System Reset – Assets, Files, and Cargo (DEV)

This document defines the **authoritative cleanup procedure** for the development environment of the Asset system (v2.x).

It reflects **real-world behavior** observed on:

MediaWiki 1.45
Cargo extension
AlmaLinux
MariaDB
Development-only data (fully disposable)

This procedure is EXPECTED to be executed multiple times during development.

DO NOT use on production systems.

0. Scope and Principles

All Asset data is test data
No historical preservation is required
Cleanup must be:
- deterministic
- fast
- repeatable
SQL-level cleanup is ACCEPTABLE and PREFERRED in development

1. Enter Maintenance Mode

Edit LocalSettings.php and add near the top:

$wgReadOnly = 'System maintenance in progress';

This prevents user edits and uploads during cleanup.

2. Safeguard Files to Keep (if any)

If a small number of images must be preserved (e.g. Main Page images):

Open each File: page
Download the original file locally
Verify the local copy

After this step, ALL files on the server may be deleted.

3. Delete All Files (Filesystem)

On the MediaWiki server:

rm -rf /var/www/mediawiki/images/*

Notes:

Do NOT delete the images/ directory itself
This removes originals, thumbnails, archives, and temp files

4. Clean File Metadata (Database)

Using phpMyAdmin on the MediaWiki database:

TRUNCATE TABLE image;
TRUNCATE TABLE oldimage;
TRUNCATE TABLE filearchive;

Result:

Special:FileList becomes empty
Filename history is forgotten
Re-uploading old filenames is allowed

5. Delete File Namespace Pages

Deleting files does NOT delete File: pages. These pages must be removed explicitly.

Standard namespace IDs:

File = 6
File talk = 7

Using phpMyAdmin (MediaWiki database):

DELETE FROM page WHERE page_namespace = 6;
DELETE FROM page WHERE page_namespace = 7;

Then clean orphaned content:

DELETE FROM revision WHERE rev_page NOT IN (SELECT page_id FROM page);
DELETE FROM text WHERE old_id NOT IN (SELECT rev_text_id FROM revision);

6. Delete Asset Namespace Pages

Asset namespaces are custom and defined in LocalSettings.php.

In this system:

Asset namespace ID = 3014
Asset talk namespace ID = 3015

Using phpMyAdmin (MediaWiki database):

DELETE FROM page WHERE page_namespace = 3014;
DELETE FROM page WHERE page_namespace = 3015;

Then clean orphaned content:

DELETE FROM revision WHERE rev_page NOT IN (SELECT page_id FROM page);
DELETE FROM text WHERE old_id NOT IN (SELECT rev_text_id FROM revision);

Rationale:

MediaWiki 1.45 maintenance scripts for mass deletion are inconsistent
SQL cleanup is faster, clearer, and reliable for DEV resets

7. Clean Cargo Asset Data

Asset dashboards read from Cargo, not from pages.

Using phpMyAdmin on the Cargo database:

TRUNCATE TABLE Assets;

Result:

Dashboards become empty
Sequence numbers reset
No ghost Asset rows remain

The dashboard PAGE itself must NOT be deleted.

8. Optional Hygiene Step

After large SQL deletions, optionally run:

php maintenance/run.php refreshLinks

This is not mandatory but recommended after repeated resets.

9. Verification Checklist

All of the following must be true:

Special:FileList → empty
Special:AllPages (File) → empty
Special:AllPages (Asset) → empty
Asset dashboards → empty (no rows)
Cargo Assets table → empty

If all checks pass, the system is in a true zero state.

10. Exit Maintenance Mode

When cleanup is complete:

Remove or comment out:

  // $wgReadOnly = 'System maintenance in progress';

Reload the wiki
Log in
Re-upload preserved images (if any)

11. Usage Policy

This reset procedure is:

APPROVED for development and testing
EXPECTED to be reused during Asset v2.x stabilization
FORBIDDEN on production systems

End of document