Help:Including additional CSS and JS

This help page will explain the recommended ways to include additional CSS and JavaScript on your community.

ImportJS
MediaWiki:ImportJS provides an interface for including articles that contain scripts - both local and from Dev Wiki - on a community.

The wiki does not need custom JS enabled for ImportJS to work.

The functionality is similar to the existing method,, which can import several articles from local and external communities, bundling them into one network request and minifying them. Both  and ImportJS reduce file size and web traffic, effectively making a community with a large number of additional files load much more quickly. ImportJS affects all skins much like Common.js.

Usage
MediaWiki:ImportJS provides a plain text article in which to specify JavaScript article names. Local files will need to be in the MediaWiki namespace. Dev Wiki imports will also need to be in the MediaWiki namespace to work. When stating files to import, the MediaWiki namespace does not need to be included. Example:

 //local JS file Cat.js

// Dev Wiki script dev:AjaxRC.js

Load order
When using ImportJS, the pages within will be loaded last. The full load order is:
 * 1) Common.js
 * 2) Wikia.js or Monobook.js
 * 3) Imported scripts through Common.js
 * 4) Imported scripts through Wikia.js or Monobook.js
 * 5) ImportJS

importArticles
In lieu of the above method, importArticles will only be discussed here in regards to CSS imports. For JS imports, please see this page.

importArticles can still be used to import CSS styles. However, they will be subject to JS review since it has to be done through JavaScript. Additionally, loading CSS in this way creates a flicker effect as the CSS is applied after the page is initially displayed. For best results, use the @import method.

Example
Importing a local CSS file through importArticles:

@import method
Using the, styles can be imported from any CSS file hosted on a wiki or on other websites (ending with .css on the url and contains changes for the default skin elements on the file). The syntax is as follows:

Per the above example, to import Local.css into Wikia.css, place this at the top of your Wikia.css file (given load order and differences with Common.css loading, imports may need to be added to your Common.css file in order to work properly):

An alternative way, which will make it easier to spot files loaded in the "Network" tab of Firefox's "Web Developer" is to use:

You can read more on this method here.