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Documentation Index

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.

The WikiOasis farm intercepts abnormal wiki states before MediaWiki ever boots and serves hand-crafted HTML error pages instead. These are plain PHP files that emit HTTP status codes, set cache headers, and output a styled full-page response — completely independent of MediaWiki’s skin or i18n system. Four pages cover the full spectrum of error conditions: a wiki that was never created, a wiki that has been deleted, a cluster undergoing maintenance, and a SkyWiki subdomain that hasn’t yet been migrated. Each page shares the same animated dark background aesthetic and WikiOasis (or SkyWiki) branding, giving users a consistent experience regardless of why a request failed.

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Overview

FileHTTP StatusWhen TriggeredCache
MissingWiki.php410 GoneWiki DB name not found in CreateWiki registrys-maxage=2678400 (31 days)
DeletedWiki.php410 GoneWiki is marked as deleted in cw_wikiss-maxage=2678400 (31 days)
DatabaseMaintenance.php503 Service UnavailableWiki’s DB cluster is listed in $wgDatabaseClustersMaintenances-maxage=2678400 (31 days)
MissingSkyWiki.php410 Gone*.skywiki.org subdomain not yet migrated to WikiOasiss-maxage=2678400 (31 days)
All four pages set Cache-Control: s-maxage=2678400, max-age=2678400, giving both CDN edges and browsers a 31-day cache window. A change to one of these files will not reach all visitors until their cached copy expires or is explicitly purged at the CDN.

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MissingWiki.php

Served when MirahezeFunctions::isMissing() returns true — that is, when the requested hostname resolves to a DB name that does not appear in $wgConf->wikis. This can happen when: a user mistypes a subdomain, a wiki was requested that was never created, or the CreateWiki cache is stale.

HTTP Status

410 Gone — signals to search engines and clients that this resource is permanently unavailable at this URL.

Cache TTL

31 days — s-maxage=2678400. CDN and browser caches hold this response for up to a month.
User-facing message:
We couldn’t find this wiki, double check that you’ve typed the URL correctly.
Buttons: Go home (https://meta.wikioasis.org/) · Discord (https://discord.gg/GrrTcsVC2x) Branding: WikiOasis logo from cdn.wikioasis.org/metawiki/3/38/WikiOasis_Logo.png

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Cache Sync Behaviour

After serving the 410 page, MissingWiki.php attempts to trigger a CreateWiki cache sync: 
MediaWikiServices::allowGlobalInstance();
$dataStore = MediaWikiServices::getInstance()->get( 'CreateWikiDataStore' );
$dataStore->syncCache();
This means that if a wiki genuinely exists but its databases cache is stale, the next request after the sync completes will serve the wiki correctly. The sync call is wrapped in a try/catch so any failure is silently swallowed and the 410 page is still returned.
If a newly created wiki is showing the “Wiki Missing” page, the CreateWiki cache sync triggered on the first 410 response usually resolves it within one or two retries.

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DeletedWiki.php

Served when a wiki’s DB cluster is identified but the wiki’s wiki_deleted flag is set to 1 in the cw_wikis table. Unlike a missing wiki, a deleted wiki is known to the farm — it simply should no longer be accessible.

HTTP Status

410 Gone — the wiki existed but has been permanently removed.

Cache TTL

31 days — s-maxage=2678400.
User-facing message:
This wiki has been marked as deleted.
Buttons: Go home (https://meta.wikioasis.org/) · Discord (https://discord.gg/GrrTcsVC2x) Branding: WikiOasis logo from cdn.wikioasis.org/metawiki/3/38/WikiOasis_Logo.png
Unlike MissingWiki.php, DeletedWiki.php does not trigger a CreateWiki cache sync. Deleted wikis are intentionally kept inaccessible, so no cache correction is attempted.

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DatabaseMaintenance.php

Served automatically when readDbListFile() detects that the current wiki’s DB cluster is present in $wgDatabaseClustersMaintenance. This global is set by operations staff prior to a maintenance window. The page returns HTTP 503 and includes an Instatus widget for live status updates.

HTTP Status

503 Service Unavailable — signals that the service is temporarily down, not permanently gone.

Status Widget

Embeds the Instatus status widget pointing at status.wikioasis.org for live incident updates.
User-facing message:
This wiki is currently undergoing database maintenance.
Buttons: Status page (https://status.wikioasis.org/) · Discord (https://discord.gg/GrrTcsVC2x) Branding: WikiOasis logo from cdn.wikioasis.org/metawiki/3/38/WikiOasis_Logo.png Instatus widget script: 
<script src="https://api.dashboard.instatus.com/widget?host=status.wikioasis.org&code=3a58baa4&locale=en"></script>

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How It Is Triggered

DatabaseMaintenance.php is not directly included by LocalSettings.php. Instead, readDbListFile() checks $wgDatabaseClustersMaintenance while iterating over the databases array and calls: 
require_once self::CONFIG_DIRECTORY . '/DatabaseMaintenance.php';
when the current wiki’s cluster ($data['c']) matches a cluster listed in that global. The require_once terminates execution immediately because the file ends with die(1).
To put a cluster into maintenance mode, set $wgDatabaseClustersMaintenance = ['db1'] (replacing db1 with the actual cluster name) in PrivateSettings.php or equivalent. Remove the variable when maintenance is complete to restore access. The 503 page’s 31-day CDN cache TTL does not matter here — 503 responses are typically not cached by CDNs.

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MissingSkyWiki.php

Served for *.skywiki.org subdomains that do not correspond to a wiki that has been migrated to WikiOasis. SkyWiki was a predecessor platform; its wikis are progressively migrated to the WikiOasis infrastructure. This page distinguishes an unmigrated SkyWiki from a generic missing wiki and provides a migration contact path.

HTTP Status

410 Gone — the SkyWiki subdomain is not available on WikiOasis.

Cache TTL

31 days — s-maxage=2678400.
User-facing message:
This SkyWiki wiki has not yet been migrated to WikiOasis, or is missing. The bureaucrats of this wiki can request a wiki migration by emailing stewards@wikioasis.org.
Buttons: Go home (https://meta.wikioasis.org/) · Discord (https://discord.gg/GrrTcsVC2x) Branding: SkyWiki logo from cdn.wikioasis.org/skywikiwiki/9/99/SkyWiki_logo.svg

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Migration Path

1

Identify the wiki

A bureaucrat of the SkyWiki wiki sees the 410 page and notes the subdomain URL.
2

Contact WikiOasis stewards

The bureaucrat emails stewards@wikioasis.org with the SkyWiki URL and requests a migration.
3

Stewards perform migration

WikiOasis stewards create the wiki in CreateWiki, import content, and configure the skywiki.org subdomain as a custom domain or redirect.
4

Page no longer served

Once the wiki is registered in the CreateWiki database and the cache is updated, the subdomain resolves normally and the 410 page is no longer shown.

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