Wikipedia:pillbug

pillbug

Description	Semi-automated editing tool
Author	MSK
Status	Release
First released	July 12, 2026 (2026-07-12)
Version	1.0.0-rc5
Updated	September 1, 2026 (2026-09-01)
Browsers	Any ES5-compliant browser, i.e. most modern browsers
Source	https://github.com/potatolover68/pillbug

pillbug is a semi-automated editing tool in the same vein as AutoWikiBrowser and JavaScript Wiki Browser, meant to serve as the middle ground between contrived RegEx and a full-fledged plugin.

Use pillbug Report an issue Getting started

Outdated docs; docs are built-in now

Pillbug is composed of 3 tabs: Config, Code, and Review. You can switch between tabs using the navbar on the top right.

https://github.com/potatolover68/pillbug/wiki/Getting-started is mirrored below.

Config

Config is where you can log in, install nodepacks, and decide what pages you will edit, either by manually typing out a list, or by using the generator functionality.

Page queue

The page queue is the queue of pages to “work” on, i.e. the pages that will be processed by the code in the Code tab and be reviewed in the Review tab. It can either be manually created, or generated using the queue generator.

Queue generator

Queue generation relies on the Action API, and as such you need to be logged in. Results are capped at about 5,000 titles per generation; extra matches are truncated.

Pick one source with the radio on the left, fill its fields, optionally set Namespace, then press Generate. That replaces the current queue with the generated titles (you can still edit the textarea afterward and press Set queue).

Category

Members of a category (title like Category:Example; Category: is added if missing).

• pages - normal pages in the category
• subcategories - subcategory pages. By default, even when filtered for the Category namespace, subcategories are excluded.
• files - file pages in the category. By default, even when filtered for the File namespace, files are excluded.

Select at least one of those types.

Links to page

Pages that link to a given title.

• wikilinks - pages that link to the target, see also Help:Links
• transclusions - pages that transclude the target
• file usage - pages that use the file (target is treated as File:... if needed)

There is also redirect filtering.

• both - redirects and non-redirects
• redirects - only redirect pages
• non-redirects - only non-redirects

When using wikilinks, Include links to redirects controls whether to also follow through redirects of the target.

Pages with prefix

Titles starting with a given string.

• Strict prefix search (on) - uses the all-pages list API for an exact prefix per selected namespace (good for precise searches, like User:Example/).
• Strict prefix search (off) - uses prefix search (more “search-box” style matching across the selected namespaces).

Links on page

Outgoing wikilinks to existing pages from a page. Namespace filters which linked namespaces are kept.

Wiki search

Full wiki search. See the CirrusSearch help page.

Namespace

The Namespace list filters queue generator results to the namespaces you select. Click to toggle; selected namespaces stay highlighted.

Process ahead?

At the top of the queue generator is the process ahead? toggle. Pillbug will always fetch upcoming pages in the queue and run the skip graph, with process ahead? enabled, it will also run the process graph, meaning that reviewing edits will be slightly faster in some cases.

Nodepacks

Nodepacks are installable bundles of graph nodes (extra building blocks for the Code tab), beyond Pillbug’s defaults. Packs are typically installed once per browser; as they persist across reloads. After installing, switch to Code to place the new nodes in the process/skip graphs. If a pack fails to load, the Config column will show an error. A template nodepack is available here.

Code

The Code tab holds two nodish graphs that run on each page from the page queue: the skip graph and the process graph. Both receive the same inputs for a page; they differ in what they return and when they run.

NodeViewer controls

Keyboard

Input	Action
Escape	Close add-node menu, if open
Escape	Go up one composite level, if in a composite
Escape	Clear selection, if nodes are selected
Escape	Reset pan and zoom to default, if nothing else applies
Ctrl+C / Cmd+C	Copy selected nodes (and wires between them) relative to cursor
Ctrl+V / Cmd+V	Paste clipboard at cursor, preserving relative layout
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected nodes (boundary Input/Output nodes are excluded)

Keyboard shortcuts are ignored while focus is in an input, textarea, or select.

Mouse / pointer (canvas)

Input	Action
Scroll wheel	Zoom in/out toward cursor (25%–200%)
Middle button + drag	Pan the canvas
Left click on empty canvas	Clear selection and close add-node menu
Left drag on empty canvas	Marquee (box) select nodes
Right click on empty canvas	Open add-node menu at cursor
Right drag	Slice/cut wires crossed by the drag path

Mouse / pointer (nodes)

Input	Action
Left click on node body	Select node
Shift + left click on node	Add/remove node from selection
Left click on node in a multi-selection	Keep group selected (for dragging)
Left drag on node header	Move selected node(s)
Double-click composite node header	Go into composite
Left drag on port socket	Start a wire; release on a compatible port to connect

Add-node menu (right-click)

Input	Action
Type in search	Filter node types
↑ / ↓	Move highlight in list
Enter	Add highlighted node at menu position
Escape	Close menu

Group panel (while in a composite)

Input	Action
Up button	Go up one level (esc also works)

Shared inputs:

Port	Type	Notes
Title	title	The page’s title - note that this is not a string, and thus may need to be converted to one using the “Title to String” node.
Content	string	The current page’s wikitext.

When reviewing, Pillbug evaluates pages in this order:

1. Skip graph - if it decides to skip, the process graph is not run for that page.
2. Process graph - otherwise, transform the wikitext and (if it actually changed) show the edit in Review.

Skip graph

Port	Type	Notes
Skip	boolean	Whether to skip or not.

The Skip graph is entirely optional; however with complicated process graphs, it can significantly speed up reviewing. Most of the filtering should already have been done during queue generation, however for hard-to-filter-for edge cases, e.g. if an article uses a template but not the specific parameter needing to be replaced, the skip graph will be useful.

If Skip is true, processing for that page will be aborted, removing it from the queue and logging it as skipped. Errors in the skip graph (node failures, type errors, etc.) are treated as a hard failure for that page: the page is dropped from the queue and an error is surfaced (prefixed like Skip graph: …). They are not shown as a normal “skip.”

Process graph

Port	Type	Notes
ContentAfter	string	The contents of the page, presumably after modifications.

The process graph is the edit itself, building a new wikitext string from the title and current content. After a run:

Result	Behavior
ContentAfter equals Content	Page will be skipped.
ContentAfter differs	The page is offered in Review as a diff (before = Content, after = ContentAfter) for Save / Skip / etc.
ContentAfter missing or not a string	Error: Process graph did not return ContentAfter string - page dropped from the queue in a batch, same class of failure as other graph errors.
Node / runtime errors	Prefixed Process graph: …; page dropped from the queue in a batch.

Wire the graph so a string always reaches ContentAfter on paths you care about. An empty or incomplete graph that never produces ContentAfter will error rather than “do nothing.”

Review

The Review tab is where you inspect each proposed edit as a diff, then save, skip, or undo. You need to be logged in to start a review run or to save / undo. You can still open the tab and look at past log entries while logged out.

Review log

Below the controls is a list of recent outcomes (newest first). Each row shows the page title, a status chip, and a timestamp.

Status	Meaning
applied	Saved to the wiki
skipped	You pressed Skip, or the page was automatically skipped
undone	A previously applied edit was reverted via Undo
pending	Reserved for entries that are neither applied, skipped, nor undone

Click a log row to load that page’s stored before / after into the diff. Selecting an applied entry (not yet undone) switches the primary button to undo.