Skin:MonoBook

This skin comes with MediaWiki 1.3 and above. Thus you do not have to download it again. However, you still need to follow the other instructions provided.

MediaWiki skins manual - category

MonoBook Release status: stable
Compatibility policy	Snapshots releases along with MediaWiki. Master is not backwards compatible.
MediaWiki	1.29+
License	GNU General Public License 2.0 or later
Download	Download skin Git [?]: Download Git master browse repository (Phabricator · GitHub) commit history repository contributors (GitHub) code review
Example	English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Skins Lab
Hooks used GetPreferences ResourceLoaderRegisterModules
Hooks provided MonoBookAfterContent MonoBookAfterToolbox MonoBookTemplateToolboxEnd
Quarterly downloads	109 (Ranked 4th)
Public wikis using	13,681 (Ranked 1st)
Public wikis using as default skin	1,860
Translate the MonoBook skin if it is available at translatewiki.net
Vagrant role	monobook
Issues :	Open tasks · Report a bug

MonoBook is a skin. It was the default skin for Wikimedia Foundation websites from MediaWiki 1.3 (2004) until MediaWiki 1.16 (2010). It replaced the Standard skin as the default, and was in turn replaced by the Vector skin.

MonoBook later adopted support for responsive web design for narrow, mobile phone displays, and also added the use of progressive enhancement to maximize compatibility. With JavaScript deactivated on the mobile view, for example, the personal tools, page actions, and sidebar are located at the page bottom with anchored shortcuts from the top buttons which appear as clip art icons instead of text links. The mobile view also reveals an anchored "to top" shortcut at the page bottom.

Installation

This skin is included in the MediaWiki download tarball. You only need to install it separately if you installed MediaWiki using a different method.

• If using Vagrant , install with vagrant roles enable monobook -p

Manual installation

• Download and place the file(s) in a directory called MonoBook in your skins/ folder.
• Add the following code at the bottom of your LocalSettings.php file:

  wfLoadSkin( 'MonoBook' );
  

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

User settings

The responsive styles for MonoBook can be disabled or enabled via a user preference: monobook-responsive, which defaults to true.

Historical notes

It became the most popular and most widely supported skin in the MediaWiki ecosystem until it was finally superseded by the Vector skin as the default on May 13, 2010 (MediaWiki 1.16 , git #2833b07a), as a result of the efforts of the Wikipedia Usability Initiative to improve Wikipedia user experiences and potentially draw in more contributor participation. It served as a common backup for Vector and is still present on many wikis using older versions of MediaWiki software.

It was created in 2004 and is partly based on the skin of the open source CMS Plone. Initial development was largely driven by the volunteer User:Gwicke. See Layout design document and MediaWiki 1.3 comments and bug reports for related discussions during MonoBook's development.

MonoBook originally featured navigation tabs at the bottom of the content area in addition to the top, in resemblance to Nostalgia, the earliest skin.

Current status

In 2013, MonoBook became primarily supported by volunteer developers, not the Wikimedia Foundation. As of 2019, it is one of the four volunteer-supported skins used on Wikimedia projects: MonoBook, Timeless , Cologne Blue , and Modern .