Event:MediaWiki Bootcamp 2026 - St. Aloysius University
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Overview
[edit]The MediaWiki Bootcamp 2026 is a technical workshop organised by the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group (IMDUG) to introduce students to Wikimedia technologies, MediaWiki software, and open-source development.
As part of this initiative, a technical workshop is being organised at St Aloysius (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, in collaboration with the university. The workshop is designed for students who are comfortable with programming but are new to the Wikimedia technical ecosystem.
The workshop will provide participants with an introduction to MediaWiki, its architecture and development tools, along with hands-on sessions to help them take their first steps towards contributing to Wikimedia's technical projects.
Objectives
[edit]The core objectives of the workshop are:
- Introduce students to the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia movement, MediaWiki, and the relationship between Wikimedia projects and the MediaWiki platform.
- Help participants understand the basics of MediaWiki's internal architecture and set up a local MediaWiki development environment.
- Introduce key technical components and demonstrate how Wikimedia's technical infrastructure and development ecosystem work, including extensions, hooks, skins, templates, and Lua modules.
- Introduce essential Wikimedia developer tools and workflows, including Gerrit, Phabricator, Toolforge, and Wikimedia Cloud VPS.
- Help participants understand how they can start making technical contributions to Wikimedia projects.
Who should attend
[edit]The workshop is intended for approximately 30 students who:
- Are primarily in their 1st or 2nd year of undergraduate studies.
- Are comfortable with programming and basic development concepts.
- Are interested in open-source software and technical communities.
- Are interested in learning about MediaWiki development and contributing to Wikimedia.
Applications and selection
[edit]A registration form was released to invite applications from interested students. The form was intended to collect basic participant information, academic background, programming experience, areas of technical interest, familiarity with open-source software, and motivation for attending the workshop.
Applications will be reviewed based on the selection criteria below.
Selection and filtration criteria
[edit]The proposed criteria include:
- Students should preferably be in their 2nd or 3rd year and comfortable with basic programming concepts.
- Participants should have an interest in open-source software, technical communities, and Wikimedia technologies.
- Participants should be available to attend the complete workshop.
- Participants should be willing to complete the required pre-event technical setup.
- Participants should be interested in exploring and continuing technical contributions after the workshop.
No prior Wikimedia technical contribution is required.
Programme overview
[edit]The workshop is structured around two broad stages:
Day 1 – Understanding Wikimedia & MediaWiki
Participants will first understand the Wikimedia ecosystem and how MediaWiki works internally. The day will cover Wikimedia projects, open-source culture, MediaWiki architecture, the codebase, and local development setup.
Day 2 – Building & Contributing
Participants will build on the first day's learning by customizing MediaWiki, working with wiki components, understanding the Wikimedia contribution workflow, exploring technical tools, and identifying pathways for continued contribution.
Event schedule
[edit]| Start Time | End Time | Activity | Facilitator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 – Understanding Wikimedia & MediaWiki | |||
| 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | Formal Inauguration | Santhosh Notagar |
| 10:00 AM | 10:30 AM | Welcome, introductions and workshop overview | Navya Sri Kalli |
| 10:30 AM | 11:00 AM | Wikimedia movement overview, Wikimedia projects and introductory videos; questions | Navya Sri Kalli |
| 11:00 AM | 11:20 AM | Tea Break | |
| 11:20 AM | 12:00 PM | Open-source culture, open source in Wikimedia and introduction to MediaWiki | Navya Sri Kalli |
| 12:00 PM | 01:00 PM | Wikimedia technical ecosystem: extensions, gadgets, bots, templates, Phabricator and Gerrit | KC Velaga |
| 01:00 PM | 02:00 PM | Lunch Break | |
| 02:00 PM | 03:00 PM | MediaWiki architecture and codebase | Punith Nayak |
| 03:00 PM | 03:30 PM | Tea Break | |
| 03:30 PM | 04:15 PM | MediaWiki architecture and development | Punith Nayak |
| 04:15 PM | 05:30 PM | Hands-on: Customize and run a local MediaWiki setup | Punith Nayak |
| Day 2 – Building & Contributing | |||
| 09:30 AM | 10:00 AM | Recap of Day 1 and setup troubleshooting | Punith Nayak |
| 10:00 AM | 11:00 AM | Gerrit workflow, code review, patch lifecycle, beginner-friendly tasks and questions | KC Velaga and Punith Nayak |
| 11:00 AM | 11:30 AM | Tea Break | |
| 11:30 AM | 01:00 PM | API Sandbox and modules | KC Velaga |
| 01:00 PM | 02:00 PM | Lunch Break | |
| 02:00 PM | 02:30 PM | Showcase of Wikimedia tools and discussion | Navya Sri Kalli |
| 02:30 PM | 03:30 PM | Exploring tools and improving documentation | Everyone |
| 03:30 PM | 04:30 PM | GSoC, Outreachy, internships, community support channels, UG introduction and next steps | Navya Sri Kalli |
| 04:30 PM | 04:45 PM | Group Photograph | |
| 04:45 PM | 05:30 PM | Project Clinic | Navya Sri Kalli |
| 04:45 PM | 05:30 PM | Certificate Distribution | Santhosh Notagar and Hariprasad Shetty |
| 04:45 PM | 05:30 PM | Closing and Vote of Thanks | Navya Sri Kalli, Santhosh Notagar, Hariprasad Shetty |
Expected outcomes
[edit]By the end of the two-day workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the Wikimedia ecosystem, including the relationship between the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia movement, MediaWiki, and major Wikimedia projects.
- Understand the basics of MediaWiki architecture and page request processing, set up a local development environment, and navigate the MediaWiki codebase and basic extension structure.
- Work with MediaWiki components such as extensions, hooks, skins, templates, Lua modules, and basic MediaWiki APIs.
- Understand the technical contribution workflow, including Wikimedia Gerrit, code review, patch lifecycle, and Phabricator, and identify beginner-friendly contribution opportunities.
- Gain an introductory understanding of Toolforge and Wikimedia Cloud VPS and connect with the wider Wikimedia developer community for continued technical contribution.
Onboarding steps
[edit]Participants will be expected to complete basic technical onboarding before the workshop.
- Create or confirm a Wikimedia account
- Create or confirm a developer account
- Set up Git
- Set up SSH keys
- Create or confirm a Gerrit account
- Install Docker and required dependencies
- Verify the local development environment
- Complete any assigned pre-work or documentation.
- Join the designated communication channel.
A detailed onboarding guide will be shared with selected participants before the event.
Code of conduct
[edit]This event follows the Wikimedia Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC).
All participants, speakers, mentors, volunteers and organisers are expected to:
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- Collaborate in a positive and constructive manner.
- Contribute to a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
- Respect different backgrounds, experiences and levels of technical knowledge.
Event organisation
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Communication and contact
[edit]Participants will be onboarded to dedicated communication channels for coordination during the workshop and for post-event support.
These may include:
- Telegram
- Mailing lists
- Phabricator
- Wikimedia community discussion spaces
For questions regarding the workshop, participants can reach out through the event discussion page or contact the organisers by email: contact
indicmediawikidev.org
Gallery
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