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

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

sudo apt-get install libmediawiki-api-perl libdatetime-format-iso8601-perl liblwp-protocol-https-perl

Install Git-Mediawiki

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

Configure Environment

Add to ~/.bashrc:

export PERL5LIB=/path/to/Git-Mediawiki:$PERL5LIB

Then: source ~/.bashrc

Cloning the Wiki

Basic Clone

git clone mediawiki::https://wiki.gi7b.org/ wiki-gi7b-org

With Authentication

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

Partial Clone

# 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/

Daily Workflow

1. Pull Latest Changes

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

2. Edit Pages

Edit .mw files with opencode or any editor:

opencode Open_Source.mw

3. Review Changes

git status
git diff

4. Commit

git add .
git commit -m "Updated page description"

5. Push to Wiki

git push

6. Rebase

git pull --rebase

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

# 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

Media Files

git config --bool remote.origin.mediaimport true
git config --bool remote.origin.mediaexport true

Dumb Push Mode

For consistent commit hashes across clones:

git config mediawiki.dumbPush true

Troubleshooting

SSL Certificate Issues

# 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

Missing PERL5LIB

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

export PERL5LIB=/path/to/Git-Mediawiki:$PERL5LIB

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

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

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