An “internal error” while saving a MediaWiki edit is a symptom, not a diagnosis. The cause may be a permission or token rejection, a PHP exception, a JavaScript or VisualEditor failure, a web-application firewall rule, a broken session, or an incomplete upgrade. The fastest safe path is to reproduce the failure with a one-character test edit, capture the exact response and timestamp, then correlate that request with MediaWiki, PHP, and web-server logs.
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Do not start by changing random PHP settings or weakening security filters. First determine whether the failure affects one page or every page, one account or every user, source editing or VisualEditor, and a tiny edit or only particular markup. Those comparisons reduce the search to a specific layer.
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What an edit-time “internal error” actually tells you
MediaWiki can display a generic internal-error page when the application cannot complete an edit request or when an editor cannot load its supporting modules. The message alone does not identify the failing component. A server-side exception may be hidden from visitors, while a browser-side error can look similar even though the save endpoint is healthy.
Classify the symptom before changing configuration:
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- Save is denied with a clear message: protection, namespace restrictions, a block, rate limiting, read-only mode, an invalid edit token, or a disabled write API is more likely than a PHP crash.
- The response is HTTP 500 or shows an exception: inspect MediaWiki and PHP logs for the stack trace.
- The editor is blank, the toolbar is missing, or VisualEditor reports a startup error: inspect browser console and Network requests, ResourceLoader output, temporary-directory permissions, and server responses.
- A small edit works but a real edit returns 403, redirects, or vanishes: a request filter such as
mod_securityor a web-application firewall may be matching the content. - You are repeatedly logged out or receive an invalid-token error: investigate cookies, session storage, privacy extensions, and token handling.
There is no authoritative published prevalence rate for these failures. Treat each incident as a request-tracing problem rather than assuming that one cause is common.
Start with a controlled reproduction
Make the first test as small and repeatable as possible. If the original page contains private or destructive content, use a sandbox or a dedicated test page.
- Open the same page in the same editor mode that failed. Note whether it is the source editor, VisualEditor, or another editing interface.
- Copy the current wikitext or draft locally so a failed submission does not destroy your work. Preserve the edit summary as well.
- On a sandbox or test page, change one character or add a short, harmless sentence. Save it once. Do not paste the full original text during this first comparison.
- Record the exact on-screen message, the action URL, the page title, the UTC timestamp, the HTTP status shown by the browser, and whether the page redirected.
- Repeat the tiny edit in the other editor mode, if available. If possible, test a second account and a private browser window without changing the server configuration.
- Check page history and Recent Changes after each attempt. A browser error does not always mean that the edit was not committed.
Keep these observations together with the incident:
| Comparison | What a difference suggests |
|---|---|
| Every page versus one page | Every page points to shared configuration, sessions, or infrastructure; one page points to protection, content filtering, or a page-specific hook. |
| Every user versus one account | Every user points to the server or site policy; one account points to a block, rights, cookies, or account-specific state. |
| Source editor versus VisualEditor | Only VisualEditor suggests JavaScript, ResourceLoader, or API-module problems; only source editing suggests wikitext processing or a content filter. |
| Tiny edit versus particular markup | Only the larger or specific edit suggests request filtering, a parser or extension hook, size limits, or problematic content. |
| HTTP 403, 500, redirect, or no response | 403 commonly indicates policy or a request filter; 500 indicates an application or PHP failure; redirects and missing responses require URL, rewrite, and session checks. |
| Before versus after an upgrade | A change immediately after upgrading MediaWiki, PHP, or an extension raises compatibility and incomplete-database-update questions. |
Rule out policy and API conditions before debugging PHP
The Action API exposes several conditions that users may describe as an “internal error” even though the server is enforcing a rule. Check the detailed API response, not just the page heading.
| Condition | Typical implication | Appropriate action |
|---|---|---|
| Protected page or namespace | The account lacks the right to edit that title or namespace. | Ask an administrator to confirm protection settings or use an account with the required right. |
| Blocked or autoblocked user | The account or its network is barred from editing. | Review the block reason and expiry with an administrator; do not attempt to evade it. |
| Rate limit | Too many requests have arrived in the configured interval. | Wait for the limit to clear and reduce automated or repeated requests. |
| Read-only mode | Writes are intentionally disabled, often during maintenance. | Wait for the maintenance window to end or ask the operator when writes will resume. |
| Invalid or expired token | The form token no longer matches the current session. | Reload the edit form, then investigate cookies and session persistence if it recurs. |
| Aborted extension hook | An extension stopped the save while validating or transforming the edit. | Inspect the server log and extension compatibility; disabling the extension should be a controlled test, not a permanent fix. |
| Disabled write API | Site configuration prevents API-based writes used by some editors. | Have an administrator review API and editor configuration. |
unknownerror |
The API could not provide a more specific condition; the documentation notes that a rare race condition is possible. | Retry once. If it repeats, capture the request and logs rather than treating the label as a diagnosis. |
A clear policy response requires a rights, account, token, configuration, or operational fix. Randomly editing PHP code will not remove a page-protection or block decision.
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Capture the real server exception safely
For a short, controlled diagnostic window, a wiki administrator can expose exception details and write a debug log from LocalSettings.php. The relevant settings are:
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$wgDebugLogFile = "/path outside the public web root/mediawiki-debug.log";The exact log path is an administrator decision. The PHP and web-server account must be able to create and append to it. If the account cannot write the destination, the setting may appear to do nothing.
“To save errors and debugging information to a log, add
$wgDebugLogFileto theLocalSettings.phpfile.” — MediaWiki Manual: How to debug, official documentation reviewed 2026-10-15.
Never leave verbose exception output enabled on a public wiki. Stack traces and debug logs can contain credentials, cookies, submitted form values, file paths, and other private data. Place the log outside the document root or protect it from web access, restrict filesystem permissions, and remove or archive it securely after diagnosis. Turn off $wgShowExceptionDetails, restore normal logging settings, and keep a rollback copy of LocalSettings.php before making the change.
Reproduce the original request once while the diagnostic settings are active. Search the resulting log at the recorded UTC time for the exception class, message, request path, and stack trace. A stack trace that names an extension, database query, parser, or hook is substantially more useful than the browser’s generic heading. Sanitize any excerpt before sharing it.
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Diagnose blank editors and VisualEditor failures in the browser
When the page loads but the editor is blank, the toolbar is absent, or VisualEditor displays Internal error Problematic modules: {"startup":"error"}, use the browser’s built-in developer tools.
- Open Developer Tools, select the Console panel, clear old messages, and reload the editor. Record the first relevant JavaScript error, not only the final cascade of failures.
- Select the Network panel, reload again, and filter for failed requests. Inspect
load.php, API calls, editor startup requests, and any response with HTTP 4xx or 5xx status. - Open a failed response body. It should contain the expected JavaScript, JSON, or API response. An HTML login page, hosting error page, or injected notice in place of that response can break the editor even when the PHP exception is elsewhere.
- Compare a normal page load with the editor load. A missing or cached ResourceLoader response, an HTTP 500 response, or a redirect to a different host identifies the layer to investigate.
- For the documented
startupsymptom, verify that PHP can write the system temporary directory (/tmpon typical Unix-like systems or the Windows temporary directory), thatopen_basediris not blocking it, and that$wgTmpDirectorypoints to a writable location. Test the directory with the same operating-system account used by the web server.
Do not paste private request headers, cookies, authorization values, or edit text into a public bug report. A sanitized console error plus the failing request path, status, timestamp, browser version, and editor mode is usually sufficient for the first escalation.
Test web-application firewalls, filters, and rewrites
Selective failures often occur above MediaWiki. A request filter such as mod_security, a Cloudflare or AWS WAF rule, or another hosting security layer may reject text that resembles code, SQL, a script, or a long encoded value. The filter can return 403, redirect the request, or terminate the connection before MediaWiki processes the edit.
Use a differential content test
- Save a one-character change on the same page or a test page.
- Save the original text after removing one suspected passage, then add portions back in small groups.
- Compare the HTTP status and server/WAF event for each attempt.
- Ask the hosting administrator for the rule ID and matched field. Do not request a blanket firewall bypass when a narrow exception or corrected content is possible.
If the tiny edit succeeds but a particular passage fails, preserve the WAF event, timestamp, and request path and have the operator tune only the identified rule with compensating controls. Never weaken a WAF globally just to make one edit pass.
Investigate redirects and edits that disappear
If even a tiny edit redirects or never appears in history, inspect the site’s canonical URL and rewrite configuration. An administrator should verify $wgServer, the index.php path settings, and web-server rewrite rules so that the edit form, API endpoint, and save request all resolve to the same wiki host and path. A mismatch can send the POST to another location, lose the session cookie, or return an HTML page instead of the expected response.
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Repair session, cookie, and token problems
“Loss of session data,” repeated login prompts, and invalid-token messages usually mean that the browser and server disagree about session state.
- Clear cookies for the affected wiki, close the tab, and sign in again. Repeat in a private window or a second browser to separate account state from browser state.
- Temporarily disable privacy or ad-blocking extensions for the wiki and retry. Re-enable them after testing.
- In Developer Tools, check that the login and edit requests return the expected session cookie, use the same host and scheme, and do not bounce between hosts.
- Ask the administrator to verify that the configured session backend persists data between requests and that PHP
session.auto_startis not enabled. - Review the
authentication,session,cookie,objectcache,exception,error, andfatallogs around the UTC failure time.
Include the browser and version, privacy settings, exact time, action URL, and affected account(s) in a bug report. Never include raw cookies or tokens.
Check upgrades, extensions, and deferred work
A failure that begins immediately after a MediaWiki, PHP, or extension upgrade deserves a change-focused investigation. Verify that the installed extension versions support the MediaWiki and PHP versions in use. Confirm that the release-appropriate database/update maintenance procedure completed successfully; an incomplete schema update can surface as a database query exception during editing.
Review the debug log for the first exception after the upgrade, not merely the final browser message. If an extension hook appears in the stack trace, reproduce on a maintenance window with a rollback plan and test the extension configuration or a compatible release. Keep the original configuration and database backup available before changing versions.
Some work is deferred until after the HTTP response is sent. For example, persistence related to Recent Changes can fail after the user has received a success-looking response. The editor may show no error even though the log contains an error or exception. Search the debug log for those terms at the request time and inspect the complete stack trace. Verify both the page history and Recent Changes rather than trusting the browser response alone.
Apply one targeted change at a time
Once evidence identifies a layer, make the smallest reversible correction:
- Rights or protection: change the page or namespace policy only if that policy is intended to permit the edit.
- Token or session: correct cookie/session persistence or reload the form; do not disable token checks.
- ResourceLoader or temporary directory: fix filesystem ownership, permissions, path restrictions, or the configured temporary location.
- WAF or request filter: adjust the specific matching rule, document the exception, and retain monitoring.
- Rewrite or canonical URL: align the server URL, index path, and rewrite rules so all edit requests remain on one host and path.
- Upgrade or extension: complete the required update procedure, restore a compatible version, or correct the extension configuration.
- Application exception: fix the named code or data condition indicated by the sanitized stack trace; do not suppress the exception merely to hide the message.
Change one variable, record what changed, and keep a rollback copy of LocalSettings.php. Bundling unrelated edits makes the next failure impossible to interpret.
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Use a safe retest loop
- Reproduce the original failing request, using the same page, account, editor, and edit text where it is safe to do so.
- Repeat the one-character test edit to confirm that the baseline path still works.
- Test source editing and VisualEditor separately if both are affected.
- Confirm that the edit appears in page history and Recent Changes, and verify that no duplicate save occurred.
- Compare the relevant log entries before and after the change. A disappearing browser error is not proof that the underlying exception is gone.
- Restore normal debug settings, remove or protect sensitive logs, and document the final cause and corrective change.
What to send when escalating
An administrator or hosting provider can act much faster with a complete, sanitized report. Include:
- Exact error text, including the full API error code or the VisualEditor module name.
- UTC timestamp, page title, action URL, and HTTP status.
- Whether the failure reproduces with a one-character edit, and whether it affects other pages, users, or editor modes.
- MediaWiki, PHP, database, web-server, and browser versions, plus the operating system where relevant.
- Recent MediaWiki, PHP, extension, configuration, hosting, or firewall changes.
- A sanitized stack trace and the smallest relevant log excerpt, with cookies, passwords, tokens, private edit text, and personal data removed.
- Whether the edit appears in page history or Recent Changes despite the visible error.
State what you already tested: a private window, a second account, source versus VisualEditor, a minimal edit, and the before/after log result. This prevents responders from repeating safe checks and focuses attention on the first failing component.
Bottom line
Find the boundary where the request changes from working to failing. A policy response needs a rights or operational correction; a 500 response needs the server exception; an editor startup failure needs browser and ResourceLoader evidence; selective 403 responses need filter analysis; and repeated login or token errors need session testing. Reproduce minimally, log briefly and privately, change one thing, verify history and Recent Changes, then remove diagnostic exposure.
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