wikipedia-edit-history · diff
git:20260621.2a11fde to git:20260914.1cacf0b
5 added, 1 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: wikipedia-edit-history
description: Read and analyze Wikipedia's page revision history — diffs, edit summaries, user contributions, byte changes, rollback, and understanding the evolution of a page over time
license: MIT
compatibility: opencode
depends_on: [wikimedia-api-access, wikimedia-diffs]
skill_discovery_hints:
- keywords: ["edit history", "revision history", "page history", "user contributions", "rollback"]
- keywords: ["revision ID", "undo", "edit summary", "minor edit", "mw-reverted"]
- last_verified: 2026-06-10
+ last_verified: 2026-09-12
---
> ⚠️ **User-Agent required:** The history examples below use the Action API. All requests must include a descriptive `User-Agent` header or they will be blocked with HTTP 403 or 429. See the **[wikimedia-api-access](../wikimedia-api-access/SKILL.md)** skill for the correct format and rate-limiting patterns.
## SOP: Accessing Page History
Every Wikipedia page has a complete edit history. Access it via:
**URL:** `https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PageName&action=history`
**API:**
```
action=query&prop=revisions&titles=Albert_Einstein&rvlimit=50&format=json
```
**Key parameters:**
| Parameter | Purpose |
|-----------|---------|
| `rvlimit` | Max revisions (1–500, default 10) |
| `rvprop` | What data per revision (see §2) |
| `rvdir` | `older` (newest first) or `newer` (oldest first) |
| `rvstart` / `rvend` | Timestamp-based date range |
| `rvuser` | Filter to a specific user |
**Pagination:** API responses include a `continue` object. Merge it into the next request to fetch the next page of results.
**Date range example:**
```
action=query&prop=revisions&titles=Albert_Einstein&rvstart=2026-01-01T00:00:00Z&rvend=2025-06-01T00:00:00Z&rvdir=newer&rvlimit=500
```
**`prop=revisions` vs. `list=recentchanges`:** Use `prop=revisions` for history of a single page. Use `list=recentchanges` to see what's happening wiki-wide.
---
## SOP: Batching and Pagination for Efficiency
The Action API supports fetching **up to 500 revisions in a single call** (`rvlimit=500`). For bots with the `apihighlimits` right, this goes up to **5,000**. Use this to minimize round trips.
### Batch Size Guidelines
| Target | `rvlimit` Value | Round Trips for 1000 Revisions |
|--------|----------------|-------------------------------|
| Quick check (default) | 10 | 100 |
| Typical analysis | 50 | 20 |
| Full audit | 500 | 2 |
**Always use the largest batch size you need** — the API does not charge extra for more results in a single call. The cost is in the number of HTTP requests, not the number of revisions returned.
### Pagination Pattern
To fetch all revisions for a page, loop on the `continue` key:
```python
params = {
"action": "query",
"prop": "revisions",
"titles": "Albert Einstein",
"rvlimit": 500, ← max per call
"rvprop": "ids|timestamp|user|size", ← only what you need
"format": "json",
}
while True:
data = api_request(params)
# ... process revisions ...
if "continue" not in data:
break
params.update(data["continue"])
```
### Selective `rvprop` Reduces Response Size
Request only the properties you actually need. The most expensive property is `content` (full wikitext) — it multiplies the response size by 10–100x:
| If you need... | Request... | Size vs. full |
|----------------|------------|---------------|
| Just revision IDs and timestamps | `rvprop=ids|timestamp` | ~5% |
| Who changed what and when | `rvprop=ids|timestamp|user|size|comment` | ~15% |
| Tags and minor flag | `rvprop=ids|flags|tags` | ~5% |
| Full page content | `rvprop=content` | 100% (largest) |
> 💡 **Fetch content for a single revision** using `action=query&revids=REVID&prop=revisions&rvprop=content` rather than including `content` in a batch revision list. This way you only download the wikitext for the revisions you actually need to read.
### User Contributions Batching
Similarly, `list=usercontribs` supports `uclimit=500` (or 5,000 for bots):
```
action=query&list=usercontribs&ucuser=Jimbo+Wales&uclimit=500&ucprop=ids|title|timestamp|comment|size|sizediff
```
### Compare Multiple Revisions Efficiently
- Use `action=compare` to get diff metadata (`diffsize`, `fromsize`, `tosize`) for a pair of revisions in one call
- To compare many pairs, **batch them sequentially** with a small delay (see `wikimedia-api-access` for rate limiting) rather than comparing each revision individually via the browser
---
## SOP: Reading Revision Records
Each revision, when requested with `rvprop=ids|timestamp|user|userid|size|comment|tags|flags`, returns:
```json
{
"revid": 123456789,
"parentid": 123456788,
"timestamp": "2026-05-23T14:30:00Z",
"user": "Example",
"userid": 12345,
"size": 24500,
"comment": "/* Early life */ added citation",
"tags": ["mobile edit"],
"minor": true
}
```
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `revid` | Unique revision ID (sequential, per wiki) |
| `parentid` | Previous revision (0 for page creation) |
| `timestamp` | ISO 8601 timestamp |
| `user` | Username or IP address (empty if oversighted) |
| `userid` | User ID (0 for anonymous editors) |
| `size` | Page length in bytes after this revision |
| `comment` | Edit summary |
| `tags` | Machine-applied labels |
| `minor` | True if marked as minor edit |
**`rvprop` cost:** `ids`, `flags`, `timestamp`, `user`, `size`, `sha1`, `comment`, `tags` are low cost. `content` (full wikitext) is high cost — use sparingly.
Link to a specific revision: `https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PageName&oldid=123456789`
---
## SOP: Interpreting Diffs (Overview)
For detailed diff fetching and interpretation, see the **[wikimedia-diffs](../wikimedia-diffs/SKILL.md)** skill. This section covers the basics needed for history navigation.
**Diff URL:** `https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PageName&diff=NEW_REV_ID&oldid=OLD_REV_ID`
**Visual reading:**
- **Red/pink** background: deleted content (in oldid, removed in newid)
- **Green/light green** background: added content (new in newid)
- White: unchanged context lines
**Key metrics from `action=compare`:**
- `diffsize` — total bytes changed (additions + removals churn)
- `fromsize` / `tosize` — page sizes before and after
- Net change: `tosize - fromsize`
**Detecting reverts:** A revert shows a large block of content removed and identical content restored. Edit summary often contains "rv", "Reverted", "Undid", or "restore". The user reverting is typically different from the user being reverted.
> 💡 For programmatic diff fetching, HTML comparison, statistics, and BeautifulSoup parsing, load **`wikimedia-diffs`**.
---
## SOP: Reading Edit Summaries
Edit summaries (the `comment` field) explain why a change was made.
**Common patterns:**
| Summary | Meaning |
|---------|---------|
| `copyedit` | Minor grammar, spelling, formatting |
| `fix typo` | Spelling correction |
| `add ref` | Added a citation |
| `/* Section name */ added citation` | Section-specific edit |
| `rv vandalism` | Reverted vandalism |
| `Reverted [[WP:AGF|good faith]] edits` | Reverted well-intentioned but incorrect edit |
**Automatic summaries:** Rollback and undo generate automatic summaries. Bot accounts often have identifiers like "BOT" or "Bot" in their summaries or usernames.
**Missing summaries:** Edits with an empty `comment` field provide no context — you'll need to inspect the diff to understand the change.
---
## SOP: Distinguishing Minor and Major Edits
The `minor` flag indicates the editor considered the change trivial:
**What IS minor:** Spelling, grammar, formatting, fixing wikilinks, simple copyediting that doesn't change meaning.
**What is NOT minor** (per WP:MINOR): Adding/removing content or citations, changing meaning, any change that could be disputed.
The `bot` flag indicates an automated bot account. API filtering:
```
# Filter to minor edits
action=query&prop=revisions&titles=Page&rvminor=1&format=json
```
> 💡 For edit magnitude (byte churn, lines added/removed), see **[wikimedia-diffs](../wikimedia-diffs/SKILL.md)**.
---
## SOP: Identifying Editors and Their Contributions
Each revision records who made it:
- **Registered user:** `user` = username, `userid` = positive integer
- **Anonymous editor:** `user` = IP address, `userid` = 0
- **Oversighted:** `user` = empty string
**User contributions URL:** `https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Username`
**Contributions API:**
```
action=query&list=usercontribs&ucuser=Username&uclimit=50&format=json
```
**Bot detection:** Check user groups via:
```
action=query&list=users&ususers=Username&usprop=groups&format=json
```
If `groups` contains `"bot"`, the account is a bot.
**User groups and edit permissions:** Autoconfirmed (4 days, 500 edits) → extended confirmed (30 days, 500 edits) → administrator (full delete/block/protect rights). Bot accounts' edits are hidden from recent changes by default.
---
## SOP: Analyzing Byte Size Changes
Each revision stores the page's byte length (`size`). Calculate the delta:
```python
delta = current_revision["size"] - parent_revision["size"]
```
**Typical sizes:**
| Delta | Classification | Typical Edit |
|-------|---------------|-------------|
| 1–200 B | Small | Copyedit, fix typo, add wikilink |
| 200–2,000 B | Medium | Add a paragraph, add citation |
| 2,000–20,000 B | Large | Add a section, rewrite |
| 20,000+ B | Very large | Major rewrite, new article |
**Red flags:**
- Size drops to <100 bytes → page blanking (possible vandalism)
- Size jumps 50,000+ bytes from a new user → possible copyright violation
- Size oscillates rapidly → edit warring or revert cycle
> 💡 For precise byte churn (total added + removed), use `action=compare` diff data in **[wikimedia-diffs](../wikimedia-diffs/SKILL.md)**.
---
## SOP: Reverting Edits (Undo vs. Rollback)
**Undo** (`action=edit&undoafter=REVID&undo=REVID`) — reverts a single edit while preserving non-conflicting later edits. Any user can undo. It's selective — it undoes one revision at a time.
**Rollback** (`action=rollback`) — reverts all consecutive edits by the last editor of a page. Requires the `rollback` permission (autoconfirmed users). It's all-or-nothing — reverts everything the last editor did, in one click.
**Detecting reverts in history:** Look for edit summaries containing "rv", "Reverted", "Undid", or "restore". The byte change is typically similar in magnitude to earlier edits but negative.
**Three-Revert Rule (3RR):** No user may make more than 3 reverts on a single page within 24 hours. On BLPs and certain contentious topics, a 1-revert rule (1RR) applies. Violations can lead to a block.
---
## SOP: Using Revision Tags and Flags
Tags are machine-applied labels describing the editing context:
| Tag | Meaning |
|-----|---------|
| `mobile edit` | Made from a mobile device |
| `mobile web edit` | Made from mobile web interface |
| `visual editor` | Used VisualEditor |
| `possible vandalism` | Flagged by abuse filter |
| `mw-reverted` | This revision was later reverted |
| `self-revert` | Editor reverted their own edit |
**Fetch tags on revisions:**
```
action=query&prop=revisions&titles=Page&rvprop=ids|tags&format=json
```
**List all available tags on a wiki:**
```
action=query&list=tags&format=json
```
**Flag meanings:** `new` (page creation), `minor` (minor edit), `bot` (bot account).
---
## SOP: Detecting Vandalism and Problematic Edits
**Common vandalism signals:**
| Signal | What to Check |
|--------|---------------|
| Large byte increase from new/unregistered user | Possible copyright violation |
| Page blanking (size < 100 bytes) | Likely malicious |
| Offensive edit summaries | Profanity or nonsense |
| `possible vandalism` tag | Flagged by abuse filters |
| Quick reverts by multiple editors | Content likely vandalism |
| Repeating characters / gibberish in diff | Nonsense text added |
**Detecting edit warring:** Look for the same content being added and removed repeatedly by the same pair of editors. Check for `mw-reverted` tags. More than 3 reverts by one user in 24 hours may violate 3RR.
**Checking user block status:**
```
action=query&list=users&ususers=Username&usprop=blockinfo|groups&format=json
```
Returns `blockid`, `blockedby`, `blockreason`, `blockexpiry` if the user is currently blocked.
**When to act:**
| Severity | Action |
|----------|--------|
| Clear vandalism | Revert. Notify at WP:AIV if repeated. |
| Suspicious but unclear | Check contributions. Leave talk page note. |
| Content dispute | Do NOT treat as vandalism. Discuss on talk page. |
| Edit warring | Do NOT revert. Report at WP:AN3. |
---
## SOP: Accessing History Data via API
| Task | API Method |
|------|-----------|
| Get latest revision ID | `prop=info&inprop=revisions` |
| Get revision list | `prop=revisions` with `rvprop=ids|timestamp|user|size|comment` |
| Compare two revisions | `action=compare` (see `wikimedia-diffs`) |
| Get a specific revision's content | `action=query&revids=REVID&prop=revisions&rvprop=content` |
| Get user contributions | `list=usercontribs` with `ucprop=ids|title|timestamp|comment|size|sizediff` |
| Undo an edit | `action=edit&undoafter=REVID&undo=REVID&token=TOKEN` |
| Rollback | `action=rollback&title=Page&from=User&token=TOKEN` |
| Check user block status | `list=users&usprop=blockinfo|groups` |
---
## Relationship to Other Skills
- **wikimedia-diffs** — The companion skill for deep diff fetching, parsing, and statistics. This skill provides the broader history context (user contributions, rollback, vandalism detection); `wikimedia-diffs` handles the precise diff mechanics.
- **wikipedia-page-anatomy** — The article page is what gets edited; history tracks its evolution over time.
- **wikipedia-talk-page** — Talk pages have their own history; same revision concepts apply.
- **wikimedia-api-access** — History operations use the same Action API; defer to this skill for User-Agent and rate limiting.
---
## Tooling
### 🔧 Recent Edits (`scripts/recent-edits.sh`)
Show recent edits to a Wikipedia page with revision ID, byte change, user, edit summary, and tags.
```bash
./scripts/recent-edits.sh "Albert Einstein"
./scripts/recent-edits.sh "Python (programming language)" --limit 20
./scripts/recent-edits.sh "Berlin" --json
```
### 🔧 Compare Revisions (`scripts/compare-revisions.sh`)
Compare two revisions and show a summary: byte change (churn and net), users, timestamps, and edit summaries. Can auto-detect the latest two revisions for a page.
```bash
./scripts/compare-revisions.sh --page "Albert Einstein"
./scripts/compare-revisions.sh 123456789 123456790 --json
```
### 🔧 User Contributions (`scripts/user-contribs.sh`)
Fetch recent contributions for a user with page titles, edit summaries, byte changes, and tags.
```bash
./scripts/user-contribs.sh "Jimbo Wales"
./scripts/user-contribs.sh "ClueBot NG" --limit 20 --json
```
### 📚 Diff Patterns Reference (`references/diff-patterns.md`)
Reference guide for interpreting diffs by byte change (small/medium/large/very large), visual signature (addition, removal, revert, blanking), edit summary keywords, and automated edit detection signals.
+
+ ### 📚 Historic Page Reconstruction (`references/historic-page-reconstruction.md`)
+
+ How to recover what a page looked like at a past date — the templates and images included. MediaWiki cannot do this (`action=parse&oldid=` always expands today's templates), so the reference maps the four real options: WikiHist.html (enwiki revision history to 2019-03 parsed to HTML), official rendered HTML dumps/APIs (legacy 2006–2008 static dumps, four Feb–Mar 2025 Enterprise mirror runs, current-only APIs), web archives (Wayback/archive.today — the only source that preserves time-dependent magic words and the image bytes as served), and DIY reconstruction from `pages-meta-history` dumps with frozen template revisions. Includes the measured template-drift example, the image-version API recipe, and what is unavoidably lost.
### 🐍 History Auditor (`assets/history-audit.py`)
Fetch page history, compute per-revision byte deltas, and flag suspicious edits: page blanking, large additions from anonymous users, missing edit summaries on large changes, revert patterns, and potential edit warring. Uses only Python standard library.
```bash
python3 assets/history-audit.py "Albert Einstein" --limit 100
python3 assets/history-audit.py "Berlin" --json
```