Wikipedia Citation Needed Counter

WHAT IT DOES

This script counts "citation needed" markers on Wikipedia articles and displays a visible badge at the top-right corner of the page. When you visit any Wikipedia article, the script scans the content for {{citation needed}} templates, {{cn}}, {{unreferenced section}}, {{refimprove}}, and other citation warning templates. It displays the total count with a color-coded badge: green for 0 citations needed, yellow for 1-10, orange for 11-25, and red for over 25. Click the "Show locations" button to see a list of all the exact locations in the article where citations are needed, with a "highlight" button next to each entry that scrolls to and briefly highlights the marker. This helps you quickly identify which parts of an article need citations, whether you're a reader checking an article's reliability or an editor looking for places to add references.

WHERE IT RUNS

The script runs on all Wikipedia domains (*.wikipedia.org). It works on article pages (excluding special pages like Special:, Wikipedia:, Help:, File:, Category:, Template:, Portal:, User:, MediaWiki:, and Talk: pages). It supports both desktop and mobile views.

HOW TO USE

After installation, the settings panel appears on the left side of the screen with the gear emoji (⚙️). Open the panel to configure the script:

- The "Show citation counter" toggle enables or disables the badge.

- Click "Refresh article" to manually re-scan the current article.

- Click "Show locations" to see a list of all citation needed markers in the article.

The badge appears automatically on any Wikipedia article. The color indicates the severity of the citation problem. Click the ✕ button on the badge to hide it for the current session.

TECHNICAL SECTION — REAL MECHANISM

The script detects Wikipedia article pages by checking the URL for common special page prefixes and by looking for the #firstHeading element. It scans the article content by searching within the .mw-parser-output or #mw-content-text container. Citation needed markers are detected by searching for text containing "[citation needed]" and by looking for elements with class names like .citation-needed, .noprint, .citation_help, and .Template-Fact. The script also looks for "cn" template markers. The count is accumulated by iterating through all paragraph, list, div, span, table cell, and header elements within the content container. The badge is created as a fixed-position div with a glassmorphism style and inserted into the DOM using style properties and textContent (never innerHTML). The "Show locations" feature creates a modal list of markers, with each entry showing a preview of the surrounding text and a highlight button that scrolls to the marker using smooth scrolling and a temporary background highlight. A MutationObserver watches for DOM changes and re-scans the article when the user navigates or expands sections.

THE PANEL

The settings panel is built with BotGentz's BGPanel component. It is draggable via its header, allowing you to reposition it anywhere on the screen. The panel snaps to the left edge by default but can be moved freely. Click the gear emoji to collapse the panel into a small bubble, and click the bubble to expand it again. The panel remembers its position per page session. Press the Escape key to quickly close or minimize the panel. The panel includes a status flash bar that provides visual feedback when settings are changed or actions are performed. All settings save automatically via GM_setValue.

PLEASE NOTE

This script requires the free BotGentz browser extension to run. It does not function as a standalone Chrome extension and does not use chrome.* APIs. Wikipedia frequently updates its page structure and template rendering, which may affect the selectors used to find citation markers. If the script stops working, please check for updates. The script counts markers in the rendered page content—it does not parse the raw wikitext. The detection of citation markers is based on the rendered HTML, which may vary depending on the user's Wikipedia theme or settings. The script stores only your preferences via GM_setValue. No data is sent externally—all data is stored locally in your browser. The script never reads or writes password fields, hidden inputs, or file inputs. All DOM operations use safe methods (style properties, textContent, appendChild) and never use innerHTML.