This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference.

Magic links were removed from the MediaWiki code in March 2021 (see this MediaWiki RfC). This March 2017 (English Wikipedia) RfC determined that these magic links on the English Wikipedia should be replaced by the ((ISBN)), ((PMID)), and ((IETF RFC)) templates.

This help page is a how-to guide.

It details processes or procedures of some aspect(s) of Wikipedia's norms and practices. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus and vetting.

Wikitext Cheatsheet All wikitext Sound files Visual files Tables Templates (quick guide) Using HTML codes within wikitext Pipe trick .mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}v t e

Magic links are automatic links for certain unique identifiers that require no markup. This functionality is expected to be removed from the MediaWiki software; users are encouraged to use the corresponding templates.

ISBN[edit]

The following instructions are deprecated. Editors should use the ((ISBN)) template to link ISBNs.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. The created link is to Special:BookSources. The allowable formats are:

10 or 13 digits
optional delimiting hyphens or spaces
1 check character

Markup	Renders as
ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7	ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7
ISBN 1413304540	ISBN 1413304540

See Category:Pages using ISBN magic links.

PMID[edit]

The following instructions are deprecated. Editors should use the ((PMID)) template to link PMIDs.

A PMID (PubMed identifier or PubMed unique identifier) is a unique number assigned to a PubMed record.

Markup	Renders as
PMID 11209037	PMID 11209037.

See Category:Pages using PMID magic links.

RFC[edit]

The following instructions are deprecated. Editors should use the ((IETF RFC)) template to link IETF RFCs.

A Request for Comments (RFC) is a memorandum published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Markup	Renders as
RFC 5620	RFC 5620

See Category:Pages using RFC magic links.

Suppressing the link[edit]

The following instructions will no longer be necessary when magic links are disabled.

If no link is desired, insert <nowiki /> between the identifier and the value.

Markup	Renders as
ISBN <nowiki />978-0-306-40615-7	ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7

Or alternatively, wrap <nowiki>...</nowiki> around the entire magic link:

Markup	Renders as
<nowiki>ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7</nowiki>	ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7

Technical[edit]

Magic links are rendered by Parser.php. The links for PMID and RFC are rendered by MediaWiki interface pages:

PMID: MediaWiki:Pubmedurl
RFC: MediaWiki:Rfcurl

See also[edit]

mw:Manual:$wgUrlProtocols, which creates automatic links for various protocols

v t e Wikipedia technical help
Get personal technical help at the Teahouse, help desk, village pump (technical), talk pages or IRC.
General technical help	Browser notes Bypass cache Keyboard shortcuts Editing CharInsert Edit conflict Edit toolbar Reverting How to create a page IRC Tutorial Mobile access Multilingual support Page history Page information Page name Help Printing Software notices Editnotice Special Characters Entering User access levels VisualEditor Help
Special page-related	Special page help AllPages Edit filter Emailing users Logging in Reset passwords Logs Moving a page History merging Non-admin and admin-only page moves Notifications/Echo FAQ Page Curation Page import Pending changes Random pages Recent changes Related changes Searching Linksearch Tags User contributions Watchlist What links here
Wikitext	Wikitext Cheatsheet Columns Line-break handling Lists Magic words For beginners Conditional expressions Switch parser function Time function Redirects Sections and TOCs Tables Introduction Basics Advanced table formatting Collapsing Conditional tables Sortable tables Using colours
Links and diffs	Links Interlanguage Interwiki Permanent Diffs Simplest diff guide Simple diff and link guide Complete diff and link guide Colon trick Link color Pipe trick URLs
Media files: images, videos and sounds	Media help Files Creation and usage Moving files to Commons Images Introduction to images Picture tutorial Preparing images for upload Uploading images Options to hide an image Extended image syntax SVG help Gallery tag Graphics tutorials Basic bitmap image editing How to improve image quality Graphics Lab resources Sound file markup Visual file markup
Other graphics	Family trees Graphs and charts How to create Barcharts To scale charts Math formulas Math symbols Musical scores Musical symbols Timeline EasyTimeline syntax WikiHiero syntax
Templates and Lua modules	Templates Advanced template coding Template documentation Template index Template limits Template sandbox and test cases Citation templates Lua help Lua project Resources To do Substitution Purge Job queue Transclusion Labeled section Costs and benefits Guide to Scribbling
Data structure	Namespaces Main/Article Category Draft File File description page Help Portal Project/Wikipedia Talk Archiving Simple Template User User page design MediaWiki Bug reports and feature requests TimedMediaHandler extension Module Special
HTML and CSS	Cascading Style Sheets HTML in wikitext Catalogue of CSS classes Common.js and common.css User CSS for monospaced coding font Classes in microformats Markup validation Span tags Useful styles
Customisation and tools	Preferences Gadgets Skins Citation tools Cleaning up vandalism tools Customizing watchlists Hide pages IRC Scripts User scripts Guide List Techniques User style Tools Alternative browsing Browser tools Editing tools Navigation shortcuts Optimum tool set Wikimedia Cloud Services Beta Features at MediaWiki
Automated editing	AfC helper script AntiVandal AutoWikiBrowser Bots Creating history HotCat Huggle Navigation popups RedWarn Twinkle Ultraviolet WPCleaner Inactive igloo STiki
See also: Category:Wikipedia how-to Category:Wikipedia information pages Further navigation at: Help pages Administrators Accessibility Accounts Bots Referencing Citation metadata Templates User scripts