Wikitext

Wikitext is a simplified markup language used to format and structure content in wiki systems. Wikitext can be entered directly in source editing mode. VisualEditor also generates Wikitext when content is formatted in the visual editor.

Edit Wikitext

When editing a page, switch between visual editing and source editing using the editor toolbar. alt=Screenshot: Visual Editor switch edit mode|center Source editing allows direct access to the Wikitext that defines the page content. VisualEditor generates Wikitext in the background. For example, when text is formatted as bold in VisualEditor, the corresponding Wikitext is '''bold'''.
Use source editing when a formatting option is not available in VisualEditor or when existing Wikitext needs to be corrected directly.

Common Wikitext syntax

The following examples show common Wikitext syntax for formatting and structuring content.

Format text

Use apostrophes or HTML tags to format text:

• '''bold''' - bold
• ''italic'' - italic
• <u>underlined</u> — underlined

Structure content

Wikitext uses equal signs for headings and asterisks for unordered lists.

• == Heading == - heading
• * List item - unordered list
  

Use Wikitext syntax to define tables. For example:

 
{| class="wikitable" 
|- 
! Header 1 
! Header 2 
|- 
| Row 1, cell 1 
| Row 1, cell 2 
|- 
| Row 2, cell 1 
| Row 2, cell 2 
|}

Create links

Use double square brackets to create links to pages within the wiki.

 [[Wikipage|Label]] [[Pancake|Best Pancake]]

Use single square brackets to create links to external websites.

 [url label] [https://wikipedia.org Wikipedia]

Wikitext can also create links with parameters.
For example:

 <span class="plainlinks">[{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} Edit this page]</span>

This example creates a link that opens the referenced page in edit mode in a new tab.

Add files

Use the File: namespace to embed a file on a page:

 [[File:image-or-pdf-name.png]]

If the wiki can generate a preview for the file type, the wiki embeds the preview on the page. Otherwise, the wiki creates a link to the file description page.
The following file types can be embedded:

• PDF
• TIFF, with the appropriate extension
  

Microsoft Office and LibreOffice files, shell scripts, and similar file types cannot be embedded.
Use the Media: namespace to create a direct link to a file:

 [[Media:image-or-pdf-name.png]]

To link to the file description page instead, add a colon before the namespace:

 [[:File:image-or-pdf-name.png]]

Magic words

Magic words are special Wikitext strings that MediaWiki interprets as a specific value or function.

Type of Wikitext	Example
Special character	ã → ã ç → ç UTF-8 characters are also supported.
Comment	<!-- unnoticed -->
Display Wikitext without rendering it	<nowiki>{{!}}-{{!}}</nowiki>
Table of contents	TOC and NOTOC
Signature	--~~~
Redirect	#REDIRECT [[targetpage]]
Template	{{template name}}

The <nowiki> tag prevents Wikitext from being interpreted. This is useful when Wikitext syntax needs to be displayed as text, for example when documenting Wikitext.
For a complete list of magic words, see MediaWiki:Magic words.

HTML in Wikitext

Some HTML tags can be used in Wikitext. Paragraph and character formatting tags are particularly useful for formatting templates or pages, but are usually not required for basic page editing.

Allowed HTML tags

The following HTML tags are supported:

• Paragraph and character formatting: <div>, <span>, <p>, <br>, <hr>
• Table formatting: <table>, <tr>, <td>, <th>
• Headings: <h1>, <h2>
  

For a complete list of supported HTML tags, see MediaWiki:HTMLin wikitext.

Disallowed HTML tags

The following HTML tags are not allowed in Wikitext:

• <a>
• <img>
• <script>
• <form>
• <fieldset>
• <head>
• <title>

Related MediaWiki documentation

Most source-editing functionality originates from MediaWiki. The following pages provide detailed information about Wikitext syntax:

Topic	MediaWiki documentation
Wikitext	Help:Formatting
Links	Help:Links
Images	Help:Images
Magic words	Help:Magic words
Parser functions	Help:Extension:ParserFunctions
Wikitext examples	Help:Wikitext examples
HTML in Wikitext examples	Help:HTML in Wikitext