Tech News 2026 - Issue 19

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Latest *tech news
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News>* from the
Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes.
Not all changes will affect you. Translations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/19> are
available.

*Weekly highlight*

   - The Article guidance
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Article_guidance> tea=
m
   invites experienced editors of pilot Wikipedias
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Article_guidance/Pilo=
t_wikis_and_collaborators>=E2=80=94Arabic,
   Bangla, Japanese, Portuguese, Persian, Turkish, Simple English, Spanish,
   and French=E2=80=94to help translate and adapt sample outlines
   <https://b24e11a4f1.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Category:Pages_using_artic=
le_guidance>.
   These outlines will guide editors in creating clear, well-structured, an=
d
   policy-compliant articles when using the feature
   <https://b24e11a4f1.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Special:NewArticle> once
   it is launched in May 2026. Simple instructions
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Article_guidance#Adap=
ting_a_sample_outline_in_a_Wikipedia>
on
   how to translate and adapt the outlines are available.

*Updates for editors*

   - The Product and Technology Advisory Council
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Product_and_Technolo=
gy_Advisory_Council>
has
   published draft recommendations
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Product_and_Technolo=
gy_Advisory_Council/May_2026_draft_PTAC_recommendation_for_feedback>
on
   a model that affiliates can follow when contributing to the technical
   space. Community members are invited to provide feedback on the
   recommendation until May 8th on the talk page
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Product_and_Technology_Advisory_Co=
uncil/May_2026_draft_PTAC_recommendation_for_feedback>
   .
   - The number of available thumbnail size preferences in MediaWiki is
   being reduced to three standardized options=E2=80=94Small (180px), Regul=
ar (250px),
   and Large (400px), as part of ongoing efforts to improve performance and
   reduce strain on thumbnail services. As a result, existing preferences w=
ill
   be mapped to the nearest new size (for example, smaller selections like
   120px or 150px will render at 180px, while larger ones like 300px or 360=
px
   will render at 400px). The preferences interface will soon be updated to
   reflect these changes, and users who wish to opt out or provide feedback
   can do so. [1] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T424909>
   - From now on, even when a permission expires automatically, users will
   receive an Echo notification similar to the standard notification for
   permission changes. There is a difference between this and Global
   reminder bot
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Global_reminder_bot>=
 in
   that the latter reminds users a week *before* the rights are due to
   expire, so that they can renew the rights.
   - View all 32 community-submitted tasks that were resolved last week
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Recently_r=
esolved_community_tasks>.
   For example, the problem where the ULS language selector in
   Special:Translate <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Translate> wo=
uld
   scroll vertically when it shouldn't, has been resolved. Previously, when
   users opened the "Translate to English" dropdown and typed certain input=
s,
   the dialog would scroll vertically by a few pixels even when there was
   enough space to display all results. The dropdown no longer shifts
   unnecessarily when filtering languages. [2]
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T358864>
   - The Global Watchlist
   <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:GlobalWatchlist>, which lets
   you view your watchlists from multiple wikis on a single page, continues=
 to
   improve. For example, watchlists for Wikibase sites such as Wikidata
   <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/> now support EntitySchema
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Extension:EntitySchem=
a>
elements
   for better tracking. The Live Updates mode now refreshes the special pag=
e
   every 60 seconds to comply with the updated global API rate limits
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_l=
imits>
for
   improved real-time responsiveness. Additionally, a directionality bug th=
at
   displayed links as "changes 3" instead of "3 changes" in mixed-direction
   lists has been fixed. [3] <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T415450>[4]
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T424422>[5]
   <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T418091>

*Updates for technical contributors*

   - The second phase of global API rate limits
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_l=
imits>
has
   been rolled out to reduce the impact of AI crawlers
   <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/03/26/quo-vadis-crawlers-progress-and-w=
hats-next-on-safeguarding-our-infrastructure/>
and
   ensure fair, sustainable access to Wikimedia resources, prioritising hum=
an
   and mission-aligned traffic. Limits
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_l=
imits#Limits>
have
   been shifted from per-hour to per-minute, producing smoother traffic
   patterns and more predictable API load. Community users are not expected=
 to
   be affected, and no action is required. Early indications show some
   User-Agent-based requestors are adjusting behaviour, and around 64% of
   automated API traffic has been identified. Monitoring continues, and
   Wikimedia Enterprise remains available for commercial support.
   - Detailed code updates later this week: MediaWiki
   <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.46/wmf.27>

*Tech news
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News> prepared
by Tech News writers
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Writers> and
posted by bot
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki_message_=
delivery>
=E2=80=A2 Contribute
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News#contribute>
=E2=80=A2 Translate
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/19> =E2=
=80=A2 Get
help <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech> =E2=80=A2 Give feedback
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Tech/News> =E2=80=A2 Subscribe or uns=
ubscribe
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_message_delivery/Targets/Tech_ambas=
sadors>.*

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);=
font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16px">Latest=C2=A0<b><a href=3D"https://me=
ta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" class=3D"extiw" title=
=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb=
(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">tech news</a></b>=C2=A0from=
 the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these cha=
nges. Not all changes will affect you.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimed=
ia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/19" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"=
m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/19" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color=
:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Translations</a>=C2=A0a=
re available.</p><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-=
family:sans-serif;font-size:16px"><b>Weekly highlight</b></p><ul style=3D"p=
adding:0px;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li s=
tyle=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/=
wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Article_guidance" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Speci=
al:MyLanguage/Article guidance" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,=
102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Article guidance</a>=C2=A0team =
invites experienced editors of=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wi=
ki/Special:MyLanguage/Article_guidance/Pilot_wikis_and_collaborators" class=
=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Article guidance/Pilot wikis and =
collaborators" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);backgrou=
nd:none;border-radius:2px">pilot Wikipedias</a>=E2=80=94Arabic, Bangla, Jap=
anese, Portuguese, Persian, Turkish, Simple English, Spanish, and French=E2=
=80=94to help translate and adapt=C2=A0<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferr=
er" class=3D"external gmail-text" href=3D"https://b24e11a4f1.catalyst.wmclo=
ud.org/wiki/Category:Pages_using_article_guidance" target=3D"_blank" style=
=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);border-radius:2px;background=
:none;padding:0px">sample outlines</a>. These outlines will guide editors i=
n creating clear, well-structured, and policy-compliant articles when using=
=C2=A0<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" class=3D"external gmail-text"=
 href=3D"https://b24e11a4f1.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Special:NewArticle" t=
arget=3D"_blank" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);border=
-radius:2px;background:none;padding:0px">the feature</a>=C2=A0once it is la=
unched in May 2026.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:=
MyLanguage/Article_guidance#Adapting_a_sample_outline_in_a_Wikipedia" class=
=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Article guidance" style=3D"text-d=
ecoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Sim=
ple instructions</a>=C2=A0on how to translate and adapt the outlines are av=
ailable.</li></ul><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font=
-family:sans-serif;font-size:16px"><b>Updates for editors</b></p><ul style=
=3D"padding:0px;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16px">=
<li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedi=
a.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Product_and_Technology_Advisory_Council" clas=
s=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Product and Technology Advisory C=
ouncil" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none=
;border-radius:2px">Product and Technology Advisory Council</a>=C2=A0has pu=
blished=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/=
Product_and_Technology_Advisory_Council/May_2026_draft_PTAC_recommendation_=
for_feedback" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Product and Tec=
hnology Advisory Council/May 2026 draft PTAC recommendation for feedback" s=
tyle=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-r=
adius:2px">draft recommendations</a>=C2=A0on a model that affiliates can fo=
llow when contributing to the technical space. Community members are invite=
d to provide feedback on the recommendation until May 8th=C2=A0<a href=3D"h=
ttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Product_and_Technology_Advisory_Council=
/May_2026_draft_PTAC_recommendation_for_feedback" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"=
m:Talk:Product and Technology Advisory Council/May 2026 draft PTAC recommen=
dation for feedback" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);ba=
ckground:none;border-radius:2px">on the talk page</a>.</li><li style=3D"mar=
gin-bottom:0.1em">The number of available thumbnail size preferences in Med=
iaWiki is being reduced to three standardized options=E2=80=94Small (180px)=
, Regular (250px), and Large (400px), as part of ongoing efforts to improve=
 performance and reduce strain on thumbnail services. As a result, existing=
 preferences will be mapped to the nearest new size (for example, smaller s=
elections like 120px or 150px will render at 180px, while larger ones like =
300px or 360px will render at 400px). The preferences interface will soon b=
e updated to reflect these changes, and users who wish to opt out or provid=
e feedback can do so.=C2=A0<a class=3D"external gmail-autonumber" href=3D"h=
ttps://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T424909" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener=
 noreferrer" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);border-rad=
ius:2px;background:none;padding:0px">[1]</a></li><li style=3D"margin-bottom=
:0.1em">From now on, even when a permission expires automatically, users wi=
ll receive an Echo notification similar to the standard notification for pe=
rmission changes. There is a difference between this and=C2=A0<a href=3D"ht=
tps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Global_reminder_bot" class=
=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Global reminder bot" style=3D"text=
-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">G=
lobal reminder bot</a>=C2=A0in that the latter reminds users a week=C2=A0<i=
>before</i>=C2=A0the rights are due to expire, so that they can renew the r=
ights.</li><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">View all 32 community-submitte=
d tasks that were=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:M=
yLanguage/Tech/News/Recently_resolved_community_tasks" class=3D"extiw" titl=
e=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Recently resolved community tasks" styl=
e=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radi=
us:2px">resolved last week</a>. For example, the problem where the ULS lang=
uage selector in=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Tr=
anslate" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:Translate" style=3D"text-decora=
tion:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Special:=
Translate</a>=C2=A0would scroll vertically when it shouldn&#39;t, has been =
resolved. Previously, when users opened the &quot;Translate to English&quot=
; dropdown and typed certain inputs, the dialog would scroll vertically by =
a few pixels even when there was enough space to display all results. The d=
ropdown no longer shifts unnecessarily when filtering languages.=C2=A0<a cl=
ass=3D"external gmail-autonumber" href=3D"https://phabricator.wikimedia.org=
/T358864" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"text-decor=
ation:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);border-radius:2px;background:none;padding:=
0px">[2]</a></li><li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The=C2=A0<a href=3D"http=
s://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:GlobalWatchlist" class=3D"extiw" title=
=3D"m:Special:GlobalWatchlist" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,1=
02,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Global Watchlist</a>, which lets=
 you view your watchlists from multiple wikis on a single page, continues t=
o improve. For example, watchlists for Wikibase sites such as=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"d:" style=3D"t=
ext-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px=
">Wikidata</a>=C2=A0now support=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/w=
iki/Special:MyLanguage/Extension:EntitySchema" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:=
Special:MyLanguage/Extension:EntitySchema" style=3D"text-decoration:none;co=
lor:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">EntitySchema</a>=C2=
=A0elements for better tracking. The Live Updates mode now refreshes the sp=
ecial page every 60 seconds to comply with the updated=C2=A0<a href=3D"http=
s://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits" c=
lass=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia APIs/Rate limits" s=
tyle=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-r=
adius:2px">global API rate limits</a>=C2=A0for improved real-time responsiv=
eness. Additionally, a directionality bug that displayed links as &quot;cha=
nges 3&quot; instead of &quot;3 changes&quot; in mixed-direction lists has =
been fixed.=C2=A0<a class=3D"external gmail-autonumber" href=3D"https://pha=
bricator.wikimedia.org/T415450" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferre=
r" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);border-radius:2px;ba=
ckground:none;padding:0px">[3]</a><a class=3D"external gmail-autonumber" hr=
ef=3D"https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T424422" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"n=
oopener noreferrer" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);bor=
der-radius:2px;background:none;padding:0px">[4]</a><a class=3D"external gma=
il-autonumber" href=3D"https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T418091" target=3D=
"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rg=
b(51,102,204);border-radius:2px;background:none;padding:0px">[5]</a></li></=
ul><p style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-se=
rif;font-size:16px"><b>Updates for technical contributors</b></p><ul style=
=3D"padding:0px;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16px">=
<li style=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">The second phase of=C2=A0<a href=3D"https=
://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits" cl=
ass=3D"extiw" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia APIs/Rate limits" st=
yle=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-ra=
dius:2px">global API rate limits</a>=C2=A0has been rolled out to reduce the=
=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/03/26/quo-vadis-crawlers-p=
rogress-and-whats-next-on-safeguarding-our-infrastructure/" class=3D"extiw"=
 title=3D"diffblog:2026/03/26/quo-vadis-crawlers-progress-and-whats-next-on=
-safeguarding-our-infrastructure/" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(=
51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">impact of AI crawlers</a>=C2=
=A0and ensure fair, sustainable access to Wikimedia resources, prioritising=
 human and mission-aligned traffic.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.mediawiki.o=
rg/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits#Limits" class=3D"exti=
w" title=3D"mw:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia APIs/Rate limits" style=3D"text=
-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">L=
imits</a>=C2=A0have been shifted from per-hour to per-minute, producing smo=
other traffic patterns and more predictable API load. Community users are n=
ot expected to be affected, and no action is required. Early indications sh=
ow some User-Agent-based requestors are adjusting behaviour, and around 64%=
 of automated API traffic has been identified. Monitoring continues, and Wi=
kimedia Enterprise remains available for commercial support.</li><li style=
=3D"margin-bottom:0.1em">Detailed code updates later this week:=C2=A0<a hre=
f=3D"https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.46/wmf.27" class=3D"extiw" =
title=3D"mw:MediaWiki 1.46/wmf.27" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(=
51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">MediaWiki</a></li></ul><p st=
yle=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 1em;color:rgb(32,33,34);font-family:sans-serif;font=
-size:16px"><i><b><a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLang=
uage/Tech/News" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News" st=
yle=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-ra=
dius:2px">Tech news</a></b>=C2=A0prepared by=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.w=
ikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Writers" class=3D"extiw" tit=
le=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/Writers" style=3D"text-decoration:none=
;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Tech News writers=
</a>=C2=A0and posted by=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Spe=
cial:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki_message_delivery" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m=
:Special:MyLanguage/User:MediaWiki message delivery" style=3D"text-decorati=
on:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">bot</a>=C2=
=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLang=
uage/Tech/News#contribute" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Te=
ch/News" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:non=
e;border-radius:2px">Contribute</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://=
meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/19" class=3D"exti=
w" title=3D"m:Special:MyLanguage/Tech/News/2026/19" style=3D"text-decoratio=
n:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Translate</=
a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech" cla=
ss=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Tech" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,10=
2,204);background:none;border-radius:2px">Get help</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=A0=
<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Tech/News" class=3D"extiw" =
title=3D"m:Talk:Tech/News" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,2=
04);background:none;border-radius:2px">Give feedback</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_message_delivery/Targe=
ts/Tech_ambassadors" class=3D"extiw" title=3D"m:Global message delivery/Tar=
gets/Tech ambassadors" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,102,204);=
background:none;border-radius:2px">Subscribe or unsubscribe</a>.</i></p></d=
iv></div>

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