Manual:Renameuser

Renameuser provides a special page which allows authorized users to rename user accounts. After the rename is complete, user contributions and page histories will also reflect the new user name. If you want to rename an account "into" another, already existing acount, try the UserMerge extension instead.

Prior to MediaWiki 1.40 , this was part of Extension:Renameuser . (T27482)

Usage

Refer to Help:Renameuser for how to use this feature.

Configuration

By default, only bureaucrats can rename accounts. You can grant other groups this right via $wgGroupPermissions , for example:

$wgGroupPermissions['sysop']['renameuser'] = true;

Notes

• This feature can move user subpages even if the performer does not have the move-subpages right. Similarly, the number of subpages moved is not limited by the $wgMaximumMovedPages setting. The feature also moves css, js and any other protected subpages.
• If CentralAuth is installed, the rename interface is disabled for local users that are attached to a global account, or to a username reserved by a global account. You should use CentralAuth's built-in Special:GlobalRenameUser and Special:GlobalRenameRequest/Special:GlobalRenameQueue instead.
• Accounts cannot be renamed to invalid usernames or reserved usernames . However, accounts can be renamed to names that are blacklisted by AbuseFilter or restricted by other means.

Hooks

• RenameUserComplete – notify extensions of user renames.
• RenameUserAbort – Allows the renaming to be aborted
• RenameUserPreRename – Called before a user is renamed
• RenameUserSQL – Called before a user is renamed
• RenameUserWarning – Called before a user is renamed

Known issues

• Due to a bug, you can't rename your own account (i.e. the account performing the rename) (T267477). Use the command line maintenance script to do the rename, or use a different account to do the rename.
• If an account has a large number of userpages that the rename times out while moving them from User:A/subpage... to User:B/subpage..., What do I do now?

  You can't fix the situation by immediately trying again to rename User A to User B, because it will simply say "The user 'User A' does not exist." To fix the situation, rename User B back to User A, after unchecking the box "Move user and talk pages (and their subpages) to new name". Then rename User A to User B again, this time leaving the box "Move user and talk pages (and their subpages) to new name" checked. The page moving will resume where it left off.

• Renameuser is currently incompatible with $wgSharedDB . See phab:T104830.