Jump to content

VisualEditor/Suggestion Mode

Issue tracker: #VisualEditor Suggestion Mode
From mediawiki.org
Wikimedia Foundation projects
Suggestion Mode
Edit suggestions to improve articles.
Group: Editing
Start: 2025-10-01
Team members: David Chan, David Lynch, Esther Akinloose, Marielle Volz, Rummana Yasmeen, Nicolas Ayoub, Quiddity, Ed Sanders, Zoe, Caro Medelius
Backlog: #VisualEditor_Suggestion_Mode
Management: Peter Pelberg (product), Valerie Puffet-Michel (engineering)

Suggestion Mode is a new feature for the VisualEditor that proactively suggests actions that people can consider taking to improve Wikipedia articles. It is available as a Beta Feature (in your user-Preferences) on some wikis.

This work is an effort to inspire people to publish constructive changes to Wikipedia that they might not otherwise while reducing toil involved with doing so.

To participate in and follow this project's development, we recommend adding this page to your watchlist.

Status

[edit]

Beta feature

[edit]

In February 2026, Suggestion Mode was released as a Beta Feature at the English Wikipedia. In March 2026 it will be released as a global Beta Feature. In the future we plan to make it available to newcomers (fewer than 100 edits) and to other language wikis.

User script

[edit]

As of February 2026, Suggestion Mode, along with an experimental set of edit suggestions, is available at all Wikipedias (including testwiki) via user script.

To install the script:

  1. Visit: meta:Special:MyPage/global.js
  2. Tap Edit source
  3. Paste the following code:
    mw.loader.load( 'https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:DLynch_(WMF)/alwaysbesuggesting.js&action=raw&ctype=text/javascript' );
  4. Tap Publish changes
  5. Yes Done

Objectives

[edit]

Suggestion Mode aims to:

  1. Inspire newcomers to publish constructive changes to Wikipedia that they might not have considered making, and to learn about guidelines
  2. Reduce the time and effort experienced volunteers allocate to:
    1. Find issues worth addressing
    2. Assemble the context and tools needed to act

Background

[edit]

Editing Wikipedia on the web often involves multiple browser tabs.

Newcomers are often unaware of the policies and guidelines that apply to the change(s) they are seeking to make and thus, unaware of the tabs they would benefit from opening.[1]

Experienced volunteers are often needing to consult a variety of pages (e.g. talk pages, watchlist, policy and guideline documentation, WikiProjects, noticeboards, etc.) in order to identify potential edits and in some cases, assemble the context needed to decide what (if any) action(s) to take.

This is particularly problematic on mobile devices where space and patience is limited.

There are a large number of newcomers who click "Edit" in mobile web and then don't attempt to save anything.[2][3]

With the above in mind, Suggestion Mode is meant to reduce the toil involved with:

  1. Locating issues within Wikipedia
  2. Assembling the context and tools needed to act

Design

[edit]

Gallery of recent desktop designs (wording, links, and designs be updated in newer releases):

Gallery of recent mobile designs:

  • "Convert citation" (mobile) example on the article w:en:Gooseberry
    "Convert citation" (mobile) example on the article w:en:Gooseberry
  • "Missing caption" (mobile) example on the article w:en:Guava
    "Missing caption" (mobile) example on the article w:en:Guava

Gallery of the proposed workflow for offering feedback about specific suggestions:

  • Desktop feedback workflow
    Desktop feedback workflow
  • Mobile feedback workflow
    Mobile feedback workflow

Earlier designs and details can be seen in T404604 - Design Suggestion "card" component MVP

Configurability

[edit]

Volunteers will be able to configure each Suggestion that is available within Suggestion Mode. This pattern is consistent with how Edit Checks are implemented. Existing configurations are listed at each wiki at their Special:EditChecks page, and can be adjusted by administrators at the linked json page.

Configurability will happen on a per project basis so that volunteers can ensure each Suggestion aligns with local policies and conventions and is integrated with existing moderation processes.

The aspects of a suggestion that are community configurable will vary on a case-by-case basis.

If there are particular aspects of Suggestions that you think need to be configured on-wiki, we ask that you share what you are thinking in T327959 or on the talk page.

Edit Check

[edit]

Suggestion Mode is related to the the larger Edit check project in so far as the suggestions that appear within Suggestion Mode are implemented using the Edit Check platform/framework.

Inspiration and alignment

[edit]

Volunteers throughout the movement have a long history of coming up with creative ways to address these challenges.

The Editing Team and this project continue to be inspired by, and see alignment between, these efforts, some of which are listed in T360489 - [EPIC] Generate and present edit suggestions at scale, and in Edit check/Ideas.

The project has been discussed in a few Community Conversations meetings, where volunteers expressed excitement about Suggestion Mode's potential to integrate community-developed tools into the core user experience.

If there is a project or resource you think we should be aware of, please add it here!

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ New Editor Experiences
  2. ↑ Product and Technology Advisory Council/February 2025 draft PTAC recommendation for feedback/Mobile experiences
  3. ↑ Diffblog: Insights on mobile web editing on Wikipedia in 2025 (Part I)
Retrieved from "https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=VisualEditor/Suggestion_Mode&oldid=8258237"