Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons

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For other uses, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Moving free images to Wikimedia Commons.

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Many images have been uploaded to Wikipedia. In order to use them on other Wikimedia projects, one solution is to move them to the Commons. There are a number of issues to consider when doing this. See the discussion on the talk page.

1 Tips
2 Transferring your own images to the Commons
- 2.1 Images from Geograph
3 Rationale
4 Tools
5 See also

[edit] Tips

The best practice is to use CommonsHelper to make the move. This tool automatically copies all necessary information and makes things much easier for administrators reviewing the move. This is easiest using the user script CommonsHelper Helper.
Not all images that are present on Wikipedia may be uploaded to the Commons, which only accepts media available under a free license. Do not upload images without a source and/or a verifiable copyright, or by using special local laws such as the fair use provisions of copyright; they will soon be deleted. For further details, see Commons:Licensing for the Wikimedia Commons copyright policy and Commons:Copyright tags for allowed copyright tags (Maybe also additionally Commons:Project scope in case you're unsure if certain content fits into Commons). Wikipedia:Image copyright tags explains what tags are used locally.
Images of local Wikipedians need not be moved.
Remember, you will need to register for a separate account on the commons, if you haven't already. It's easy and painless. It is probably most convenient to use the same username for commons and Wikipedia. (There is now a unified login.)
After you have an account, you can use the Commons upload page - also accessible by clicking "Upload file" on the left-hand navigation bar (but make sure you are on the Commons, not Wikipedia, which has the same link for local uploads).
This is a good opportunity to make the image's title more descriptive. For example, a photograph of George W. Bush titled "Bush04.JPG" could become "George W. Bush 2004.jpg". But it makes life for Wikipedia admins easier if you use the same filename at the Commons because there's no need to modify articles using the old filename.
Make sure you are uploading the highest resolution image available. If the image was taken from another location on the Web, it is worthwhile to check that source.
If the image has a revision history, make sure to upload the old revisions first. Of course, you might choose to ignore some revisions as irrelevant (for example, vandalism). You should always upload the original version the recent version is based on.
If the image is GFDL or cc-by, life is slightly more difficult. Among other things, it is necessary to include the revision history on the image description page. (You can copy it as text.)
Tips for dealing with images with missing copyright or source information are available at Wikipedia:Untagged images. It's probably best not to move these images until these problems are resolved or these files will be deleted at the Commons soon after.
In general, be careful to preserve all of the information available about the image, always copy the image description and state who created the image. The Commons Helper will create a full summary that you can copy and paste into the Commons upload page.
Commonsfolk appreciate it if you can add images you upload there to relevant categories or articles, to make them easier for other people to find them.
When you are done, tag the original, Wikipedia image with the {{NowCommons}} template. Use {{subst:ncd|Image:new image name.jpg}} as the syntax. For images with the same filename here and at the Commons just use {{subst:ncd}}. All filenames are case sensitive so make sure the resulting link actually works!
If you've changed the name of the image, consider updating inbound links to the old image by replacing them with links to the new image. It makes things a lot easier for the administrator deleting the old image.

[edit] Transferring your own images to the Commons

Transferring an image you have created to the Commons is very simple because there is no need for you to mention that the image was previously uploaded to a language-specific wiki. You must of course be willing to release your image under the GFDL (or compatible licence) or place it in the public domain.

Upload your image to the Commons. Unless you have used a very poor name, it is easiest to use exactly the same name as you used before - names are case-sensitive. Apply the appropriate licence tag and, as a minimum, give a few words of description.
Come to your originally uploaded image here and apply {{subst:ncd}} (or {{subst:ncd|Image:new name}} if you have changed the name).
If you have used a different name, go to all articles that use the image and change them.

That is all there is to it! But you will win extra respect from the Commoners if you:

provide a detailed description - see this note about creating links
put the image into one or more categories and add it to at least one Commons gallery article.

[edit] Images from Geograph

The same considerations apply to images copied from the Geograph British Isles project: there is no need to declare that they have been previously uploaded. Make sure to use the {{Geograph}} tag so that the image gets placed in Category:Geograph images.

[edit] Rationale

Why move images to the commons?

Commons images can be used by any Wikimedia Foundation project, including Wikipedia in any language. This means an image can be uploaded and maintained once, instead of dozens or hundreds of times.
The Commons is organizing the images by type, and so it's better to put everything in one place to keep things tidy.
Images will stay on the commons whether or not they are being used to illustrate an article.

When should you not move images to the commons?

The commons employs more restrictive policies on copyright issues than the English Wikipedia does; for instance, most of the images in the Millennium Park article cannot be hosted on Commons. Unless you are well versed in copyright law and the manner in which it is enforced on Commons, do not move images there.