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AutoWikiBrowser 6.4.0.0

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This is the discussion page for the AutoWikiBrowser (AWB) project. It is also the place to discuss using the AWB program (for help, questions, or general inquiries about AWB). Specific guidelines on where to make particular reports or requests are provided in the § Before you post section below. Before asking a question, please refer to the read the § Frequently asked questions below.

Before you post

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Do you want to ... Please use
Report a bug or request a feature in AWB? Check reported bugs on Phabricator before filing a new bug report. You do not need to create another account there; just log in with your global Wikimedia account. See this MediaWiki wiki page on how to report bugs and request features on Phabricator.
Report a bug

Try to report bugs in the current version of the software. Update to the most recent version and check to make sure your bug has not already been reported on Phabricator. See How to Report Bugs Effectively for advice on how to write bug reports.

Before posting anything related to non-Wikimedia Foundation wikis, verify that the site is running a recent version of MediaWiki with enabled Bot API. Older versions of MediaWiki or without the Bot API are not supported. Be sure to mention the exact URL of your wiki.

Request a feature details

Please use the feature request button to submit new feature requests. This format helps the developers track and manage requests efficiently. Before submitting, take a moment to search the archives—both on-wiki and on Phabricator—to see if a similar request has already been discussed.​

Report an incorrectly fixed typo? Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Typos
Request approval to use AWB? Wikipedia:Requests for permissions/AutoWikiBrowser
Ask a question about AWB or ask for help? This page

Frequently asked questions

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Frequently asked questions
  • When I start it up I get one of the following errors:
    "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.", or
    "To run this application, you must first install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework..."
    This error means your computer does not have the .NET framework version 2 installed properly. You can choose from various versions for download here, or you can run Windows Update and select version 2 of the .Net framework from the "Optional Updates" section, if you want the choice made for you.
  • Does AWB run on Linux or Mac?
  • Does AWB work on other projects and languages?
    Many Wikimedia projects and languages are supported, see the "User and project preferences" option in the general menu. Other languages will be added on request, though at the moment the interface is always in English. You are also able to use AWB with third-party wikis: Options > Preferences > Site, you can change the wiki there. The wiki must support the Bot API required by AWB. This means that it should have latest HEAD version of MediaWiki or something close to that. The wmf-deployment branch is also recommended, as this is what is currently live on WMF sites.
  • Under Windows Vista (and newer), AWB is using wrong font size, which results in clipped text and lost buttons and options, (see example here). How to fix it?
    Tracked in Phabricator
    Task T103506
    • Solution #1: Go to "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Display" and switch resizing of the fonts to 100%.
    • Solution #2: Right click on AutoWikiBrowser.exe --> Properties -> Compatibility (tab) --> enable the "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option or for Windows 10, if available, select System (Enhanced).
  • AWB puts stubs after categories, though categories are always rendered the last by MediaWiki?
    According to WP:STUB#Categorizing stubs, by convention they are placed at the end of the article, after the External links section, any navigation templates, and the category tags, so that the stub category will appear last. If your wiki uses another order, please let us know here.
  • I don't like or use Internet Explorer; please use Firefox instead.
    AWB does not use Internet Explorer per se. It does, however, use the same web browser control (MSHTML) as Internet Explorer; the equivalent Firefox component does not provide the needed functionality.
  • How do I open the page in another browser if I can't use the one in AWB?
    Right click on the edit box in the bottom right side of your screen. Select "Open page in browser".
  • How do I edit a page that doesn't exist?
    Uncheck "Ignore non existing pages" in the "Skip articles" box.
  • How do I skip certain articles?
    Use the "Skip if contains" and "Skip if doesn't contain" on the "Skip" tab
  • Can't you leave up a "stable" version, so I don't have to download new versions?
    It is important to keep people up to date with the latest versions, because their use of the software doesn't just affect them, but the whole of Wikipedia. As any bugs that remain will be trivial, hopefully releases won't be too frequent.
  • How can I stop AWB clicking when it changes pages?
    This is a Windows sound theme setting. This page explains how to turn off the clicking sound.
    Alternatively, delete the following key from the Windows registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Current
  • AWB randomly crashes upon page load on my system, and I always use a browser other than Internet Explorer when using Wikipedia.
    You may have installed custom scripts incompatible with IE. Wrap the contents of your monobook.js into conditional:
               //Detect IE5.5+
               if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE")==-1)
               {
                   // Previous contents go here
                   ....
               }
  • I get Just In Time Debugger Messages when loading AWB/loading pages.
    In Internet Explorer, go to Tools → Options → Advanced. Make sure 'Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer)' and 'Disable Script Debugging (Other)' Are both checked. Press apply and close.
  • Why does AWB run very, very slowly if I try to make changes in the edit window on larger pages, especially pages with long lists or tables?
    If running on Windows, exit the Speech Recognition software that is built into some versions of Windows; don't just turn it 'Off', you must 'Exit' the software if you have started up Speech Recognition.
  • When I do a clean install of AutoWikiBrowser the application seems to find old setting data somewhere. I'd like to do a really clean install. Any ideas?
    Clean up your registry and remove the folder "C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Local Settings\Application Data\AutoWikiBrowser" (Windows XP) or "C:\Users\user name\AppData\Local\AutoWikiBrowser\" (Windows 7). Note that the application data folder may be hidden.
  • AWB prompts that there is a newer version but won't update
    Check the version number of your AWBUpdater.exe. The current version is 2.4.0.0. If you have an older version, you have to download the latest AWB version and make a clean install.
  • Which .NET Framework version do I have?
    You can find your .NET Framework version in Help → About box.
  • Where are the default settings stored?
    • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\AutoWikiBrowser
    • Windows Vista onwards: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\AutoWikiBrowser\Default.xml
  • I cannot copy text from the diff window using the Control+C keyboard shortcut.
    You must have Microsoft.mshtml.dll available for AWB to use for this functionality to work. You can try downloading the file (there are a number of third-party websites offering DLL file downloads) and putting it in the same folder as AutoWikiBrowser.exe. This is reported not to work for all users, presumably due to .NET Framework problems.
  • Is there any way to set AWB to not use https? (GFW blocks 443 port)
    In preferences, set project to "custom". Set the left box to http. In the webpage box, type en.wikipedia.org/w/ (English Wikipedia) or zh.wikipedia.org/w/ (Chinese Wikipedia). Note that leaving off the /w/ will result in a "root element missing" error.
  • How do I login to AWB with accounts enabled with two-factor authentication?
    You should use a bot password. Despite the name, they aren't just for bots. See Wikipedia:Using AWB with 2FA.

Discussion

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Can't log on

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Tracked in Phabricator
Task T399860

I opened up AWB and it successfully updated to 6.4.0.0. Then I reopened AWB and went to log on, but after it had loaded my article list, a popup says 'Login failed; aborted', and shortly thereafter I get sent a Wikipedia verification code by email. Is there somewhere I should enter the verification code? (I'm currently logged into Wikipedia without any issues.) Colonies Chris (talk) 17:20, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I've tried again today, and now I can log in as normal. Colonies Chris (talk) 10:00, 8 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I have been facing this issue since the past Thursday(?), I presume. You'd have to log in with OTP on a different browser/incognito mode on the same device, and after that AWB will not ask for OTP until the next day. —CX Zoom[he/him] (let's talk • {C•X}) 20:53, 8 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@CX Zoom, is there a more permanent solution to this? Idoghor Melody (talk) 13:54, 23 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Not anything that I am aware of. One solution would be to update the AWB software to accept OTP, but it would take time for someone to implement this. For now, we may only ask at WP:VPT . —CX Zoom[he/him] (let's talk • {C•X}) 16:10, 24 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The other is WP:Using AWB with 2FA. * Pppery * it has begun... 18:21, 24 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What is actually causing this behaviour, and is there anything i can do to change it? Until two months ago i could log on and use AWB any time, no matter what my browser situation was; now i have had to log out of my editing account (user:LindsayH), log into Kahtar, close my browser, re-open it, log back into Kahtar, and only now am i able to log into AWB. Is this a permanent change/requirement for using AWB, or is there something wrong with my settings? Thanks, Kahtar 11:06, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, and now, when i'm back with LindsayH in order to do some other editing, Kahtar is automatically logged out of AWB. I'm afraid i just don't understand ~ LindsayHello 11:14, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Did you set up a botpassword for yourself and are still having the issue? — xaosflux Talk 11:19, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Xaosflux, i'm sorry, but i don't even know what a botpassword is ~ i'm not a bot, in either of my accounts; do i go to Special:BotPasswords and set one up? And if Yes, as Kahtar or as LindsayH? ~ LindsayHello 11:28, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
See Wikipedia:Using AWB with 2FA. You can set up the 'botpassword' for AWB if if you don't use 2FA. — xaosflux Talk 13:03, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you so much! This is why i love our community: People with knowledge happy to share it for the benefit of others; what a great place! ~ LindsayHello 08:02, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Was there a server-side change that I missed? I only started seeing this a few days ago. I am traveling, so it could be because I keep changing my IP address. In any case, I filed a feature request and will start researching it. David Brooks (talk) 14:51, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
WMF is doing some additional authentication for accounts, especially ones that are logging in from new networks. This isn't AWB specific. — xaosflux Talk 15:11, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that. It explains why it only started when I was traveling (a different place every few days). I'm trying to come up with an AWB fix in spare moments, but I can't test it to completion because that will kill the repro! Maybe I can use a VPN or something to trigger it again. David Brooks (talk) 10:11, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks to some pointers from reedy, this seems to be due to the recent rollout of the email authentication process. We've asked for an urgent implementation of an API extension that can be used by apps like AWB. Until then, the bot or side-login solutions are all we have. David Brooks (talk) 10:57, 21 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think I've found a fix for logging in with your regular username (although it depends on an undocumented feature). It lets you get the auth code from your email and enter it into AWB. I have to get on a plane soon, but I've uploaded the fix to my cloud although with substandard error handling. Own risk etc. Responses probably tomorrow. David Brooks (talk) 09:09, 29 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

window adjustments in AWB

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When i started using AWB this window looked like this

https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/File:AWB02.jpg

I then started using it on more than one PC so i was copying saveb setting back and forth and noticed it no looked like this all the time.

https://techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/File:AWB01.jpg

what setting do i need to change to get it back? DHC DarkShadow (talk) 14:57, 8 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@DHC DarkShadow: Scroll upwards two sections for a link to an unofficial AWB release that has a fix for this issue. -- John of Reading (talk) 15:10, 8 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
thx, running it now will report back in a couple days DHC DarkShadow (talk) 17:43, 8 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Been working great no issues DHC DarkShadow (talk) 22:00, 12 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

AWB replacing entire articles with others

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I reported this as a bug to Phabricator a few weeks ago, but sometimes (very rarely -- something like once every 30,000 edits) AWB replaces entire articles with others without any indication. I've just updated AWB so I'd like to ask, has anyone else had this issue before and has it been fixed in newer AWB versions? ―Panamitsu (talk) 23:06, 18 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If using Windows then suggest reboot at least once a week and perhaps try David's 64bit version AWB, a couple of items above. Neils51 (talk) 00:09, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I use AWB as much as anybody on the planet — way more than 30,000 edits —— and I have never seen such a thing. Maybe it's my setup. BD2412 T 02:36, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It might be a version thing. After I updated it, instead of replacing articles, it now just raises an error saying that it tried to do that but didn't. ―Panamitsu (talk) 03:10, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Counting AWB edits

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I'm not doubting BD2412's claim, I'd just like to know how far down the list I am. :)Naraht (talk) 16:57, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Because of automated tools like AWB, the number of edits made by editors who use those tools is a truly meaningless metric. But, for those who care about such trivial bs, see Wikipedia:List of Wikipedians by number of edits.
—Trappist the monk (talk) 17:35, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Trappist the monk, I know where I am there, I was specifically wondering about a count of those done through AWS.Naraht (talk) 03:30, 22 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
On XTools there is an "automated edits" link on the right. Clicking it will show you the number of edits you've made using tools such as AWB, HotCat and so forth.
Here is a link to your stats. It's not loading for me for some reason but it might work for you. ―Panamitsu (talk) 03:57, 22 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

User specific user-agents

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Tracked in Phabricator
Task T400840

In https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/mediawiki-api/2014-July/003308.html it is explained that having an user agent that is just pywikipediabot is not sufficent. In August 5 libary and external user agents will be restricted and ultimately banned, as per phab:T400119. What procedure should AWB users follow to provide an adequate user agent, in line with foundation:Policy:Wikimedia_Foundation_User-Agent_Policy ? Snævar (talk) 15:59, 30 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Good catch. Currently the interactive AWB User-Agent is WikiFunctions/n.n.n.n (Microsoft Windows NT n.n.n.n; .NET CLR 4.0.n.n) (I don't know about bots). That could be deemed not distinctive enough. I'll ask. David Brooks (talk) 16:09, 30 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
After getting clarification on T400119, it appears that AWB will not be subject to the block. If that changes, I have a simple fix, but apparently right now it ain't broke. David Brooks (talk) 02:18, 2 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

text alignment

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Not sure this raises to the level of a bug, but annoying. In the Article List in the Lower Left Hand Corner, sometime I see that later words in a page name may not align (off by one pixel column). So for example, even though I am working on a lot of files that start with "List of Sigma", some of the occurances of the word "Sigma" are one pixel relative to each other making part of the list look wavy.Naraht (talk) 16:48, 1 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

While not completely consistent. It appears that length of the article name (long enough to not be entirely visible?) affects things. So the "Alpha" is one pixel to the right in "Sigma Alpha Epsilon Chapter House of Miami University" relative to "Sigma Alpha Epsilon Building".Naraht (talk) 10:38, 2 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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