Template:Webarchive

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This template is used on approximately 507,000 pages, or roughly 1313% of all pages.
To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This template is intended for external links. It is not designed for use as a citation template.

This template uses Lua:

{{Webarchive}} is for linking to web archiving services such as the Wayback Machine, WebCite and all other web archiving services.

This template is a replacement for {{wayback}}, {{webcite}}, {{memento}} and {{cite archives}}.

An alternative way to include a link to an archived copy of a page in a reference to a source is to use one of the many variants of the {{citation}} template such as {{cite web}}, with the archive-url, archive-date, and url-status parameters.

Usage

In most cases the template needs only two parameters, the archive |url= and archive |date=. It is also common to include a |title=. For some URLs, the template can automatically display the date. To prevent the template from adding a wikilink to the name of the web archiving site, use the |nolink= parameter with any value.

Usage with |url= and |date=: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |date=2 August 2016}}; Archived 2 Ogasiti 2016 at the Wayback Machine; {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=12 February 2009}}; Archived 12 Febuluwale 2009 at WebCite

Usage with |url= and |title=: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |title=Page title}}; Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-08-02); {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |title=Page title}}; Page title at WebCite (archived 2009-02-12)

Usage with |url=, |date= and |title=: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |date=August 2, 2016 |title=Page title}}; Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived Ogasiti 2, 2016); {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=February 12, 2009 |title=Page title}}; Page title at WebCite (archived Febuluwale 12, 2009)

Usage with |url=, |date= and |nolink=: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |date=August 2, 2016 |nolink=y}}; Archived Ogasiti 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine; {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=February 12, 2009 |nolink=1}}; Archived Febuluwale 12, 2009, at WebCite

Multiple URLs

Options

Main options

url..url10: The URL(s) to the archive service. There should always be a |url= which counts as the first url. Each |url#= can have its own numbered corresponding |date#= and |title#=. Matching of URL with date and title is done by numbers, not position. Numbers do not need to be in sequence, for example |url2= followed by |url5= works.
date..date10: The date the page was archived. The date format displayed is the same as entered. If |date= is missing the template will make a best effort to find the date by decoding the archive URL (wayback and webcite for example provide this data in the URL), and will display the date in iso format by default. However including a date is recommended for date formatting reasons, and because other tools may not have the ability to decode the date from the URL.
title..title10: The text displayed for the link. If no |title= is provided then |date= is displayed. Otherwise |title= takes precedence if both are set.

Secondary options

nolink: If set to any value, the archive service name will not be wikilinked.
format: This is a special option to support the merger of {{cite archives}}. It may be deprecated in the future. Because CS1|2 templates do not currently support more than one archive link, this template will tack on additional archive links to the end of a CS1|2 template output. It takes two values: |format=addlarchives or |format=addlpages. Addlarchives will display output appropriate for linking to multiple web archiving services. Addlpages will display output appropriate for linking to multiple pages at the same archive.

Examples

The number of possible examples is extensive depending on the mix of options. Some common cases follow. For more extensive testing see the testcases page.

Single link at Wayback Machine with date and title (recommended method): {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |date=August 2, 2016 |title=Page title}}; Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived Ogasiti 2, 2016)

Single link at Wayback Machine with date only: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |date=August 1, 2016}}; Archived Ogasiti 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

Single link at Wayback Machine with title; date extracted from URL: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |title=Example}}; Example at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-08-02); {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |title=Example |date=mdy}}; Example at the Wayback Machine (archived Ogasiti 2, 2016); {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |title=Example |date=dmy}}; Example at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 Ogasiti 2016)

Single link at WebCite with title; date extracted from URL: {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com |title=Example}}; Example at WebCite (archived 2009-02-12); {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com |title=Example |date=mdy}}; Example at WebCite (archived Febuluwale 12, 2009); {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com |title=Example |date=dmy}}; Example at WebCite (archived 12 Febuluwale 2009)

Single link at archive.today with title; date extracted from URL: {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/2016.08.08-112330/http://example.com |title=Example}}; Example at archive.today (archived 2016-08-08); {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/2016.08.08-112330/http://example.com |title=Example |date=mdy}}; Example at archive.today (archived Ogasiti 8, 2016); {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/2016.08.08-112330/http://example.com |title=Example |date=dmy}}; Example at archive.today (archived 8 Ogasiti 2016)

Multi-link at Wayback Machine with dates and titles (recommended method): {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |title=Page title |date=August 2, 2016 |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902000046/http://example.com/ |title2=Page2 title |date2=September 2, 2016}}; Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived Ogasiti 2, 2016). Additional archives: Page2 title.

Multi-link at Wayback Machine with dates only: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |date=August 2, 2016 |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902000046/http://example.com/ |date2=September 2, 2016}}; Archived Ogasiti 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Additional archives: September 2, 2016.

Multi-link at Wayback Machine with titles only: {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/ |title=Page title |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902000046/http://example.com/ |title2=Page2 title}}; Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-08-02). Additional archives: Page2 title.

Additional archives format: {{webarchive |format=addlarchives |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=12 February 2009}}; Additional archives: 12 Febuluwale 2009.

Additional pages format: {{webarchive |format=addlpages |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902000046/http://example.com/ |date=12 February 2009}}; Additional pages archived on 12 Febuluwale 2009: Page 1, Page 2.

Tracking categories

The template has a number of hidden tracking categories which may be added (via Module:Webarchive):

Category:Webarchive template wayback links (128): links to Wayback Machine
Category:Webarchive template webcite links (2): links to WebCite
Category:Webarchive template archiveis links (11): links to Archive.is
Category:Webarchive template other archives (3): links to known archive sites that don't have their own tracking category
Category:Webarchive template unknown archives (1): the template doesn't recognize the archive URL; this may indicate an error in the data; or the template itself needs updating to reflect a new archive site
Category:Webarchive template warnings (2): soft errors that do not prevent the template from working but leave a red message
Category:Webarchive template errors (0): errors typically requiring human intervention

Template maintenance

The following can be done to maintain the template.

Monitor tracking categories

The tracking categories for "warnings" and "errors" can be monitored to alert for any problems in the data.
The tracking category for "unknown archives" may indicate a problem in the data; for example an editor used the source URL instead of the archive URL in the |url= field.

Monitor template argument usage

This tool shows which instances of the template are using which arguments—it might show, for example, that |access-date= is being used by five instances in five articles. Since this is an error (the template does not support |access-date=) those five template instances should be fixed to remove the |access-date=.

Configuration: verifydates

The template can verify that dates in URLs for Wayback, WebCite, and Archive.is match the date in the |date= argument. If the dates do not match it will display the date from the URL, add a red warning message "date mismatch", and add the article to the warning tracking category.

Because the verification function adds some overhead to the template, it can optionally be globally disabled by setting the variable "verifydates = no" (see the Module source in function p.webarchive()). Note that after setting to "yes", it can take a week or more for the tracking category to be fully populated. Set to "yes" if you are searching for problems in the data that need fixing (they'll show up in the tracking category).

Configuration: maxurls

The max number of URLs is 10 but this can be changed by setting the "maxurls" variable in the p.webarchive() function. This is a global variable that will affect all instances of the template, use with caution. Reducing the number will increase the template speed and reduce resource use.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for this template in articles based on this TemplateData.

TemplateData for Webarchive

A template for linking to offsite archives such as Wayback, WebCite, Archive.is, etc..

Template parameters[Edit template data]
Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Archive URL	`url`	URL to the archive. Example https://web.archive.org/web/20160802001301/http://example.com/	String	required
Archive date	`date`	Date of the archive. Example August 2, 2016	String	suggested
Archive title	`title`	Title (or text) displayed on the Wiki page for the link. Default Date argument, or the word 'Archive' Example Example website	String	suggested
Wikilink	`nolink`	Wikilink to the archive's page in the rendering. Any value including blank means no wikilink.	String	optional
Format of template rendering.	`format`	For multi-URL instances, render display in one of two formats.	String	optional

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Webarchive/doc.
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox and testcases pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.