Wikipedia:Administrators' guide

This page in a nutshell: This page documents common tasks administrators do and their best practices. Here admins can learn how to exercise their tools properly before being set loose on the big, wide encyclopedia...

Shortcuts WP:ADMINGUIDE WP:NAS

Administrators' Newsletter
May 2024
Phase I of the 2024 requests for adminship review has concluded. Several proposals have passed outright and will proceed to implementation, including creating a discussion-only period (3b) and administrator elections (13) on a trial basis. Other successful proposals, such as creating a reminder of civility norms (2), will undergo further refinement in Phase II. Proposals passed on a trial basis will be discussed in Phase II, after their trials conclude. Further details on specific proposals can be found in the full report. Partial action blocks are now in effect on the English Wikipedia. This means that administrators have the ability to restrict users from certain actions, including uploading files, moving pages and files, creating new pages, and sending thanks. T280531 The arbitration case Conflict of interest management has been closed. This may be a good time to reach out to potential nominees to ask if they would consider an RfA.
Discuss Subscribe Archive

Welcome, admins! This suite of pages documents common admin tasks and how to properly perform them. Administrative tools have been granted due to the trust the community has in you, so it's important you understand how they work before attempting to use them. Here you can learn about everything you can do, and some of the features you'll be able to test out in a safe environment without worry of causing disruption. Spending 15 or 20 minutes here may seem well worth it if it keeps you from ending up in the village stocks.

Please note that as an operator of an account with administrative privileges, you should review your user account security practices. You may also wish to subscribe to the Administrators' newsletter to stay up to date with relevant discussions and technology changes.

Some of these pages will provide you with a way to practice using the tools in an environment that will not harm the encyclopedia. Others simply document what you are able to do and their best practices.

• Viewing deleted pages and contributions
• Rollback
• Protecting
• Deleting
• Fixing cut-and-paste moves (e.g. WP:HISTMERGE)
• Blocking
• Granting and revoking user rights
• Cleaning backlogs
• Dealing with spam
• Dealing with disputes
• Edit filters
• Tools, scripts and gadgets

• WP:Administrators' reading list
• WP:Advice for new administrators
• WP:Closing discussions – a frequent admin task, but not covered in the guide above
• WP:In the news/Administrator instructions
• WP:List of administrators
• WP:What adminship is not (essay)
• Category:Administrative backlog
• Template:Admin dashboard
• Help:Two-factor authentication – highly recommended settings to increase the security of your administrator account