Help:Safe mode

Safe mode is a setting that temporarily disables all user scripts and gadgets on your account. It also temporarily disables any JavaScript and CSS code added to the site-wide common.js and common.css pages. Safe mode can be used for troubleshooting if a user script or gadget is causing problems with the site, and can be used as an "escape hatch" in case a user script or gadget breaks critical site functionality (such as the ability to edit pages).

Enabling safe mode on a single page

You can enable safe mode temporarily on a single page. This can be used to quickly check to see if a user script or gadget is causing a particular problem. If the problem does not appear in safe mode, you can conclude that the problem was caused by a script or gadget.

• Add ?safemode=1 to the end of the web address (URL) of the page. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page?safemode=1.
• If the web address (URL) already includes a ?, add &safemode=1 instead. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&safemode=1.

Enabling safe mode on all pages

If you need to enable safe mode on all pages—for example, if a script has removed your ability to edit pages and you cannot edit your personal JS page to remove it—you can do that through your user preferences. All user scripts and gadgets are disabled when viewing your user preferences, so you can still access that page even if a script is causing problems.

1. Go to Preferences.
2. Select the Appearance tab.
3. Under Advanced options, enable Always enable safe mode.
4. Select Save.

Safe mode will be enabled automatically on all pages. To disable safe mode, follow the previous instructions and disable the Always enable safe mode option.

See also

• Help:Locating broken scripts on MediaWiki.org contains more advanced troubleshooting steps.
• Manual:Safemode on MediaWiki.org provides a technical documentation on the safe mode feature.