How to Tell if a Website Uses MediaWiki
Identifying whether a website was built with MediaWiki used to require technical expertise — inspecting source code, tracing network requests in DevTools, and knowing which patterns to look for. Our free scanner automates all of that: it fetches the page, analyzes 3 MediaWiki-specific signals, and returns a verdict with a confidence score.
You might want to detect MediaWiki for competitive research, due diligence before acquiring a site, or simple curiosity. Whatever the reason, this page covers every method — automated and manual.
What is MediaWiki?
MediaWiki is the wiki software written in PHP that runs Wikipedia and thousands of other wikis. AIWebsiteDetector reports MediaWiki from its ResourceLoader entry point `load.php` (`modules=` in script URLs), the versioned `MediaWiki 1.x` generator tag and its `mw-body` / `mw-parser-output` markup. A detected MediaWiki site also counts as PHP. Static landing pages that do not run MediaWiki themselves, such as the wikipedia.org portal, show none of these signals.
It is primarily used for content-driven websites, blogs, news sites, documentation, and publishing platforms.
Visit MediaWiki official websiteSigns a Website Is Built With MediaWiki
Our detection engine checks 3 unique MediaWiki fingerprints. Here are the most reliable signals:
JavaScript / Script Files
MediaWiki loads specific JavaScript runtime files or loads scripts from identifiable URLs. Checking script src attributes reveals the platform.
/load.php[^"']*bmodules=HTML Attributes & Class Names
MediaWiki injects proprietary class names, data attributes, or markup patterns into the page HTML that are unique to the platform.
bclass=["'][^"']*bmw-(:body|parser-output|page-title)Meta Tags
Some MediaWiki sites include a generator meta tag or other platform-specific meta elements in the document head.
MediaWikis*dHow to Manually Detect MediaWiki Websites
Method 1 — View Page Source
- Open the website in your browser
- Press
Ctrl+U(Windows) orCmd+Option+U(Mac) - Search (
Ctrl+F) formediawikiormediawiki - If found in script src, class names, or meta tags — it's likely MediaWiki
Method 2 — Browser DevTools Network Tab
- Press
F12to open DevTools - Click the Network tab and reload the page
- Filter by
mediawikiin the search box - If you see requests to MediaWiki-specific domains, it's confirmed
How Our MediaWiki Detector Works
When you submit a URL, our engine fetches the page from its server — just like a browser would — then analyzes the response across 3 MediaWiki-specific fingerprints:
Script analysis
We scan all loaded JavaScript files for known CDN paths and runtime names
CDN domain matching
We cross-reference every asset request against known platform CDNs
HTML pattern scanning
We search the DOM for platform-specific class names and data attributes
Header inspection
We read HTTP response headers that identify the server or platform
Meta tag extraction
We check generator and other meta tags in the document head
Confidence scoring
We weight each matched signal and normalize to a 0–99% score
How to Build a Similar Website With MediaWiki
Install MediaWiki from https://www.mediawiki.org, set up your content models, and connect a frontend framework like Next.js or Gatsby to display your content.
Other popular CMS platforms include WordPress, Ghost, Contentful, Sanity, and Strapi.
Get started with MediaWikiFrequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if a website was built with MediaWiki?
The most reliable ways to detect MediaWiki are: (1) open DevTools → Network tab and look for requests to MediaWiki-specific CDN domains, (2) view page source and search for MediaWiki-specific class names or data attributes, (3) use our free scanner — we check 3 detection signals automatically and return a confidence score.
Is your MediaWiki detector free?
Yes, completely free. Paste any URL into our scanner and we'll analyze it for MediaWiki fingerprints immediately. No account required, no limits on scans.
How accurate is the MediaWiki detection?
We check 3 unique MediaWiki fingerprint signals across HTML, JavaScript, CDN domains, meta tags, and HTTP headers. Our confidence score reflects how many signals matched — a score above 70% is a strong indicator. We cap accuracy at 99% to reflect that all fingerprint-based detection is probabilistic.
Can MediaWiki sites be detected if they use a custom domain?
Yes. Custom domains don't hide the underlying platform. The JavaScript files, CDN requests, HTML attributes, and server headers all remain identifiable regardless of the domain name used. Our scanner fetches the page directly and analyzes its technical composition.
What should I do after detecting a MediaWiki website?
If you want to build something similar, visit https://www.mediawiki.org to learn more or sign up. If you're doing competitive research, our scan result also shows the full technology stack — including hosting platform, domain age, and other detected technologies. You can share the result link with your team.