Credit
Credit is one of the most important reasons for attribution. It is essential for end users to access the original version of the content being reused, and the information about the volunteers who created it. In the context of Wikimedia projects, where most content is the product of collaboration among groups of contributors, individual credit becomes complicated and often takes the form of a generic statement (e.g., "List of authors available at the source").
The exception in our crowdsourced knowledge ecosystem is Wikimedia Commons, a platform that hosts hundreds of thousands of images and other media files that are generally authored by a single author or a smaller group of authors. Reusers embedding images and media files in their contexts should give credit to the individual authors and artists of these materials if required by licensing. Indicating credit explicitly becomes essential if a direct link to the file page cannot be provided.
Data sources
This section identifies where and how the data behind this signal can be obtained. It points to the relevant Wikimedia APIs, datasets, or metadata fields that reusers can rely on to implement the signal accurately and consistently.
Wikimedia Attribution API Beta Recommended
For media files, the Wikimedia Attribution API returns a credit value that can be used to surface the file’s available authorship information.
Reference documentation can be found in any wiki's REST API sandbox, such as the REST API sandbox on English Wikipedia →
Share feedback on this beta API →
MediaWiki Action API
The Action API can be used to retrieve credit information about the author (and/or artist) of files uploaded to Wikimedia Commons or other Wikimedia projects (for example, a photo of Jane Goodall on English Wikipedia).
Implementation guidance
Minimum requirements
To properly credit Wikimedia Commons media (images, audio, video), you must comply with files' licensing and visually display or audibly state the name of the author (and artist, if necessary) as listed on the original file page. Exceptions apply in digital environments where space is limited. In this scenario, authorship credits can be omitted as long as a link to the original file is provided.
If the file page in Wikimedia Commons specifies a preferred credit line, follow it when reasonable within your medium's constraints.
Best practices
In small surfaces, you should prioritize the name of the author (together with the linked source and license information) over the title of the file (e.g., "Jane Doe, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)")
In-image or below-image credit is ideal, otherwise, ensure to link to the correct media file page showing full credit with the author's name.
If a file has multiple authors, list all primary creators if it's practical and possible without disruption. Otherwise, add a credit line such as “List of contributors in file page” that links to the original page.
When reusing community-governed content under CC BY-SA 4.0 licenses (e.g., Wikipedia article snippets or previews), you can signal that a list of authors is available at the source using a generic statement (e.g., "List of editors available at the source").
Reuse scenarios
Search
Required based on licensing
Mentioning the Wikimedia editor community as the author of text or media files, if reasonable to the medium, clarifies that knowledge is built collectively, not by a single institution. Providing access to credit information at the source is essential in search contexts.
AI assistants
Required based on licensing
Providing access to credit information at the original source from AI environments is essential. Explicitly acknowledging volunteer authors in this reuse scenario is recommended to add human context, differentiating collaboratively written material from AI-generated text.