Wikibase Suite (WBS)

Updating Wikibase Suite (WBS) Query Service frontend

Back to the release guide

Use this guide when the release refreshes the Query Service frontend.

Automated update

The recommended workflow is:

wbs-dev update wdqs-frontend

The command:

1. Resolves the latest commit from the Wikidata Query GUI main branch.
2. Presents the current-to-proposed commit range with a Wikimedia GitLab comparison link.
3. Asks whether to include the update.
4. Updates WDQSQUERYGUI.revision in docker-bake.hcl, drafts the changelog, asks the operator to confirm the image version, and leaves every change unstaged for review with git diff.

The command confirms that the branch exists, but it cannot establish compatibility with the image’s local patches or configuration.

Manual update

The same update can be prepared manually:

1. Read WDQSQUERYGUI.revision from docker-bake.hcl.
2. Resolve the head of refs/heads/main from the Wikidata Query GUI repository.
3. Compare the pinned and proposed commits in Wikimedia GitLab.
4. Set WDQSQUERYGUI.revision to the proposed full commit hash and review the resulting diff.

Review

Compare the commits and confirm that query behavior, configuration, and the local patches remain compatible.

Choosing a version

Query GUI is pinned by commit rather than by an upstream release version, so determine the image version from the diff. Keep the current image major unless there is a clear breaking change—for example, a changed endpoint or a new, changed, or removed required configuration or environment variable. Apply the shared versioning policy to compatible presentation and behavior changes.

Dependencies not updated automatically

wbs-dev update does not select the Node build image or nginx runtime image in docker-bake.hcl. When reviewing them:

• The pinned Query GUI source does not declare a Node engine or version file. Confirm a Node update by running its locked npm ci and Grunt build through this image rather than assuming compatibility from metadata.
• Node is used only to build the static frontend. Review build warnings and the generated output when changing it.
• For nginx updates, retain a Debian-based variant compatible with the Dockerfile’s apt installation of jq, and verify the nginx configuration, entrypoint templating, static assets, health check, and every published architecture.

Continue with release preparation

This site is open source. Improve this page.