This specific page isnot the place to create a new draft. For that, please see§ Creating and editing drafts below.

This is anexplanatory essay about theediting anddeletion policy pages. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one ofWikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not beenthoroughly vetted by the community.

Shortcut WP:DRAFT

Drafts arepages in the Draftnamespace (draftspace) where new articles^{[note 1]} can be created and developed, for a limited period of time.^{[note 2]} They allow editors to develop new articles and to receive feedback before being moved to Wikipedia'sarticle namespace (mainspace). If you are logged in, creating a Draft version first is optional. Editors may instead choose to createdraft pages in their userspace or new articles directly in mainspace after the user has becomeautoconfirmed or confirmed. This namespace was created, and the current processestablished, in December 2013.^{[note 3]}

Anyone, including users who are not logged in, can create and edit drafts. Drafts have "Draft:" before their normal title, and also have an associated draft talk page. Users who haveVisualEditor enabled will be able to use VisualEditor just like on articles. Changing a page from a draft to an article requires anautoconfirmed account (an account with at least 10 edits and created at least 4 days ago). Doing so is done bymoving the page to a title without "Draft:" in front of it. If there is a technical barrier to the move, such as when the creation of an article may be protected, seek assistance at places such as theTeahouse, thetechnical moves page, or therequest for unprotection page.

After you have created your draft page:

• (Optionally) add the template{{Draft article}} at the top of the draft (not the talk page), along with the template's parameters|name and|subject=. A list of appropriate subject fields can be foundhere. If the draft name has a redirect page of the same name, you can use{{R with possibilities}}.

• Disable any categories by inserting a colon before the word "Category", e.g. change[[Category:Living people]] to[[:Category:Living people]] , or by using the{{Draft categories}} template.
• Non-free content cannot be included in draft articles, per Wikipedia'spolicy on where non-free media is allowed. Any desired non-free content should be added to the article once it has been moved to the mainspace.

Drafts arenot indexed by most search engines including Google,^{[note 4]} meaning most readers will not find them. Anyone can search and view drafts on Wikipedia directly using Wikipedia's built-in search engine: simply choose "Advanced", then tick "Draft" and/or "Draft talk" on the list of options (i.e. inthis manner). The list of all draft pages is atSpecial:AllPages orSpecial:PrefixIndex. You can also viewrecent Draft changes to the namespace,newly created drafts, visit arandom draft, or seeWikipedia:AfC sorting. Some drafts are sorted by subtopic underCategory:Draft articles.

As the draft namespace is a common location for incubating articles (unlike user space), users are notified throughTemplate:New page DYM when visiting a non-existent article whose title does exist in draft space, to prevent unnecessary creation of duplicates oncurrent events, and to help editors discover abandoned drafts to take over and save time rather than starting from scratch:

The warning is also invoked byTemplate:Editnotices/Namespace/Main for existing mainspace pages.

There is a draft of this article atDraft:Example.

Putting the article in themain namespace (where normal articles are) requires an editor to use thepage move function to move it into the Main (article) namespace. This means that anonymous editors, or registered editors who are notautoconfirmed, will need to request help with this step by inserting into their drafts the relevant template forrequesting a page move. Optionally, editors can also submit drafts for review via thearticles for creation process by adding the code{{subst:submit}} to the top of the draft page.

An article created in draftspace does not belong to the editor who created it, and any other user may edit, move, rename, redirect, merge, or seek deletion of any draft.^{[note 5]}

The aim of moving an article to draft is to allow time and space for the draft's improvement until it is acceptable for mainspace. It isnot intended as abackdoor route to deletion.

After moving an article to draft space, you should:

• Nominate the resulting cross-namespace redirect for deletion using{{db-r2}} (administrators andpage movers can skip this by moving without leaving a redirect)
• Notify the creator of the article (e.g. with{{uw-articletodraft}})
• Mark its talk page with the tags of any relevant projects as a means of soliciting improvements from interested editors

The process can be automated with theMoveToDraft user script.

Common reasons forincubating an article to draftspace as an alternative to deletion include, but are not limited to:

1. The article was created by an editor who appears to have aconflict of interest, but it did not go through theArticles for Creation (AfC) process^{[note 6]}
2. The article consists of machine-generated text, such as anunedited machine translation or the output of alarge language model
3. The article is about an upcoming event or forthcoming work that isnot notable yet, but likely to become so in the near future

Editors should generally avoid moving an article to draftspace in the following circumstances:

1. The article was created more than 90 days ago^{[note 7]}
2. The article is currently being discussed atarticles for deletion (AfD),deletion review (DRV), or a similar venue where the move could pre-empt a formal close^{[note 8]}
3. The article contains outstandingcopyright violations; these are not allowed in any namespace and must be addressed
4. There is nochance that the article can be improved to the point that is suitable for mainspace; problems that can't be fixed arereasons for deletion
5. Another editor is actively working on the article, e.g. there is an{{under construction}} notice or there have been constructive edits made within the last hour
6. Another editor has asserted that the page belongs in mainspace, e.g. it has previously been moved there, or there is a clear statement to that effect in the edit history or on the talk page^{[note 9]}
7. Another editorhas objected to or reversed the move^{[note 9]}

Articles may be moved to become a draft as a result of adeletion discussion, indirectly following deletion and arequest for undeletion. When performing such a move, link to the original deletion discussion and the decision to move the article into draftspace. Authors should try to understand and respond to the reason for moving to draft status, and then use theAfC submission process to have the page moved back to mainspace. The author is encouraged to ask other editors questions, or to use the{{Help me}} template.

Moving an article to draftspace, like any action, requiresconsensus. It may initially be carried out as abold move if there is a reasonable expectation that doing so is uncontroversial. But if another editor—including the creator of the page, but excluding editors with aconflict of interest—objects to the move (for example by moving the page back to mainspace), then it is not uncontroversial. In these circumstances, refrain from further moves until a consensus on the appropriate namespace has been established on the article's talk page, atarticles for deletion, or another suitable venue. This means thatan article should only be unilaterally moved to draftspace a single time.

Drafts are meant to be works in progress, and most will not meet Wikipedia's standards for quality at first. This means that drafts are not subject to the samedeletion criteria as articles, such as "no context", "no indication of importance", or "not in English". Creators should be allowed time to e.g. establish context or notability, translate, and make other adjustments and improvements (thoughabandoned drafts will be deleted after six months).

Thegeneral section of thecriteria for speedy deletion may be applied to drafts. Drafts that are copyright violations, vandalism, disparage or attack their subject, are tests, or unambiguous advertising or promotion can be speedily deleted.

Drafts that have not been edited in six months may be deleted under criterion for speedy deletionG13. Most G13 nominations for deletion are done bybots or users using Twinkle or AFCH, processes that inform the draft creator on their talk page. Pages deleted under G13 may be restored upon request atWP:REFUND (seeWikipedia:Requests for undeletion/G13).

Drafts may be tagged with{{promising draft}} by an editor other than the original draft creator, if they feel that a draft is promising. This tag cannot be used toindefinitely prevent aG13 speedy deletion nomination,^{[note 10]} but extra attention should be directed to determining the viability of a draft bearing this notice before seeking to delete it.

Drafts that do not meet any of the criteria for speedy deletion can still be nominated for deletion atmiscellany for deletion (MfD). A draft will be deleted at MfD if there is a consensus that it meets one of thereasons for deletion under the deletion policyand that it is unlikely toever be a viable article.^{[note 11]} Failure to demonstrate that the topic meets notability guidelines is not considered sufficient reason to delete a draft,^{[note 12]} unless it has been repeatedly declined and resubmitted at AfC without improvement.^{[note 11]}

Redirects that are a result of page moves from the draft namespace to themain namespace should be retained.^{[note 13]}

• Request for Comment for the new namespace on theVillage pump (proposals)
• Wikipedia:Do not use draftspace, an essay
• Wikipedia:Mbabel - article draft generating tool for Wikipedia based on Wikidata
• Wikipedia:Workpages
• Wikipedia:Article wizard

• See thetechnical requirements and future development ideas on MediaWiki.org

• Wikipedia supplemental pages
• Wikipedia drafts
• Wikipedia features

• Wikipedia move-protected project pages
• Wikipedia semi-protected project pages