#Overview

react-wikitext renders MediaWiki-style wikitext as React elements. Source text is parsed into a typed semantic AST, converted to HAST, and handed to React. It does not talk to the MediaWiki API, execute Lua, or own your routes.

#What it solves

A common shortcut is to inject pre-rendered HTML with dangerouslySetInnerHTML, or to embed a wiki page in an iframe. Neither composes well: the first bypasses React, and the second cannot reuse your styles or interactions.

react-wikitext outputs React elements instead of HTML strings. It exposes an inspectable semantic tree and a sanitized HAST before rendering, leaves links, images, and templates to the host, and can parse and prepare on the server, in a worker, or behind a cache while the client receives a snapshot.

#Capabilities

#Default output

The example below configures no resolvers. Template and file placeholders and non-navigable links are expected defaults, not render failures:

import { Wikitext } from "react-wikitext";
import "react-wikitext/styles.css";

const source = `== Default output ==
This paragraph mixes '''bold''', ''italic'', and an [[internal link|internal link]].

{{Infobox|title=Templates are not evaluated by default}}

[[File:Example.png|thumb|Files are placeholders by default]]`;

export default function Demo() {
  return <Wikitext source={source} lang="en" />;
}

See Rendering behavior and Syntax support for the full boundaries.

#Deliberate limits

The default pipeline does not evaluate templates or parser functions, and it never runs Lua; /expand covers a supported subset only. The library makes no network requests, does not load images by default, and leaves internal links non-navigable.

It is not a MediaWiki implementation and includes no editor or virtual list. The site API, editing, full extension semantics, and pagination belong to the host. See Rendering behavior for details.

#When it fits

It suits read-only wiki mirrors, archives, and exports, and wiki snippets embedded in knowledge bases, documentation sites, or admin consoles. It also fits cases that need structured content before rendering, per-block fault isolation, parsing in a worker, or links, images, and templates wired to your own router, CDN, and backend.

Other tools fit better in these cases:

#Current status

See Status and compatibility for the full matrix.

#Next steps

• Quick start: install and render a first snippet.
• How it works: the pipeline, snapshots, and entry boundaries.
• Syntax support: whether a construct renders, becomes a placeholder, or degrades.