What is Semantic MediaWiki used for?

Semantic MediaWiki is an extension that lets MediaWiki store and query structured data in wiki pages and publish it as linked data. It is a good fit for knowledge bases built on MediaWiki and publishing wiki data as linked data.

Is Semantic MediaWiki open source?

Yes. Semantic MediaWiki is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki and is written mainly in PHP.

Is Semantic MediaWiki free?

Yes. Semantic MediaWiki is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host Semantic MediaWiki?

Yes. Semantic MediaWiki can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What are some alternatives to Semantic MediaWiki?

Similar open-source tools in the Docs & Wikis category include BookStack, MediaWiki and DokuWiki. SaaS products in the same category include Bit.ai, Bloomfire and Guru.

Is Semantic MediaWiki actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Semantic MediaWiki was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 7.3.1, published on 28 September 2026. The project has 634 stars on GitHub.

Semantic MediaWiki: open-source docs & wikis

About Semantic MediaWiki

Semantic MediaWiki (SMW) is a free, open-source extension to MediaWiki, the wiki software behind Wikipedia, that lets you store and query data within the wiki's pages. It turns an ordinary wiki into a structured knowledge management system where facts on pages can be queried, listed and exported.

SMW is also a full framework with many spinoff extensions that can build a flexible knowledge management system. Data created within it can be published on the Semantic Web, so other systems can reuse it, and its topics include RDF, SPARQL, linked data and knowledge graphs. Query result formats present stored data in different ways. The project provides introductory material such as a short deployment guide and a video on connecting Sesame and Fuseki triple stores.

It requires MediaWiki and its dependencies such as PHP, with a compatibility matrix for supported versions, and is installed with Composer. Documentation lives mainly on the SMW wiki, with a small bundled core, and support is offered through a user mailing list, a chat room and an issue tracker. The license is listed as Other, and you run it within your own MediaWiki installation.

Key features

Store structured data in wiki pages
Query data with inline queries
Multiple query result formats
RDF and SPARQL export
Composer-based installation
Large ecosystem of spinoff extensions

Good fit for

→Knowledge bases built on MediaWiki
→Publishing wiki data as linked data

Built with: PHP
Tags: mediawiki; semantic-web; wiki; rdf; sparql; knowledge-management; php; linked-data

Semantic MediaWiki: questions and answers

What is Semantic MediaWiki used for?: Semantic MediaWiki is an extension that lets MediaWiki store and query structured data in wiki pages and publish it as linked data. It is a good fit for knowledge bases built on MediaWiki and publishing wiki data as linked data.
Is Semantic MediaWiki open source?: Yes. Semantic MediaWiki is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki and is written mainly in PHP.
Is Semantic MediaWiki free?: Yes. Semantic MediaWiki is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host Semantic MediaWiki?: Yes. Semantic MediaWiki can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What are some alternatives to Semantic MediaWiki?: Similar open-source tools in the Docs & Wikis category include BookStack, MediaWiki and DokuWiki. SaaS products in the same category include Bit.ai, Bloomfire and Guru.
Is Semantic MediaWiki actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Semantic MediaWiki was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 7.3.1, published on 28 September 2026. The project has 634 stars on GitHub.