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Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/wikioasis/mw-config/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

WikiOasis mw-config is not a single configuration file — it is a layered pipeline of PHP files that MediaWiki evaluates in a deliberate sequence on every web request and CLI invocation. At the top of that pipeline sits LocalSettings.php, which bootstraps the farm by loading credentials, instantiating the core utility class, populating MediaWiki’s SiteConfiguration object, and then handing off to a chain of specialised files that each handle one concern: global extension loading, per-wiki database routing, cache configuration, ManageWiki registries, and finally per-wiki special-case overrides. Understanding this architecture makes it straightforward to know exactly which file to edit for any given change.

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Request Lifecycle

The following steps describe the complete journey from an incoming HTTP request to a fully-configured MediaWiki instance.
1

MediaWiki Entry Point

A request arrives at an entry point (index.php, api.php, load.php, etc.). MediaWiki calls require_once 'LocalSettings.php' to begin farm initialisation. Guard clauses at the top of LocalSettings.php abort immediately if MEDIAWIKI, CACHE_MEMCACHED, or MW_ENTRY_POINT are not defined, preventing direct web access.
2

PrivateSettings & MirahezeFunctions Bootstrap

LocalSettings.php loads PrivateSettings.php (database credentials, secret keys — not in the public repository) and then MirahezeFunctions.php. With the class available, it loads GlobalExtensions.php to register farm-wide skins and extensions, and finally constructs $wi = new MirahezeFunctions().
3

MirahezeFunctions Constructor

The constructor calls setupSiteConfiguration() which creates a fresh SiteConfiguration instance, sets $wgConf->suffixes to ['wiki', 'wikibeta'], and populates $wgConf->wikis from the CreateWiki cache (databases.php). It then determines $wi->dbname via getCurrentDatabase(), validates that the suffix matches the realm, resolves $wi->server, $wi->sitename, $wi->version, $wi->realm, and $wi->missing, and writes wgDBname and wgServer back into $wgConf->settings.
4

LocalSettings SiteConfiguration Population

Back in LocalSettings.php, a large $wgConf->settings += [...] block populates hundreds of per-wiki-overridable settings with farm defaults — covering email, uploads, search, ManageWiki parameters, CentralAuth virtual domain mappings, and more. Settings keyed by dbname override the 'default' value for specific wikis.
5

ManageWiki Extension Registry

ManageWikiExtensions.php is loaded immediately after $wi is constructed. This file defines the $wmgManageWikiExtensions array that the ManageWiki extension reads to build its extension-toggle UI and that MirahezeFunctions::getActiveExtensions() consults when resolving which extensions to queue.
6

Config Globals Resolution

MirahezeFunctions::getConfigGlobals() is called. It checks for a fresh config-{dbname}.php opcode-cached file. On a miss, it merges the ManageWiki per-wiki cache (from {dbname}.php in CACHE_DIRECTORY) into $wgConf->settings, computes wiki tags (realm, MediaWiki version, active extensions, wiki states), and calls $wgConf->getAll($wgDBname, ...) to resolve every setting into a flat globals array. The result is written back to cache. extract($globals) applies the resolved settings as PHP globals. ManageWikiNamespaces.php and ManageWikiSettings.php are then loaded to register namespace and settings field definitions for the ManageWiki admin UI.
7

Database & Cache Configuration

Database.php configures LBFactoryMulti using $wi->wikiDBClusters to route each wiki’s database name to the correct MySQL cluster (currently c1 → db-c1-us-east-021). GlobalCache.php configures Redis as the main and message cache, sets up the parsercache-multiwrite parser cache (currently Redis only; a SQL durable-fallback is defined but commented out), and tunes TTLs for parser, session, and revision caches.
8

GlobalSettings & LocalWiki

GlobalSettings.php applies farm-wide runtime settings: loading CentralAuth, GlobalPreferences, GlobalBlocking, and RemovePII; enforcing $wgCentralAuthStrict; and conditionally loading extension dependencies (e.g., Bootstrap for Chameleon, Elastica for CirrusSearch). LocalWiki.php applies per-wiki special-case overrides using a switch ($wi->dbname) block — for example, loading SecurePoll and RequestCustomDomain only for metawiki.
9

Extension Loading

$wi->loadExtensions() reads the per-wiki enabled-extension list from the CreateWiki cache file ({dbname}.php), cross-references it against a pre-built extension path index (cw_cache/{version}/extension-list.php), and queues each enabled extension with ExtensionRegistry. Disabled extensions listed in $wi::$disabledExtensions are skipped regardless of wiki settings.

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The Two-Realm System

Every constant, database name, and domain in MirahezeFunctions is keyed by realm. The realm is determined at boot time from the database suffix: names ending in wiki belong to the default (production) realm; names ending in wikibeta belong to the beta realm. On the server side, realm is also confirmed by checking whether php_uname('n') equals the BETA_HOSTNAME constant (staging11).

Production Realm

Domains: wikioasis.org · skywiki.orgDB suffix: wikiCentral DB: metawikiGlobal DB: wikidbShared domain: accounts.wikioasis.org

Beta Realm

Domains: betaoasis.xyzDB suffix: wikibetaCentral DB: metawikibetaGlobal DB: wikidbbetaShared domain: accounts.betaoasis.xyz

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The Shared Domain

The shared domain (accounts.wikioasis.org in production, accounts.betaoasis.xyz in beta) is a special hostname that hosts the CentralAuth unified login flow. When a request arrives on the shared domain, LocalSettings.php detects it via $wi->getSharedDomain() and activates several overrides.
The shared domain path prefix is stored in $wmgSharedDomainPathPrefix and set to "/{dbname}" — the wiki database name extracted from the request URI path. All resource URLs ($wgLoadScript, $wgResourceBasePath) are repointed to the canonical wiki server to ensure assets load correctly.
When $wmgSharedDomainPathPrefix is active, the following changes take effect:
  • $wgUseSiteCss and $wgUseSiteJs are set to false — the shared login page uses no wiki-specific styling or scripts.
  • $wgCentralAuthCookieDomain is set to .wikioasis.org (or .betaoasis.xyz) so the authentication cookie is valid across all wikis in the realm.
  • $wgCookiePrefix is overridden to auth and $wgSessionName to authSession for isolation.
  • $wgWebAuthnNewCredsDisabled is set to false, enabling WebAuthn (passkey) credential creation exclusively on the shared domain.
  • CheckUser client hints collection is enabled for the authentication context.

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Key File Responsibilities

LocalSettings.php

Main bootstrap. Loads credentials and class files, instantiates $wi, populates all of $wgConf->settings with farm and per-wiki defaults, loads ManageWiki registries, resolves config globals via getConfigGlobals(), and sequences the remaining includes. This file is MediaWiki’s entry point into the entire farm config.

MirahezeFunctions.php

Core utility class. Defines all farm constants (ALLOWED_DOMAINS, SUFFIXES, MEDIAWIKI_VERSIONS, etc.), implements SiteConfiguration setup, database and server resolution, MediaWiki version selection, CreateWiki cache reading/writing, ManageWiki config merging, and extension loading. Every other file depends on this class.

GlobalSettings.php

Farm-wide runtime settings. Registers CreateWikiGenerateDatabaseLists and ManageWikiCore* hooks, loads MultiVersion.php, enforces CentralAuth strict mode and SUL3, configures the shared domain cookie behaviour and WebAuthn, and conditionally loads extension dependencies (Bootstrap, Elastica, SocialProfile, etc.) based on which extensions are active for the current wiki.

GlobalExtensions.php

Globally required extensions and skins. Calls wfLoadSkins() and wfLoadExtensions() for the set of extensions that must be present on every wiki regardless of ManageWiki settings — including AbuseFilter, CentralAuth, CheckUser, CreateWiki, Echo, ManageWiki, OATHAuth, Scribunto, and the Citizen, Vector, MonoBook, and other bundled skins.

MultiVersion.php

Per-wiki MediaWiki version overrides. Exposes WikiFarmMultiVersion::getWikiVersion() and setWikiVersion() for atomic reads and writes of wikiVersions.php. Implements onCreateWikiPhpBuilder to inject the v (version) key into the CreateWiki databases cache so MirahezeFunctions::getMediaWikiVersion() can pick it up without re-reading the overrides file on every request.

Database.php

MySQL cluster routing. Configures LBFactoryMulti with $wi->wikiDBClusters (sourced from the c column in the CreateWiki databases cache) to route each wiki to its assigned MySQL cluster. Currently a single cluster c1 backed by db-c1-us-east-021. Connection parameters are drawn from PrivateSettings.php.

GlobalCache.php

Redis and parser cache configuration. Sets Redis as $wgMainCacheType and $wgMessageCacheType, configures the parsercache-multiwrite object cache (currently Redis only; a SQL durable-fallback backend is present in the file but commented out), and sets per-content-type TTLs: 15 days for parser cache, 10 days for DiscussionTools, 3 days for revisions, 1 day for sessions. Sidebar caching is enabled on normal requests and disabled when serving via the shared domain.

LocalWiki.php

Per-wiki special-case overrides. Uses switch ($wi->dbname) to apply overrides that cannot be expressed through $wgConf->settings or ManageWiki. Examples: metawiki loads SecurePoll and RequestCustomDomain; testwiki loads EnhancedUpload, OOJSPlus, and Citoid with a custom service URL.

ManageWikiExtensions.php

Extension registry for wiki admins. Defines the $wmgManageWikiExtensions array describing every extension that wiki administrators can enable via Special:ManageWiki/extensions. Each entry specifies display metadata, conflicts, prerequisite extensions, permissions requirements, install/remove side-effects (namespace creation, mwscript invocations), and visibility constraints (public/private wikis only).

ManageWikiSettings.php

Settings registry for wiki admins. Defines the $wmgManageWikiSettings array describing every MediaWiki configuration variable that wiki admins can adjust via Special:ManageWiki/settings. Each entry declares the variable name, its source extension, type (checkbox, integer, list, matrix, etc.), override default, and any prerequisite extensions or permissions.

ManageWikiNamespaces.php

Namespace settings registry. Defines additional per-namespace configuration fields exposed in Special:ManageWiki/namespaces. Entries can be scoped to main or talk namespaces, restricted to specific namespace IDs, and support checkbox, vestyle, integer, language, list, and other field types.

wikiVersions.php

Per-wiki MediaWiki version pins. A simple PHP file returning an associative array of dbname => version overrides managed atomically by WikiFarmMultiVersion::setWikiVersion(). Wikis not listed here inherit the farm default for their realm. When a wiki’s cache file is invalidated, this file ensures the correct MediaWiki branch is selected immediately on the next request.

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SiteConfiguration and Per-Wiki Setting Resolution

MediaWiki’s SiteConfiguration class ($wgConf) is the central registry through which all per-wiki settings are stored and resolved. MirahezeFunctions::setupSiteConfiguration() instantiates it early in the bootstrap, sets $wgConf->suffixes and $wgConf->wikis, and then LocalSettings.php populates $wgConf->settings with arrays like: 
'wgMaxArticleSize' => [
    'default'           => 1024 * 2,       // farm default: 2 MB
    'projectherzlwiki'  => 1024 * 48,      // override for a specific wiki
    'smowiki'           => 1024 * 10,
],
When MirahezeFunctions::getConfigGlobals() later calls $wgConf->getAll($wgDBname, $dbSuffix, $confParams, $wikiTags), SiteConfiguration resolves the final value for the current wiki by checking for a wiki-specific key first and falling back to 'default'. The ManageWiki per-wiki cache is merged into $wgConf->settings before this resolution step, so ManageWiki settings — namespaces, permissions, extension-specific variables — all participate in the same lookup hierarchy.
Because getConfigGlobals() caches its output as a PHP opcode-cached file (config-{dbname}.php), the full $wgConf->getAll() resolution only runs when LocalSettings.php, a ManageWiki registry file, or the wiki’s CreateWiki cache file is newer than the config cache. In steady state, per-request overhead is just an include of an opcode-cached array.

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