Patch demo

PatchDemo is a rather interesting Wikimedia project. It allows users to spin up temporary MediaWiki instances from version 1.23 to the beta 1.39 builds and apply any patches they want. It's also a good way to test out MediaWiki without vandalism complaints or being blocked. Users will also need a Wikimedia account, which can be done easily.

Example of a PatchDemo wiki

How to create a wiki

Do not store any sensitive data on wikis created with Patch demo. They are not guaranteed to stay up permanently!

It's very simple.

1. You must go to the website.
2. Sign in with your Wikimedia account.
3. Select a MediaWiki version, master is the default (and loads the newest 1.39 build), You can also select 1.38 if that's your gig.
4. You can add any patches from Gerrit if you want.
5. Fill out the rest.
6. Click "Create demo"!, the website will automatically install MediaWiki for you and set up the database. You will receive a browser notification (if you enabled them) when your wiki is created.

Closing a wiki

Just like creating a wiki, closing it is simple.

1. Go back to the website.
2. Under "My wikis", click Delete under the wiki you want to close.
3. Confirm the deletion
4. Done!

Running it yourself

Disclaimer: This project is not secure, it is designed for users to run arbitary code, and wikis are not isolated. You are fully responsible if something happens if you run this on your host.

Running it is extremely simple, these steps were tested on Debian 10:

1. Put the entire Git repo in /var/www/html
2. Run sudo setup.sh
3. Visit localhost in your browser!