Wiki (OSF Projects)


The following is a Table of Contents that links directly to specific sections within the guide.


Overview

The OSF Wiki is a built-in collaborative tool that allows you to describe your project, document workflows, share research updates, and provide guidance to visitors or collaborators. 

What can you do with the Wiki?

  • Introduce your project: Provide a summary of your research, your goals, and your team.
  • Provide project details: Share details of your research process that aren't covered in a registration or other study plan.
  • Guide collaborators: Include instructions for new contributors, timelines, or a list of to-dos.
  • Publish lab notes: Keep a running record of changes, decisions, or insights over time.
  • Showcase supplementary material: Embed figures, videos, and data directly in context.

Key Features

  • Markdown Support: The wiki uses Markdown for formatting. This makes it easy to add headers, bullet points, tables, images, links, and more. <Format Text and Structure>
  • Multiple Pages: Create a multi-page wiki to keep long-form documentation well organized <Create New Wiki Pages>
  • Version History: Every time you save, a new version is created. You can view, compare, and revert to earlier versions if needed. <Track Revisions and Version History>
  • Embeddable Content: You can embed OSF-hosted files (e.g., PDFs, data files), YouTube videos, images, and more. <Embed Media and Files>
  • Permissions Control: On public projects, you can allow any OSF user to edit the wiki or limit edits to only project contributors. <Publicly Editable Wikis>
  • Visibility Options: The wiki is visible by default, but it can be disabled in project settings if not needed.

Good to Know

  • Each component in your project can have its own independent Home wiki, as well as custom wikis.
  • Anyone with access to the project (and proper permissions) can contribute to the wiki, making it a great tool for team-based documentation.<Who Can View and Edit the Wiki>
  • Because it’s version-controlled, the wiki supports open and transparent collaboration—even mistakes are reversible! <Restore Previous Versions>

Getting Started

The wiki on OSF is a flexible space, kind of like a digital lab notebook or living document, that lives alongside your project files and components. Share background information, lab notes, documentation, or any other content that provides context and clarity for your research. 

  1. From your project on OSF, click Wiki in the left sidebar navigation
  2. Once on the wiki page you wish to edit, click the Edit button at the top right corner.
  3. Click the << to collapse the Wiki directory on the left, allowing more space for the edit pane
  4. The page will split into two panels:
    • The Edit pane on the right where you type your content
      • (sometimes Edit pane appears beneath the Preview pane at certain screen sizes) 
    • The View pane on the left (labeled “Preview”) that shows a live preview of your changes.
      • You can toggle the preview on and off by clicking the View button.
  5. Within the Edit pane, write and <format your content directly in Markdown> or use the toolbar to add formatting without needing to know the syntax.
  6. Click Save to apply your changes. Your changes will be saved, versioned, and viewable immediately to others who have access to the wiki.

Add and Format Content

The OSF wiki supports rich formatting and allows you to create clear, organized, and collaborative documentation. In this section, you’ll learn how to write and structure wiki content using Markdown or the built-in toolbar, and how to connect content with links and anchors for easy navigation.


Wiki Editor

Once you open the wiki editor you can begin typing directly into the Edit pane. You can write freeform notes, structure sections with headings, and collaborate with others in real time.

Saving Changes

After you’ve made updates:

  • Click the green Save button at the top right to publish your changes.
  • Edits are immediately visible to anyone with viewing access.
  • Every saved version is archived, so you can review or revert changes later through version history.

Format Text and Structure

The wiki editor uses Markdown, a simple syntax for formatting text. You can type Markdown directly, or use the toolbar above the editor to insert formatting without writing the syntax yourself.

Common Formatting Options:

Style

Markdown Example

Toolbar Icon
Bold **bold text**

Italic *italic text*


Heading

 ## Subheading

Blockquote > Quoted text

Hyperlink [link text](https://example.com)

Bullet List - Bullet item

Numbered List 1. First item

Code block `code` or triple backticks

 Internal and External Links

To insert a hyperlink:

  1. Click the Insert Link button in the toolbar.
  2. Enter the full URL (for external sites) or a path to an OSF component or file inside the parentheses and the name of the link inside the brackets.

Or use Markdown:

[Open Science Framework](https://osf.io)

 Anchors for Navigation and Tables of Contents

You can help users navigate your wiki using anchors and a table of contents.

Insert a Table of Contents anywhere using:


@[toc](optional_label)   

  • This auto-generates a table of contents from your headings.

Create an Anchor by using a heading:

## Section Title   

  • The table of contents will link directly to this section.


Embed Media and Files

You can enhance your wiki by embedding images, videos, and datasets directly into your content. This section walks you through the different ways to include media and files to make your wiki more engaging and informative.

Embed Images

Images can be embedded from your OSF storage, or from external websites.

Embed from OSF Storage

To embed an image stored in your project:

  1. Copy the file’s GUID (the 5-character code at the end of the file’s URL, e.g., osf.io/project/files/abcde) abcde
  2. Append the file’s GUID onto the following https://osf.io/download/
  3. Use Markdown to insert the link:

![Description](https://osf.io/download/abcde/)   

Embed from External Sources

You can also embed images hosted elsewhere:

![Description](https://example.com/image.jpg)   

Resize Images

Resize with HTML

If you want the size of an image to be 400 pixels by 525 pixels, for example, you would use the following html:

<img src="https://osf.io/donwnload/IMAGE_ID/" width="400" height=”525” alt="Image description">   

You can also resize using an overall percentage. To have an image appear at 50% of its original size, you would add “=50%x”


<img src="https://osf.io/donwnload/IMAGE_ID/" width="50%" alt="Image description">   

Embed Videos

You can embed videos from supported platforms like YouTube and Vimeo using embed links.

  1. Get the embed link (not just the video URL) from the video hosting site.
    • Example (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID
  2. Use an HTML iFrame in the wiki editor:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>   

This will render the video directly in the wiki. Be sure to test the link to confirm it's supported and publicly viewable.

Embed Files

Files, such as CSV or PDF, can be embedded from your OSF storage, or from external websites.

Embed File with @[osf] from OSF Storage

  1. Copy the file’s GUID (the 5-character code at the end of the file’s URL, e.g., osf.io/project/files/abcde) abcde
  2. In the wiki editor, use this syntax:

@[osf](abcde)

Embed File with HTML iFrame from OSF Storage


  1. Click the embed button on your file, select Copy static HTML iFrame from the dropdown
  2. Paste into your wiki editor, it will look similar to this:

<iframe src="https://mfr.osf.io/render?url=https%3A%2F%2Fosf.io%2Fdownload%2Fabcde%2F%3Fdirect%26mode%3Drender"   

width="100%"   

scrolling="yes"   

height="677px"   

marginheight="0"   

frameborder="0"   

allowfullscreen   

webkitallowfullscreen   

>   

This will embed a live, scrollable preview of the file in your wiki.

Link to Files and Datasets

If you prefer to link to the file instead of embedding it:

[link text](https://osf.io/abcde/)   


Manage Wiki Pages

Add, Rename, and Delete Wiki Pages

Create New Wiki Pages

  • To add a new wiki page, click the + Add New Wiki Page button located in the wiki page navigation.
  • Enter a unique page name and start adding content.
  • Each page you create can be linked from other wiki pages or your project navigation for easy access.
  • New pages will always appear in alphabetical order

Rename Existing Wiki Pages

  • To rename a wiki page, open the page you want to rename.
  • Look for the Rename option (often under page settings or a menu).
  • Enter the new page title and save your changes.
  • Renaming updates the page title but keeps the content and links intact.

Delete Wiki Pages

  • To delete a page, open the page and find the Delete button in the left panel.
  • Confirm deletion carefully as this removes the page permanently.
  • Consider backing up important content before deleting pages.

Track Revisions and Version History

View Version History

  • Every time changes are saved, a new version of the wiki page is recorded.
  • You can view the full history by opening the Versions drop-down while viewing a wiki page.
  • The history shows a timeline of edits with timestamps and contributors.

Restore Previous Versions

  • If needed, you can revert the wiki page to any previously saved version.
  • In the version history, select the desired revision and click Revert in the wiki editing panel.
  • This feature allows you to undo mistakes or recover important content removed in later edits.

Control Access

Managing who can view and edit your wiki is important for collaboration and privacy. This section explains how to control permissions and how to disable or re-enable the wiki if needed.

Manage Permissions

Who Can View and Edit the Wiki

  • By default, wiki visibility and editing permissions follow your project’s settings.
  • You can control whether your wiki is private (only project members can view/edit) or public (anyone can view) based on the permissions setting for that component. You can also adjust the wiki permissions in the project Settings specifically.
  • In the project Settings, editing permissions can be limited to project contributors or expanded to allow public editing.

Publicly Editable Wikis

  • You may enable public editing to allow visitors to contribute directly to your wiki.
  • This is useful for open collaboration but requires careful monitoring to avoid unwanted changes.
  • Public edits are logged with user information and timestamps for accountability.

Disable or Re-enable the Wiki

  • If you want to temporarily hide the wiki from all viewers or prevent editing, you can disable it by unchecking the box in the Project settings next to “Enable the wiki in [project name]”.
  • Disabling the wiki removes it from the project navigation and makes it inaccessible until re-enabled.
  • To re-enable, simply toggle the wiki back on in your project’s settings.
  • Disabling does not delete any content — your wiki remains intact and fully restorable.

FAQs

Can I restore a deleted wiki page?

Deleted pages are not recoverable. Consider copying your content before deleting.

Can I link to specific sections of the wiki?

Yes! You can create links from a Table of Contents at the top of the wiki to sections within it by using headers. Create headers  (e.g., ## Methodology) within the document as you normally would. Then add  @[toc]() at the top of the page to automatically generate a linked table of contents. 

What formatting languages does the wiki support?

The OSF Wiki supports Markdown and MathJax (for mathematical equations).

Can I export my wiki content?

There’s no direct export button, but you can copy the content or use the OSF API to download wiki data.

Is there a character or size limit for wikis?

Wikis support large amounts of text, but for performance and usability, consider breaking long entries into multiple pages.



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