CollabPatrol

CollabPatrol is a MediaWiki extension that brings collaborative revision patrolling to your wiki. It started as a JavaScript gadget for the Vikidia project and has since grown into a full extension, available for any MediaWiki wiki.

The idea is simple: instead of patrolling alone, patrollers can flag a revision they are unsure about, so other patrollers know it needs a second look. Flagged revisions are highlighted in Recent Changes, making the workload visible to the whole team.

Requirements

• MediaWiki 1.43 or later
• PHP 8.1 or later
• A user group with the patrol right (e.g. patroller, sysop)

Installation

1. Download and place the CollabPatrol folder in your extensions/ directory (see the releases page).
2. Add the following line to your LocalSettings.php:

   wfLoadExtension( 'CollabPatrol' );

3. Run the database update script:

   php maintenance/run.php update

4. Navigate to Special:Version to confirm the extension is loaded.

Permissions

Right	Default groups	Description
collabpatrol-use	patroller, sysop	Flag, take and finish patrol entries
collabpatrol-admin	sysop	Manage entries and moderate the chat
collabpatrol-chatmod	sysop	Moderate chat and manage chat bans without full patrol admin

You can override these in LocalSettings.php:

$wgGroupPermissions['patroller']['collabpatrol-use'] = true;
$wgGroupPermissions['sysop']['collabpatrol-admin'] = true;
$wgGroupPermissions['sysop']['collabpatrol-chatmod'] = true;

Configuration

All settings go in LocalSettings.php.

Variable	Default	Description
$wgCollabPatrolExpirationDelay	172800 (48 h)	Seconds before a patrol entry expires automatically
$wgCollabPatrolUrgencyThreshold	3600 (1 h)	Seconds before a pending entry is marked urgent
$wgCollabPatrolAutoPatrol	true	Automatically mark the revision as patrolled when status is set to finished
$wgCollabPatrolEnableEcho	true	Send Echo notifications when patrol status changes
$wgCollabPatrolChatEnabled	true	Enable the per-diff discussion panel
$wgCollabPatrolChatMaxLength	500	Maximum character length for a chat message
$wgCollabPatrolChatModerators	[]	Optional additional usernames allowed to moderate chat
$wgCollabPatrolChatBannedWords	[]	Words forbidden in chat messages (case-insensitive)
$wgCollabPatrolChatAutoDelete	true	Delete chat messages when the entry is finished or removed

Example:

$wgCollabPatrolUrgencyThreshold = 1800;
$wgCollabPatrolChatBannedWords = [ 'spam', 'badword' ];
$wgGroupPermissions['patroller']['collabpatrol-chatmod'] = true;

User preferences

Each user can configure CollabPatrol in Special:Preferences, under Appearance > Collaborative patrol.

Preference	Default	Description
Auto-refresh interval	30 seconds	Refresh interval for RC markers, dashboard and chat
Show notification after finishing an entry	Enabled	Show a completion notification when an entry is marked finished
Open discussion panel by default	Disabled	Open chat automatically on active entries
Show history block on entries	Enabled	Display or hide entry history in diff interfaces
Use compact layout for controls	Disabled	Reduce spacing in desktop and mobile controls

How it works

1. A patroller views a diff and is unsure about the revision.
2. They click Flag and optionally pick a reason (vandalism, complex edit, needs sourcing…).
3. The revision appears with a marker in Recent Changes so other patrollers can see it.
4. Another patroller clicks Take to signal they are looking at it, then Finish once done.
5. If $wgCollabPatrolAutoPatrol is enabled, finishing also marks the revision as patrolled in MediaWiki.

A discussion panel is available on each flagged diff, allowing patrollers to leave short notes for each other.

The dashboard at Special:CollabPatrol shows all active entries, their status, and patroller statistics.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later

Credits

Thanks to Janus to the UI refont when COllabPatrol was a gadget on Vikidia.