Wikibase/Importing
Importing data into Wikibase
Perhaps the greatest challenge of a clean, empty database is that of properly filling it up with what you want to put in it. Wikibase is no exception; this section covers the most common and useful tools for getting data into Wikibase.
QuickStatements is the useful import tool you’ll find already running in your Docker setup.
It’s more than an import tool; it can be used to edit and modify data.
You can find the easy-to-use QuickStatements interface on your Wikibase instance by navigating to <your Wikibase URL>/tools/quickstatements.
The essential help document linked above is packed with useful information far too intricate to be summarized here, but it’s worth noting that OpenRefine data (see below) can be exported to QuickStatements format.
WikibaseImport is a MediaWiki extension and a flexible, powerful command-line tool that allows you to import into Wikibase using exports of data from other Wikibase instances. It’s best for experienced Wikibase users who have a firm grasp of Wikibase’s data architecture and are comfortable using command-line tools on their instance’s web server. (See the maintenance section for more information on working directly with a container.)
To install WikibaseImport, follow its install instructions. You can also find more information on working with extensions on our Extending Wikibase page.
Wikibase Integrator, also known as Wikidata Integrator, is a Python tool for creating sophisticated bots that can read from and write to Wikibase. It was developed to improve on Pywikibot’s handling of the MediaWiki API and integrate tightly with the Wikibase SPARQL endpoint.
Read ProteinBoxBot's description to see how the developers put WikibaseIntegrator to work.
Originally developed by Google, OpenRefine is now a community-supported data management tool that can handle large bodies of data and wrangle them into a format suitable for importing into Wikidata and Wikibase.
OpenRefine offers both reconciliation and import functionality for Wikibase. Check out this amazing guide to OpenRefine's import functionality for Wikibase written by Lozana Rossenova and Lucia Sohmen.
See also this discussion on adding support for Wikimedia Commons.
Some users want to test Wikibase by putting random data into an instance to see how it operates. The WMDE developers have provided a set of scripts to generate seed data, data you can use to test your Wikibase instance and the import process.
The native MediaWiki export and import functionality can be used to transfer Wikibase data between wikis. Some configuration changes are needed, but not extra software or programming work.
RaiseWikibase is a Python tool for fast inserts into a Wikibase instance. It uploads up to a million entities and wikitexts per hour, fills data directly into the MariaDB database and can create a bot account for the wrappers of the Wikibase API.
The main use case is uploading millions of pages into a fresh Wikibase instance. Read how to use it.