A place to learn and share. Develop and explore.

Navigation

Browsing Wikipedia = scrolling, clicking on links

Good starting points:

To browse the encyclopedia: Wikipedia:Contents

To browse the Wikipedia community: Wikipedia:Department directory

To browse help resources: Help:Menu or Help:Contents/Directory

Searching   —   type your search term into the search box (at the top right of every page)

Go to the search screen   —   clicking on the magnifying glass will get you there too

Advanced browsing

Shortcut

List of shortcuts

Tabbed browsing   —   open multiple links at the same time

Tabbed browsing in Firefox

Tab Mix Plus   —   add-on for Firefox

Tabbed browsing in Opera

Advanced searching

Search titles with grep

Searching Wikipedia with regular expressions (regex)

Main Page alternatives

Featured content

Researching with Wikipedia

Viewing media

Using Wikipedia on your phone

Pronouncing words shown in IPA

Wikipedia is more than just an encyclopedia. It is a world-wide community of people who volunteer their time and share knowledge in order to make the world a better place. You are welcome to join us in this important mission...

Why create an account? (to get more privileges and to make communication easier)

Choosing a username

How to log in

Who writes Wikipedia? (Anyone with Internet access)

We are Wikipedians

Talk pages  — how to communicate in Wikipedia

WikiProjects — collaborate with others to develop your favorite subject areas

Quick directory/Department directory

Just go for it! — the easiest and fastest way to get involved is to click on the edit tab at the top of an article that interests you, and improve the article in the editor that appears.

Keep in mind...

The Five Pillars  (the core rules)

Tutorials

• Main tutorial — will help anyone become a Wikipedia contributor.
• Editing — almost every page has an "Edit" tab.
• Formatting — the basics on coding.
• Links — the basics on internal links.
• Sources — the basics on adding references.
• Talk pages — the basics on how to communicate with others.
• Policies — there are some things to keep in mind when editing Wikipedia.
• Registration — registering a username is optional, but encouraged.
• Graphics — the basics on how to use graphics.
• Images — the basics on how to use images.
• IRC (live chat) — to access the freenode IRC servers, follow the directions here.

{{tutorials}} — place this on your user page to display a navigation box with helpful links

Overviews

Plain and simple — the basic mechanics of Wikipedia

Primer for newcomers — an overview for new contributors

Advice for parents

• For comprehensive help, see The Missing Manual and the Help directory
• If you wish to express an opinion or make a comment, Where to ask questions will point you in the correct direction.
• If you're looking for things to edit, the Community portal has lists of open tasks, or you can join a subject-specific WikiProject.
• If you would like to create a new article, Starting an article will explain how to create a new page, with tips for success and a link to Wikipedia's Article Wizard, which can guide you through the process of submitting a new article to Wikipedia.

If you can't find what you're looking for on this page, you can ask questions at the Help desk or at the Teahouse. Volunteers will respond as soon as possible.

Be bold!

Introductory tutorial

Contributing to Wikipedia

How to edit a page

Experiment in the sandbox

Show preview to review your edits before you save

Editing sections

Creating links

Making categories

"Show preview"   —   always use this to avoid errors

Edit summary   —   please explain your edits

Minor edits   —   check this for typos and small corrections

Edit conflict   —   what to do when another editor changes the page while you're editing it

Starting an article

Article Wizard

Name a page

Naming conventions in general

Full list of specific naming conventions

Your first article

Article development (advanced editing)

Layout

The perfect article

Writing better articles

Editing shortcuts

Contributing to articles outside your native language

Editing with a text editor

Special page types

Disambiguation pages

Creating subpages

Wikipedia's Manual of Style

Article size

Categorization

Citing sources

Article components

Lists

Tables

Redirects

Infoboxes

Using templates

Creating templates

List of templates

Modules, an advanced form of templates

Pictures and videos

Mathematical formulas

Hatnotes

Footnotes and references

Wiki markup

Cheatsheet

"Magic words"

Variables

Valid HTML codes in wikitext

Easy timeline syntax

Biographies of living persons

Citing sources

Copyrights

Editing

External links

Image use

Using redirects

Include only verifiable information

Deletion

Manual of Style

Neutral point of view

What Wikipedia is not

Use talk pages (discussion pages)

Archive a talk page

Tagging pages for problems

Merge two or more pages

Move or rename a page

Requested moves

Delete pages/images/categories

Stub articles

List of stub types

Revert a page to an earlier version

Dealing with vandalism

Protect and unprotect pages (Administrators only)

Link together Wikipedia articles in different languages

Link words in articles to Wikimedia sister projects

Use page names

Use namespaces

Use headings as anchors to link to

Do a purge

Test edits and other things

Tips on editing

Simplified ruleset — Essential information to understand when editing articles (for new editors)

Category:Wikipedia information pages and Category:Wikipedia how-to

Help:Link

Category link

Dates

External link

Internal link

InterLanguage link

InterWiki link

ISBN, PMID and RFC

Piped link

Self link

Wikipedia:Linking

Wikipedia:Embedded list

Wikipedia:Template messages/Links

How | Why | What is a reliable source?, info on citing sources

Category:Wikipedia resources for researchers

Wikipedia:Public domain resources

Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange

Wikipedia:Example requests for permission

Wikipedia:Citation tools

Overview of images

Creation and usage of media files

Upload an image to Commons (preferred) or to English Wikipedia.

Finding images tutorial

Requested pictures

Graphics Lab

Image copyright tags

File description pages

How to upload files to Wikipedia

Images and other uploaded files

Preparing images for upload

Visual file markup

How to insert and use pictures in Wikipedia articles

Use the Extended image syntax to place an image in an article

Sound file markup

Graphics tutorials

How to request images or media for deletion

Category:Wikipedia image help

Media copyright questions

Image use policy

Guide to captions

Guide to use of logos

Guide to use of alternative text for images

Featured pictures

Featured picture candidates

Public domain image resources

Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission

Wikipedia:Example requests for permission

Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons

Category:Wikipedia images

Edit summary

Minor edit

Recent changes (and the recent changes patrol)

Enhanced recent changes

Page history

User contributions pages

Talk pages

Recent changes page

Patrolling the recent changes

Watching pages

Public watchlists

Related changes page

Using "What links here"

Diff pages

Keyboard shortcuts

Special pages

Reverting a page to undo vandalism (and the Three-revert rule)

Reporting vandalism to administrators (urgent cases only)

How and when to report to administrators

Current vandalism

Persistent vandals

The Counter Vandalism Unit

Most vandalized pages

Don't provoke the vandals!

Fighting vandalism

Five pillars — statement of our principles

Jimbo's statement — historic principles

Simplified ruleset — synopsis of our conventions

Wikimedia principles — common to all projects

Principles — other essays on Wikipedia's principles

Introduction to policies and guidelines —  a quick introduction to the major policies and guidelines for very new users.

Consensus

Dispute resolution

Editing policy

Ignore all rules

What Wikipedia is not

Policies & guidelines — how policies and guidelines should be developed and maintained.

Mediation

Bot policy

Core content policies

Neutral point of view

No original research

Verifiability

Other content policies

Article titles

Biographies of living persons

Deletion

Image use

Content guidelines

Citing sources

Disambiguation

Do not create hoaxes

Do not include copies of primary sources

Identifying reliable sources

Notability

Patent nonsense

Behavioural policies

Civility

Child protection

Incivility is not tolerated

Edit warring

Harassment

Legal threats

Personal attacks

Ownership of content

Sock puppetry

Behavioural guidelines

Assume good faith

Conflict of interest

Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point

Etiquette

Gaming the system

Please do not bite the newcomers

Editing policies

Editing policy

Editing guidelines

Be bold

Article size

Hatnotes

Signatures

Subpages

Talk page guidelines

User pages

Vandalism

WikiProjects

Manual of Style

Contents

Accessibility

Dates and numbers

Images

Layout

Lead section

Linking

Lists

Categories, lists, and navigation templates

Categorization

Template namespace

List of policies and guidelines — a list of principle policies and guidelines.

List of policies — a comprehensive descriptive directory of policies.

List of guidelines — a comprehensive descriptive directory of guidelines.

Manual of Style contents — a comprehensive descriptive directory of the pages which make up the Manual of Style.

Related essays

Simplified rule-set — some basic aspect of Wikipedia norms and practices.

Eight rules for editing  —  if you start out by following these simple rules, the rest should come naturally.

Ten rules for editing  — Wikipedia can be daunting, but here we provide tips to make editing smoother.

Trifecta — ultra fast overview of foundational principles related to policies and guidelines.

The rules are principles — policies and guidelines exist as rough approximations of their underlying principles.

Wikimedia Foundation policies

List of policies

Licensing and copyright

Privacy

Values

FAQ main page   —   questions about using and contributing.

Administration   —   answers some questions related to Administrators.

Article subjects   —   what to do about specific articles.

Categories   —   about using Wikipedia's categories.

Contributing   —   answers to questions commonly asked by contributors.

Copyright   —   four most commonly asked questions about copyright.

Editing   —   answers the most common questions about editing.

Forking   —   how do I download and use Wikipedia content?

IRC (live chat)   —   about "chat rooms" – real-time discussions.

Organizations   —   editing without displaying a conflict of interest.

Problems   —   solving problems you may encounter when browsing or editing.

Readers   —   addresses concerns and questions readers may have.

Schools   —   questions that teachers, librarians and administrators might have.

Technical   —   answers some questions related to the technical workings of the site.

(Miscellaneous)   —   questions that do not fit into any of above sections.

If you can't find your question, then it's time to ask someone...

Where to ask factual questions

Reference desk   —   volunteers will attempt to answer any factual question you may have. They are organized into the following subject areas:

Computing

Entertainment

Language

Humanities

Mathematics

Science

Miscellaneous

Where to ask help-related questions

Help desk   —   the volunteers here will help you with Wikipedia-related questions.

Wikipedia:Questions   —   another help page

Wikipedia:Teahouse   —   friendly place for new editors to become accustomed to Wikipedia culture, ask questions, and develop community relationships.

Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)   —   the place to ask technical questions about Wikipedia and all related technology.

Wikipedia:Media copyright questions   —   about images, audio files, and other media.

{{Help me}}   —   write a question or request on your user talk page, and place {{Help me}} with it, and someone will be by shortly to help you on it.

Live help   —   ask other editors questions in real time in a Wikipedia chat room.

Adopt-a-user   —   new users can find mentors here. Mentors are dedicated to answering questions and teaching.

Questions and comments

Requests department   —   for when you need assistance.

The Community Portal

Wikipedia department directory

Wikipedia quick directory

Teahouse - peer support for new editors

Harmonious editing club - keep the peace, peacefully

Kindness Campaign - spread kindness and recognition of users

Adopt-a-User - experienced editors can "adopt" newer editors, helping to mentor them along the way as they learn about Wikipedia

Welcoming committee

Editor assistance

User pages

How to report a bug

Mailing lists

In-person meetings

Wikipedians

Local Embassy – find a user that speaks your language

Babel – Another way to find multi-lingual Wikipedians

Surveys

Expressing thanks

Feedback by editors, to editors.

Featuring an article

Featuring lists

Featuring pictures

Featuring sounds

Featuring portals

Featuring topics

Good articles

Peer review

Administrator nominations

Deleting pages

Deleting articles (full policy)

Deleting categories (or a stub type)

Deleting templates

Deleting files

Moving/Merging a page (and how to actually do it)

Protecting pages (full policy)

Stay cool!

Be nice to newcomers

Alert others

Dispute resolution

Arbitration policy

Community Portal – Bulletin board collaborations and updates – Wikipedia's hub of activity.

The Signpost – Wikipedia's newspaper

Wikipedia in the media

Wikipedia milestone announcements

Wikizine – news letter about the Wikimedia projects

Press releases

Stats

Milestones

Regional notice boards

Goings-on

Dashboard

Administrator nominations

List of administrators

Administration FAQ

Administrator's reading list

Bureaucrats

Elections

Meta

Fix cut & paste moves

Page protection

Wikipedians: the people who contribute to Wikipedia

List of Wikipedians

WikiProjects: where people interested in specific topics work together

List of WikiProjects

WikiProjects category

Collaborations: Wikipedians focusing on one article for a set amount of time

List of collaborations

Wikipedia essays

User essays

Wikipedian humor

Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense

Department of Fun

Wikipediholism

Unusual articles

Editcountitis: a condition that can be fatal

Wikipedian games

Barnstars

Awards programs

Overview of Wikipedia (All about Wikipedia)

Category:Wikipedia

Category-based access to pages about Wikipedia

Another way to browse help topics

Category:Wikipedia how-to (a full list of help topics)

Meta – The site that organizes all Wikimedia projects.

List of wiki markup

• Wikipedia:Categories are different from articles
• Wikipedia:Categories vs lists
• Wikipedia:Categorising fiction
• Wikipedia:Do not write articles using categories
• Wikipedia:Overcategorization/Intersection of location and occupation
• User:Alan Liefting/Essays/On categorisation

List of stub types

How to name stubs

Guide to stubbing

List of infoboxes

List of templates used in infoboxes

List of templates

List of navigational templates

List of citation templates

List of WikiProjects

Creating a WikiProject

List of article series

List of shortcuts

List of "magic words" - Magic words can be used to automate text or change the display of pages.

Cleanup resources

List of Resources for researchers

Public domain resources

Wikipedia:Free online resources

Wikipedia:Free or semi-free non-Public-Domain information resources

Wikipedia:Public domain image resources

Wikipedia:Free sound resources

WikiProject Resource Exchange

Web Browser tools - Tools for your Web browser

Web colors

Mailing lists

List of protected pages

Links to disambiguating pages

List of controversial issues

List of administrators

Requests for administrator attention

Sample letters requesting content be made available to Wikipedia

Sample letters for violations of Wikipedia's licence (GFDL)

Standard user greeting

Welcome templates

Customize your Wikipedia experience

Change your preferences

Change your signature

Change your username

Confirm your email address

Delete your account

Log in (troubleshooting)

User page help

User page design

Customizing your display with CSS (advanced web design knowledge required)

Tools to make Wikipedia work better.

Catalogue of CSS classes used on the English Wikipedia

Editing articles of such length that you can't edit them

The MediaWiki software

MediaWiki User hub – help with installation and configuration of the MediaWiki software that runs Wikipedia, for those looking to set up their own wiki.

MediaWiki User's Guide – help with general use of the MediaWiki software that runs Wikipedia

Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)

Requests and bug reports

Browser notes

Bots

Download Wikipedia content – how to download Wikipedia and Wikimedia content

Export page(s) in XML

Computer help desk – Help with computers and software generally (i.e. not related to Wikipedia)