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Feature #1170

closed

Set up VisualEditor for MediaWiki

Added by Beluga Beluga over 9 years ago. Updated about 3 years ago.

Status:
Closed
Priority:
Low
Assignee:
Category:
Wiki
Target version:
-
Start date:
Due date:
% Done:

30%

Tags:

Description

I have tested the installation of VisualEditor on a Kubuntu 14.10 VM I happened to have. I installed nginx just to comply with what TDF infra uses.
The installation was quite straightforward, even though it has several steps because of dependencies.

Here are my notes:

I used stable versions of the extensions with stable Mediawiki (1.24.1).
Install nodejs: https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/installing-node.js-via-package-manager
Install UniversalLanguageSelector: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:UniversalLanguageSelector#Download
Install VisualEditor: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:VisualEditor#Setting_VisualEditor_up
Install Parsoid: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid/Setup#Ubuntu_.2F_Debian_on_amd64
Configure Parsoid & extension: http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/VisualEditor#Configure_Parsoid
You need git installed for 'npm install' to work inside /usr/lib/parsoid/src

I noticed VisualEditor was not used when creating a new page, but it worked when editing an existing page.

This is low priority, no hurry before you've upgraded to 1.24. With 1.23 you would have to also install the Parsoid PHP extension.


Related issues

Related to Infrastructure - Feature #171: Create a TestwikiClosedAlexander Werner2015-03-252015-03-25

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Related to Infrastructure - Task #2005: wiki migration to VMClosedJan Iversen

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Blocked by Infrastructure - Task #1627: Upgrade MediaWikis to 1.25ClosedDennis Roczek

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Actions #1

Updated by Beluga Beluga over 9 years ago

Installing nodejs: https://nodesource.com/blog/nodejs-v012-iojs-and-the-nodesource-linux-repositories
Read section Installing Node.js v0.12 Debian / Ubuntu repository

As for using Visual editor when creating a new page, it seems the only solution is this hack: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Thread:Extension_talk:VisualEditor/Enable_Visual_Editor_for_%27create%27_page/reply_(9)

The Parsoid instructions talk about having to do a manual install "if your distribution is older & doesn't have nodejs >= 0.8 available", but this shouldn't be a problem even with the VM having Ubuntu 12.04, as Nodesource packages the latest nodejs for 12.04.
Note the edutechwiki has the best instructions for configuring Parsoid.

Actions #2

Updated by Beluga Beluga over 9 years ago

Beluga Beluga wrote:

As for using Visual editor when creating a new page, it seems the only solution is this hack: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Thread:Extension_talk:VisualEditor/Enable_Visual_Editor_for_%27create%27_page/reply_(9)

Got this info from #wikimedia-dev: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T55441 <- that is unresolved and discussion has stalled
More from IRC: "It looks like action=edit is hardcoded into MW in a few places, so it's not exactly VE's fault"

So it seems that hack is indeed our best bet.

Actions #3

Updated by Dennis Roczek over 9 years ago

  • % Done changed from 0 to 10

So I finally updated the MediaWiki installation to 1.24.2 :-)

So I will update some extensions next week and hopefully I will find enough time to install Visual Editor, too. :-)

Actions #4

Updated by Dennis Roczek over 9 years ago

  • % Done changed from 10 to 20

UniversalLanguageSelector installed. ;-)

slowly progress :-p

Actions #5

Updated by Dennis Roczek over 9 years ago

  • % Done changed from 20 to 30

Just checked: node.js is already instaled. We have instaled version 0.10.38 :-)

another dependency already installed.

Actions #6

Updated by Dennis Roczek about 9 years ago

Just for the reference: as a smaller workaround i have installed another extension to get mediawiki syntax highlight. :-)

I do not have forgotten that ticket.

Actions #7

Updated by Dennis Roczek about 9 years ago

ETA when tdfwiki is on 1.25 and on it's own vm

Actions #8

Updated by Dennis Roczek about 9 years ago

Actions #9

Updated by Dennis Roczek about 9 years ago

  • Blocked by Task #1627: Upgrade MediaWikis to 1.25 added
Actions #10

Updated by Jan Iversen over 8 years ago

  • Related to Task #2005: wiki migration to VM added
Actions #11

Updated by Beluga Beluga about 5 years ago

Parsoid is being moved to the MediaWiki core and being ported from JS to PHP: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsing/Notes/Moving_Parsoid_Into_Core/Porting
Porting to PHP will naturally make it way less complicated to deploy. Moreover, when it goes into core, everyone will get it without any need to explicitly install it.
They have been working on it for a year as far as I can tell.

Talk from Feb 2019:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/The_Long_And_Winding_Road_To_Making_Parsoid_The_Default_MediaWiki_Parser.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQGfuLP9MqA

In the talk slide 60 there is this optimistic prediction:
"Finish Parsoid/PHP port + take Parsoid/JS out of service: Another 4-6 calendar months?"
I has been 9 months. Anyway, patches are going in every day: https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/projects/mediawiki/services/parsoid,dashboards/default

Actions #12

Updated by Beluga Beluga over 4 years ago

The PHP port is now done: https://techblog.wikimedia.org/2020/02/12/parsoid-in-php-or-there-and-back-again/
They are now tackling the unification of their two wikitext engines and estimate to have a single one in late 2021.

Actions #13

Updated by Beluga Beluga over 4 years ago

  • Status changed from New to Closed

We will get this with 1.35 without any additional effort: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid
"Parsoid (the PHP version) is planned to come natively bundled with MediaWiki by June 2020. It is already available in the latest alpha version of MediaWiki, 1.35."

So let's close.

Actions #14

Updated by Beluga Beluga about 3 years ago

Just a little update, this is actually blocked due to VisualEditor not supporting Translate extension yet. The implementation is finally being work on in https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T261181

As we track MediaWiki LTS versions, our next upgrade will be to 1.39 which due in late 2022: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Version_lifecycle#Versions_and_their_end-of-life

By then we should have VE and Translate playing nicely and any UX issues figured out.

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