View source for Git-Mediawiki Local Editing 260223

= Git-Mediawiki: Local Editing with Opencode =

A guide to using Git-Mediawiki to clone a MediaWiki as a Git repository, enabling offline editing with opencode and syncing changes back to the wiki.

== Overview ==

[https://github.com/Git-Mediawiki/Git-Mediawiki Git-Mediawiki] bridges Git and MediaWiki, allowing you to:

* Clone a MediaWiki as a Git repository
* Edit pages locally with any text editor
* Track changes with Git version control
* Sync back to the wiki with git push/pull

This enables opencode (which cannot use MediaWiki API/bots) to edit wiki content through local files.

== Prerequisites ==

* Git 1.8.3+
* Perl 5 with modules:
** MediaWiki::API (0.39+)
** DateTime::Format::ISO8601
** LWP::Protocol::https (for HTTPS)

== Installation ==

=== Debian/Ubuntu ===

<pre>
sudo apt-get install libmediawiki-api-perl libdatetime-format-iso8601-perl liblwp-protocol-https-perl
</pre>

=== Install Git-Mediawiki ===

<pre>
cd /path/to/projects
git clone https://github.com/Git-Mediawiki/Git-Mediawiki.git
sudo cp Git-Mediawiki/git-remote-mediawiki /usr/lib/git-core/
sudo cp Git-Mediawiki/git-mw /usr/lib/git-core/
sudo chmod +x /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-mediawiki /usr/lib/git-core/git-mw
</pre>

=== Configure Environment ===

Add to ~/.bashrc:

<pre>
export PERL5LIB=/path/to/Git-Mediawiki:$PERL5LIB
</pre>

Then: source ~/.bashrc

== Cloning the Wiki ==

=== Basic Clone ===

<pre>
git clone mediawiki::https://wiki.gi7b.org/ wiki-gi7b-org
</pre>

=== With Authentication ===

<pre>
mkdir wiki-gi7b-org && cd wiki-gi7b-org
chmod 600 .git/config
git init
git remote add origin mediawiki::https://wiki.gi7b.org/
git config remote.origin.mwLogin 'YourUsername'
git config remote.origin.mwPassword 'YourPassword'
git pull
</pre>

=== Partial Clone ===

<pre>
# Specific pages
git clone -c remote.origin.pages='Page_One Page_Two' mediawiki::https://wiki.gi7b.org/

# By category
git clone -c remote.origin.categories='Documentation' mediawiki::https://wiki.gi7b.org/

# Latest revision only (faster)
git clone -c remote.origin.shallow=true mediawiki::https://wiki.gi7b.org/
</pre>

== Daily Workflow ==

=== 1. Pull Latest Changes ===

<pre>
cd wiki-gi7b-org
export PERL5LIB=/path/to/Git-Mediawiki:$PERL5LIB
git pull --rebase
</pre>

=== 2. Edit Pages ===

Edit .mw files with opencode or any editor:

<pre>
opencode Open_Source.mw
</pre>

=== 3. Review Changes ===

<pre>
git status
git diff
</pre>

=== 4. Commit ===

<pre>
git add .
git commit -m "Updated page description"
</pre>

=== 5. Push to Wiki ===

<pre>
git push
</pre>

=== 6. Rebase ===

<pre>
git pull --rebase
</pre>

== Repository Structure ==

Each .mw file represents a wiki page:

* File names = wiki titles (spaces become underscores)
* Format = MediaWiki markup
* Full history available via git log

== Advanced Configuration ==

=== Fetch Strategy ===

<pre>
# For active wikis with few tracked pages (default)
git config remote.origin.fetchStrategy by_page

# For wikis with many pages but low activity
git config remote.origin.fetchStrategy by_rev
</pre>

=== Media Files ===

<pre>
git config --bool remote.origin.mediaimport true
git config --bool remote.origin.mediaexport true
</pre>

=== Dumb Push Mode ===

For consistent commit hashes across clones:

<pre>
git config mediawiki.dumbPush true
</pre>

== Troubleshooting ==

=== SSL Certificate Issues ===

<pre>
# Insecure (testing only)
PERL_LWP_SSL_VERIFY_HOSTNAME=0 git pull

# Secure (download cert)
echo | openssl s_client -showcerts -connect wiki.gi7b.org:443 > certs.pem
HTTPS_CA_FILE=certs.pem git pull
</pre>

=== Missing PERL5LIB ===

If you see "Can't locate Git/Mediawiki.pm":

<pre>
export PERL5LIB=/path/to/Git-Mediawiki:$PERL5LIB
</pre>

== Tips for Opencode Workflow ==

* Always pull before starting edits
* Make commits atomic (one logical change per commit)
* Use descriptive commit messages (become wiki edit summaries)
* Push frequently to avoid conflicts
* Keep PERL5LIB exported in your shell

== See Also ==

* [https://github.com/Git-Mediawiki/Git-Mediawiki Git-Mediawiki on GitHub]
* [[MediaWiki Setup Guide Portainer-Docker-251215-00]]
* [[GitHub Re-Connection & Workflow 260202]]

== References ==

* Git-Mediawiki User Manual: https://github.com/Git-Mediawiki/Git-Mediawiki/blob/master/docs/User-manual.md
* MediaWiki API: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Main_page