Question: Which Endpoint

[tim-moody]

• If run against a WMF wiki, mwoffliner by default uses the endpoint /api/rest_v1, which stock mediawiki does not support.
• mwoffliner:dev with --forceRender="RestApi" uses the endpoint /w/rest.php/v1/page, which both WMF and stock mediawikis support.
• It looks like the ZimFarm currently uses mwoffliner:dev. Is it also possible to specify --forceRender="RestApi" in a recipe?
• mwoffliner:dev --help does not explicitly mention RestApi as a value for --forceRender, but mwoffliner:dev accepts it and then uses the rest.php endpoint
• Can we assume that RestApi is to be a supported value for --forceRender going forward?

[kelson42]

Many things written are wrong/false but I don't have time right now to go and check each of them again.

[audiodude]

• If run against a WMF wiki, mwoffliner by default uses the endpoint /api/rest_v1, which stock mediawiki does not support.

The tool has mechanisms for detecting which APIs are supported, as well as a preferential order for selecting one.

• mwoffliner:dev with --forceRender="RestApi" uses the endpoint /w/rest.php/v1/page, which both WMF and stock mediawikis support.

Correct.

• It looks like the ZimFarm currently uses mwoffliner:dev. Is it also possible to specify --forceRender="RestApi" in a recipe?

Some recipes are using mwoffliner:dev, for testing, however it has not been widely adopted yet. I believe using that parameter should be acceptable for that mwoffliner version.

• mwoffliner:dev --help does not explicitly mention RestApi as a value for --forceRender, but mwoffliner:dev accepts it and then uses the rest.php endpoint

#2102

• Can we assume that RestApi is to be a supported value for --forceRender going forward?

Yes.

[kelson42]

On Wikimedia, MWoffliner should use "WikimediaMobile" for articles per default, if not, this is a bug. Mobile is the strategy of MWoffliner since... always (so nore than 10 years).

For the API, the doc is here https://github.com/openzim/mwoffliner/wiki/API-end%E2%80%90points, it's important to read faq and doc before asking.

Each recipe of the Zimfarm decides which scraper versions and all recipes of MWoffliner are currently paudes. All of this has already been said and is clearly indicated on each Zimfarm recipe.

[tim-moody]

For the API, the doc is here https://github.com/openzim/mwoffliner/wiki/API-end%E2%80%90points, it's important to read faq and doc before asking.

I have read this too many times. I don't see anything relevant in https://kiwix.org/en/frequently-asked-questions/

I have also read https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:REST_API (see the comparison at the bottom)

The API endpoints doc is not consistent with either the latest or dev code or the help.

Many things written are wrong/false but I don't have time right now to go and check each of them again.

I find it more incomplete than false. There is no mention of version of mwoffliner or forceRender or the default or the algorithm by which the endpoint is probed and selected. One might think that ActionParse is a parameter or a value, but if it is I haven't found it. Same for RestApi if we are not talking about dev. I understand that there are many things that compete with reworking documentation.

Can we assume that RestApi is to be a supported value for --forceRender going forward?

Yes

Thanks and I see this is now in 1.14.0-dev --help.