Hi Igal. I am working closely with User:DKinzler (WMF) on this, who has been corresponding with you on-wiki.
We're thinking about how best to handle this and work with you on a solution. We can certainly help with priority reviews and potentially more actively if desired. Let's continue the conversation on the Talk page. On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 at 19:48, יגאל חיטרון <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi. Could you give a better approximation for the date for the browser > limits applying? Because looks like > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits#Rate_limits> > I > need to rewrite a whole MediaWiki extension by then, and it will take time > for me to write and debug, hopely about a week, and then enough time for > reviewers to approve the change, and then waiting for the next deployment > train. > Thank you, > Igal (User:IKhitron) > > > > <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> > Virus-free.www.avg.com > <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> > <#m_9012968100391432129_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> > > בתאריך יום ב׳, 2 במרץ 2026 ב-18:44 מאת Jonathan Tweed via Wikitech-l < > [email protected]>: > >> Hi all >> >> To help ensure fair and sustainable access >> <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_Product_Insights/Content_Reuse> >> to Wikimedia resources, over the next month the Wikimedia Foundation will >> implement global API rate limits across our APIs. >> >> Why we’re doing this >> >> As we’ve shared over the last year >> <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/04/01/how-crawlers-impact-the-operations-of-the-wikimedia-projects/>, >> since 2024 we’ve observed a significant rise in automated requests, across >> scraping, APIs and bulk downloads. This is continuing to cause >> unsustainable load on our infrastructure, taking time and resources away >> that we need to support the Wikimedia projects, contributors and readers. >> >> To ensure we can continue to provide preferential access for human and >> mission-oriented traffic, we need to reduce the amount of unidentified >> requests to our APIs from its current level of around 33%. This reduction >> will also enable us to improve governance around fair use, in line with our >> API >> Usage Guidelines >> <https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Wikimedia_Foundation_API_Usage_Guidelines> >> . >> >> What we’re doing >> >> In early March, we will apply low limits to anonymous API requests that >> originate from outside Toolforge/WMCS and requests that are made from web >> browsers. In early April, higher limits will be applied to identified >> traffic, including authenticated requests. >> >> Authenticated requests from a user in the ‘bot’ user group on any wiki >> will not be subject to these new limits, nor will clients which are well >> known to the Wikimedia Foundation. API requests from Toolforge/WMCS will >> also be exempt from rate limits for now. >> >> Regardless, all developers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with >> the new limits and associated best practices to ensure they are not >> misclassified as abusive traffic. You can find this information at Wikimedia >> APIs/Rate limits >> <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits>. >> >> What this means in practice >> >> Tools that use Wikimedia-hosted APIs, including Gadgets that make API >> requests, may be subject to new cross-API limits that are global across all >> Wikimedia projects. These limits are intentionally set as high as possible >> to minimise impact on the community. >> >> We are asking developers to identify their requests to access higher >> limits. Tools running in Toolforge/WMCS are exempted for now, but we >> request that you follow the User-Agent policy >> <https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Wikimedia_Foundation_User-Agent_Policy> >> and provide a meaningful User-Agent to help us correctly identify the >> source of traffic. >> >> Otherwise, authenticating using session cookies or OAuth 2.0 will grant a >> higher limit. Where the authenticated user has the community approved bot >> right on any wiki, this will also exempt you from limits, even when the >> tool is not running on Toolforge/WMCS. >> >> This request for authentication is a change from the previous guidance in >> the Robot policy, which suggested not authenticating to improve cache hit >> rates. We do not expect any significant impact from this change with >> current usage patterns and will be working over the next year to improve >> caching for authenticated requests. >> >> Community impact >> >> A key principle throughout this work has been to ensure responsible use >> of our infrastructure, whilst minimizing the impact on the community. Our >> communities rely on a broad ecosystem of bots and other tools to create and >> maintain the wikis, created by a dedicated group of technical volunteers. >> >> These limits are being put in place to protect our projects from high >> levels of abuse and ensure that we are able to better insulate our >> community infrastructure from high-volume commercial usage. They are >> necessary to ensure that developers are using the most appropriate >> channels, giving us the ability to prioritize the community and our human >> readers. >> >> Ideally, members of Wikimedia communities will not be affected by this >> change. However, it is possible that a small number of bots and other tools >> which operate at a very high rate may get rate limited. We ask you to >> follow the best practices and are here to help bot operators get the access >> they need. >> >> What we need you to do >> >> If you are a developer that uses Wikimedia APIs, we ask you to: >> >> - >> >> Read more about the new limits >> <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_APIs/Rate_limits> and the >> updated Robot policy >> <https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Robot_policy> >> - >> >> Update your tools/bots to follow the new best practices >> >> Should you require a higher rate of access, you are able to: >> >> - >> >> Request the bot flag <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Bots> >> from your local wiki community >> - >> >> Consider running in Toolforge or another WMCS offering >> - >> >> Use Wikimedia Enterprise APIs >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Enterprise#Access> for >> high-volume usage >> >> >> - >> >> Contact the WMF at [email protected] >> >> Best >> >> Jonathan >> >> -- >> *Jonathan Tweed* (he/him) >> Senior Product Manager, Core Platform >> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikitech-l mailing list -- [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/wikitech-l.lists.wikimedia.org/ > >
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