The Tool Desk
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The setting that requires registration before editing
Add this configuration line to your wiki’s LocalSettings.php:
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$wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false;MediaWiki’s official Manual:Preventing access describes this setting as one that “Requires that a user be registered before they can edit.” It changes the editing permission for anonymous visitors; it does not turn the wiki into a private site.
Why the * and user groups matter
* includes anonymous visitors
MediaWiki assigns every account to one or more groups. The * group contains all users, including people who are not logged in. The user group contains registered users. Therefore, a rule applied to * affects anonymous visitors as well as registered accounts unless a more specific group permission changes the result.
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Permissions are group based and additive
Editing is controlled by the edit right. Removing that right from * blocks anonymous editing, while registered users normally retain the edit right inherited from user. This is why the single setting is sufficient for the common policy “anyone may read, but only logged-in users may edit.”
Configure the wiki step by step
- Open the configuration file. Locate the
LocalSettings.phpfile for the MediaWiki installation. It is the file used for site-specific configuration. - Add the permission rule. Place
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false;in the file. Keep the PHP syntax, quotation marks and semicolon exactly as shown. - Save and deploy the change. Use the normal configuration and deployment process for your installation. The setting must be present in the active wiki configuration before it can affect permissions.
- Test as an anonymous visitor. Open the wiki in a logged-out browser session. Anonymous users should no longer see the edit action on pages they could previously edit.
- Test a registered account. Log in with a regular registered account and open an editable page. The edit action should remain available through the account’s
usergroup membership.
What this change does—and does not do
Editing is restricted across the wiki
The rule applies to the wiki-wide edit right for the * group. It is appropriate when every anonymous visitor should be prevented from changing page content, rather than when only a particular namespace or page needs protection.
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Reading remains separate
Disabling anonymous edit does not disable anonymous read. Visitors can still browse pages unless you separately change the reading permission. MediaWiki treats reading and editing as distinct controls, so a read-only public wiki can use this setting without becoming inaccessible.
Page source may still be visible
Blocking editing does not make wikitext private. The Manual:Preventing access warns that users may still view source through Special:Export or other methods. If the content itself must be hidden from anonymous visitors, configure anonymous reading access separately instead of relying on the edit restriction.
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Do not remove editing from registered users by mistake
Do not add this second rule when your goal is to let all registered users edit:
$wgGroupPermissions['user']['edit'] = false;That line removes the edit right from the registered-user group. Used together with the anonymous restriction, it can leave ordinary registered accounts unable to edit. It is intended for a stricter policy in which editing is reserved for another group, such as administrators or a custom group.
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Choose a narrower restriction when a whole-wiki lock is too broad
Before changing permissions, identify the intended scope, audience and visibility. These choices determine whether a global group rule is the right mechanism.
| Policy goal | Scope | Who can edit | Reading for anonymous visitors | MediaWiki mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Require an account for every edit | Entire wiki | Registered users, unless their group is also denied edit |
Allowed | $wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false; |
| Protect one namespace | Named namespace | Users with the right required by that namespace | Controlled separately | $wgNamespaceProtection |
| Protect individual pages | Specific pages | Users who satisfy the page’s restriction level | Controlled separately | Page Protect feature and $wgRestrictionLevels |
| Make the wiki private | Entire wiki | Accounts permitted by the site’s other group rules | Anonymous reading disabled separately | Anonymous read permission change |
Namespace-wide protection
Use $wgNamespaceProtection when a complete namespace needs a different editing rule from the rest of the site. The namespace can require a named right such as autoconfirmed or a custom permission. This is more precise than denying anonymous editing everywhere.
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Page-level protection
Use the Protect feature when only selected pages need restrictions. Restriction levels can be customized with $wgRestrictionLevels, allowing a page to require a particular right while other pages continue using the normal wiki policy.
A private wiki
If visitors must not read pages at all, treat that as a separate policy. Disabling anonymous read is not implied by disabling anonymous edit. Decide whether the site should be public and read-only for visitors, or whether both reading and editing should require an account.
Verification and troubleshooting
Anonymous users still see an edit action
- Confirm that the line is in the active installation’s
LocalSettings.php, not in a different copy of the file. - Check that the PHP statement includes the
*group, theeditright, the valuefalseand the terminating semicolon. - Deploy the saved configuration through the installation’s normal process, then start a fresh logged-out session and check again.
- Verify that the page is not using a separate protection or custom permission arrangement that changes the expected behavior.
Registered users cannot edit
- Look for an additional
$wgGroupPermissions['user']['edit'] = false;rule or another group rule that removes editing from the account. - Confirm that the account is actually logged in and belongs to the registered
usergroup. - Check whether the specific page or namespace has its own protection requirement. A global anonymous restriction does not override a separate page or namespace restriction that the account does not satisfy.
Visitors can still view source
That result is expected when only edit has been denied. Source visibility and reading access require their own policy decisions; the anonymous edit rule is not a content-confidentiality control.
Recommended policy decision
For a public wiki that wants participation from identifiable accounts, set the edit right to false for *, leave the normal user edit permission intact, and verify both logged-out and logged-in behavior. Use namespace or page protection when only part of the wiki needs stricter controls, and change anonymous read separately if the content itself must be private.
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