Wikipedia:Reserved usernames
Wikipedia information page
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Some usernames are reserved for use by the MediaWiki software that powers Wikipedia. Users cannot register or use these usernames. These reserved usernames are typically used by maintenance scripts that perform behind-the-scenes tasks directed by Wikimedia's system administrators.
 | This is an information page. It is neither an encyclopedia article nor one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting. |
Reserved usernames are generally unaffected by blocks; blocking them will not prevent their associated maintenance script from running. Because users cannot register and log in to these usernames, it is not necessary to block reserved usernames to preemptively prevent vandalism.
Several reserved usernames are not locally registered on the English Wikipedia, as their associated scripts have never been used here. Several reserved usernames also do not have global accounts, meaning that they cannot have global user pages.
Reserved usernames are different from the global title blacklist, which blocks certain words and patterns in usernames to prevent impersonation of high-profile users and positions of authority. It's also different from AntiSpoof, which blocks usernames that are too similar to existing ones and prevents the registration of former usernames after a user was renamed.
List of reserved usernames
| Username | Description |
|---|---|
| MediaWiki default | Used by various maintenance scripts to maintain system messages and configuration pages. |
| Conversion script | Used on January 25, 2002 to upgrade Wikipedia articles from the old UseModWiki format to Phase II, the precursor to MediaWiki. |
| Maintenance script | Used by Wikimedia's system administrators to perform global maintenance. For example, in April 2015, it was used for SUL finalisation, which unified logins across all Wikimedia wikis. |
| Template namespace initialisation script | Used in 2004 to convert templates originally created in the MediaWiki namespace to the current Template namespace. |
| ScriptImporter | Used by the importSiteScripts.php script to import scripts into the MediaWiki namespace from a local site. Never used on English Wikipedia. |
| Delete page script | Used by the deleteBatch.php script to delete multiple pages at once. |
| Move page script | Used by the moveBatch.php script to move multiple pages at once. Never used on English Wikipedia. |
| Command line script | Used by the undelete.php script to undelete multiple pages at once. Never used on English Wikipedia. |
| Unknown user | This username is shown when an expected username is missing, either due to corruption or to missing data in an import. |
| Redirect fixer | Formerly used to automatically resolve double redirects when users move pages that have redirects pointing to them. Disabled since 2008. |
| System messenger | Default user for leaving user messages. Never used on Wikimedia wikis. |
| Proxy blocker | Formerly used as an open proxy port scanner from March 2004 to January 2005. |
| DNSBL | Reserved by the $wgEnableDnsBlacklist configuration setting, which uses DNS blocklists to check for open proxies. |
| MediaWiki spam cleanup | Used by the cleanupSpam.php script to remove all external links to a hostname. |
| MediaWiki automatic change | Shown in anonymous category recent changes entries, such as Parser functions, Lua, and purges. Never used on English Wikipedia. |
Other usernames used by extensions
There are other usernames reserved by MediaWiki extensions enabled on the English Wikipedia.
| Username | Description |
|---|---|
| Abuse filter | Used by the AbuseFilter extension to perform actions triggered by an edit filter, such as blocking users. Not registered on the English Wikipedia as the feature to automatically block users who trigger a filter is disabled here. |
| AccountVanishRequests | Used by the CentralAuth extension to process automatic courtesy vanishing requests. |
| Article Feedback V5 | Formerly used by the ArticleFeedbackv5 extension to maintain the now-defunct Article Feedback Tool. |
| Babel AutoCreate | Used by the Babel extension to create categories based on user language levels added by users. |
| CirrusSearch Streaming Updater | Used by the NetworkSession extension. |
| Flow talk page manager | Used by the StructuredDiscussions extension to archive old discussions. |
| FuzzyBot | Used by the Translate extension to maintain translated pages. |
| Global rename script | Used by the CentralAuth extension to rename users on wikis where the renaming global renamer does not have a local account. |
| MediaWiki message delivery | Used by the MassMessage extension to send mass messages. |