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This template is used to mark dead links, either within a paragraph or within a reference citation. Marking dead links signals to editors and to WP:Link rot bots that this link needs to be replaced with an archive link.
Before considering whether to use the {{dead link}} template it is often useful to make a search for an archive copy of the dead link and thereby avoid using the tag altogether. All {{cite xxx}}
templates have the facility for adding |archive-date=
and |archive-url=
parameters for linking to an archive copy. Non-{{cite xxx}}
citations can use {{webarchive}}.
Using {{Dead link}} will place a note by the URL and add the article to one of the Category:Articles with dead external links categories.
Append this template directly after the link (after the link code's terminating ]
if you are using wikitext), or, if you are using a {{cite xxx}}
template, directly after the {{cite xxx}}
transclusion (not inside it), but inside the reference, if any, i.e. before the , in all cases leaving the original link intact:
For bare links, leave a space after the end of the URL and the template:
* http://www.example.org {{Dead link|date=April 2024}}
Otherwise automated tools can have trouble determining where the URL ends, because it will ambiguously contain url-encoding and wiki-encoding mixed together.
Not following these syntax rules might hinder detection by automated tools. If the citation contains multiple URLs (e.g. chapter-url and url) in a template, and only one is broken, you can use wiki comments like to explain which one is broken.
If the article uses clickable footnotes, then this template should be placed just before the that contains the dead link. The notice will then correctly appear in the reference section instead of in the body of the text, and so WP:Link rot bots can properly find and fix the link.
If you are placing this template inside a
reference, do not leave any substitution template such as {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}}
or {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}
, because substitutions fail inside ref tags.
Avoid using this template when the reference is fully adequate without the link. In this case, simply remove the link. For example, if a {{cite journal}}
template is used with a DOI, remove the |url=
parameter.
{{Dead link|date=April 2024}}
url
date
bot
|bot=
parameter as a sign that the tag was added by an automated process. Set as bot=
.fix-attempted
Notes:
{{Dead link|{{subst:DATE}}}}
. See Help:Substitution for more information.date=
parameter need not be added by the editor: if not entered, a bot will soon add it.{{cite web |url=http://www.example.org |title=Web page title |website=Example.com |access-date=22 September 2012}} {{Dead link |date=September 2012}}
{{cite news |title=Sorrell accuses Murdoch of panic buying |author=Plunkett, John |url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1601858,00.html |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 October 2005 |access-date=22 September 2012}} {{Dead link}}
http://www.example.org/{{Dead link}}
), as software that is unable to handle templates may read an incorrect link. Add brackets if necessary.TemplateData for Dead link
A template to indicate that the preceding URL is dead
Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Month and year | date | The month and year the URL was found to be dead, like "June 2013"
| String | suggested |
Bot name | bot | The name of the bot used to identify the dead link (not used by regular editors) | User | optional |
Wayback URL | url | The dead URL, used only if there is a Wayback Machine archive | URL | optional |
Fix attempted | fix-attempted | Setting to 'yes' (or any non-blank value) indicates that no archive copy is available
| Boolean | optional |