Extension:GlobalPreferences

For end-user help for this extension, please see Help:Extension:GlobalPreferences .

MediaWiki extensions manual

GlobalPreferences Release status: stable
Implementation	Special page
Description	Allows a user to set global (wikifarm-wide) user preferences
Author(s)	Kunal Mehta, Sam Wilson
Latest version	0.1.2 (2018-02-13)
Compatibility policy	Snapshots releases along with MediaWiki. Master is not backward compatible.
MediaWiki	1.25+
Database changes	Yes
Tables	global_preferences
License	GNU General Public License 2.0 or later
Download	Download extension Git [?]: Download Git master browse repository (GitHub) commit history repository contributors (GitHub) code review
Help	Help:Extension:GlobalPreferences
Parameters $wgGlobalPreferencesDB $wgGlobalPreferencesAutoPrefs
Hooks used BeforePageDisplay LoadExtensionSchemaUpdates MediaWikiServices PreferencesFormPreSave SaveUserOptions
Quarterly downloads	7 (Ranked 117th)
Public wikis using	1,303 (Ranked 213rd)
Translate the GlobalPreferences extension if it is available at translatewiki.net
Issues	Open tasks · Report a bug

The GlobalPreferences extension allows a user to set some or all of their preferences to be used globally on all wikis in a wiki family. For example, you can set your skin to be the same on all wikis, but have different watchlist settings on different wikis. It is also possible for global preferences to be given local exceptions on particular wikis.

Although it is possible to have global user preferences without any extension by setting up a shared database with a shared user_properties table, the GlobalPreferences extension is useful for more varied use cases such as:

• A user wants to set the same language on all wikis, but wants to keep one wiki on its default.
• One wiki has a preference hidden with $wgHiddenPrefs , and another doesn't.
• A user wants to set a different skin on each wiki.
• Two wikis have two different gadgets named the same.
• A wiki has an extension installed which sets a preference, but that extension is not enabled on another wiki in the farm.

Installation

Before GlobalPreferences can work, you need to set up central user IDs. This can be done with the CentralAuth extension (or other CentralIdLookup provider) but for most wiki families can more easily be done with shared database tables. (This will mean that users' email addresses, passwords, and real names will be set across all wikis, and won't be able to be set on a per-wiki basis.)

If using the shared tables approach, set the following in LocalSettings.php:

$wgSharedDB = '<shared_wiki_database>';
$wgSharedTables = [ 'user' ]; // Note that 'user_properties' is not included.

Then GlobalPreferences can be installed in the usual manner:

• Download and move the extracted GlobalPreferences folder to your extensions/ directory.
  Developers and code contributors should install the extension from Git instead, using:cd extensions/
git clone https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/mediawiki/extensions/GlobalPreferences
• Add the following code at the bottom of your LocalSettings.php file:

  wfLoadExtension( 'GlobalPreferences' );
  // No need to set $wgGlobalPreferencesDB if it's the same as $wgSharedDB.
  $wgGlobalPreferencesDB = '<global_preferences_database>';
  

• Run the update script which will automatically create the necessary database tables that this extension needs.
• If you are using a database for $wgGlobalPreferencesDB that is not a MediaWiki database (and so won't be updated when you run the update script) then you'll have to install the required database table manually. The SQL required is in the sql/ directory.

e.g. for sqllite:

php maintenance/run.php sql --wikidb my_wiki extensions/GlobalPreferences/sql/sqlite/tables-generated.sql

•  Done – Navigate to Special:Version on your wiki to verify that the extension is successfully installed.

If you also have the Echo extension installed then GlobalPreferences must be loaded after Echo in LocalSettings.php.

Configuration

$wgGlobalPreferencesDB

Name of the database to store global preferences in. If no value is given, $wgSharedDB will be used, and if that is empty $wgDBname will be used.
This database does not have to be one that is used for anything else, but often is set to the same as wherever central user data is stored.

Marking a preference as non-globalizable

Non-globalizable preferences are ignored by GlobalPreferences. If you have programmatically defined a preference (via the GetPreferences hook), then you can mark it as non-globalizable by setting the noglobal property to true.

API

The extension provides APIs to get and set local and global preferences. They are documented in API subpage.

See also

• Help:Extension:GlobalPreferences
• Manual:Shared database — The easiest way to configure shared user accounts across multiple wikis
• Extension:CentralAuth — Another way to set up global users
• Global preferences page on Meta — Notes about implementing this extension for Wikimedia wikis
• Screenshots of this extension in use