiProject

I ran a test of this on random article talk pages and it appeared to work without any flaw. Let me know if you have any questions. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 20:35, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Note that if the currently first project entry (or entries) isn't using a template that begins with "WikiProject" (the standard), it should skip over that (those) and place the WikiProject Books template in that spot. If there's no current project entries starting with "WikiProject", this won't work, and therefore those will have to be manually inserted, or inserted with Rater. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 20:49, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

@StefenTower I'll keep that in mind, and thanks for the advice and help! aaronneallucas (talk) 22:12, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Uh... maybe I'm being daft, (correct) but I seem to recall AWB genfixes moves banners into WPBS automatically, so just prepending {{WikiProject Books}} and having it do genfixes afterwards will avoid the need for the rather long regex listed there. Primefac (talk) 15:16, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

I just tested that out, and I can't make that work within a run. Maybe it worked that way in the past but I don't know. Do you mean doing two separate runs, one with the prepend and a second one with genfixes? Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 17:40, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

I guess I am being daft. I could have sworn I've done banner additions without all the fuss of a regex set. Primefac (talk) 22:24, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

Believe me, I wish I was wrong on this. The functionality you describe would be fantastic to have. If anyone reading knows anything akin to a shortcut like that, it would be great to know about it. Stefen 𝕋ower ^{Huddle • Handiwerk} 08:25, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

Why does unicodification not count as a genfix?

I got asked why this edit was made, which then led to me finding this bug report where it was stated "Unicodify whole Page" is not part of general fixes. It has it's own box. It has made me wonder why it should be treated any differently; unicodifying a page is a good thing, but it should be done in the background and skipped if it's the only edit. I'd rather not turn off the change just for the few random pages that have only that issue. Primefac (talk) 15:34, 14 December 2025 (UTC)