Sub-reference numbers are displayed incorrectly in the reference list in (some?) mobile browsers
Closed, ResolvedPublicBUG REPORT
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	Johannes_Richter_WMDE
	Dec 2 2025, 10:28 AM

Description

Steps to replicate the issue:

Open an article with sub-references on a mobile device (probably just iOS?)

What happens?:

Observe that sub-ref footnote numbers are displayed correctly in the article (e.g. [3.1.]), but not in the reference list:

What should have happened instead?:

Display the sub-ref numbers correctly just like in desktop view

Other information:

I can reproduce the issue on an iOS device using Chrome / Safari / Firefox and also on a MacOS device using Chrome / Safari / Firefox (choosing mobile instead of desktop view).
Cannot reproduce it on my Linux laptop using Chrome / Firefox and mobile view

Background

This seems to be related to a WebKit issue where that browser engine lacks some CSS support https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=204163 .
Other browsers on iOS also need to use the WebKit engine so that's why Firefox on iOS is also affected

Next steps

Try to validate and reproduce the issue ( might be caching )
Look into possible solutions ( might be a CSS issue )

Demo

https://1fda1bec93.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Ludwig_Boltzmann#Einzelnachweise

Details

Related Changes in Gerrit:

	Subject	Repo	Branch	Lines +/-
	Temporary workaround for missing sub-ref markers in Safari	mediawiki/extensions/Cite	master	+24 -0

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Related Objects
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Status	Subtype	Assigned	Task
Resolved	BUG REPORT	thiemowmde	T411472 Sub-reference numbers are displayed incorrectly in the reference list in (some?) mobile browsers
Open		None	T378570 [Epic] Render explicit reflist numbers in read mode, without relying on browser <li>
Open		None	T383969 Add reflist numbers to the Cite legacy parser wihout relying on <li>
Open		None	T383972 Lay out grid-like replacement for reflist <li>
Open		None	T383973 Look into ways to build list-style-types for explicit numbering in PHP/JS

Event Timeline

Johannes_Richter_WMDE created this task.Dec 2 2025, 10:28 AM

Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald TranscriptDec 2 2025, 10:28 AM

@Johannes_Richter_WMDE can you please link a few articles where you are able to reproduce the issue. Thanks!

Lina_Farid_WMDE moved this task from Incoming to NEXT on the Cite (Sub-referencing) board.Dec 3 2025, 10:06 AM

In T411472#11427126, @Lina_Farid_WMDE wrote:

@Johannes_Richter_WMDE can you please link a few articles where you are able to reproduce the issue. Thanks!

I took the screenshot from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohlleiter but the issue occurs with any random sub-ref article, e.g. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachener_Rathaus or https://en.wikipedia.beta.wmcloud.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation. The issue was first observed by one of the participants in recent VE mobile user testing.

WMDE-Fisch added a project: WMDE-TechWish (product board).Dec 5 2025, 8:42 AM

Lina_Farid_WMDE moved this task from Incoming to Stories in preparation on the WMDE-TechWish (product board) board.Dec 5 2025, 8:42 AM

Lina_Farid_WMDE added a project: Sub-referencing (product board).Dec 8 2025, 2:40 PM

Lina_Farid_WMDE moved this task from Incoming to Stories ready for pickup on the Sub-referencing (product board) board.

WMDE-Fisch mentioned this in WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2025-12-09-Christmas-Cookie.Dec 9 2025, 10:04 AM

lilients_WMDE added a project: WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2025-12-09-Christmas-Cookie.Dec 9 2025, 10:08 AM

WMDE-Fisch renamed this task from Sub-reference numbers are displayed incorrectly in the reference list in (some?) mobile browssers to Sub-reference numbers are displayed incorrectly in the reference list in (some?) mobile browsers.Dec 10 2025, 10:51 AM

WMDE-Fisch moved this task from Stories ready for pickup to Tickets in sprint on the Sub-referencing (product board) board.Dec 10 2025, 11:09 AM

WMDE-Fisch updated the task description. (Show Details)

WMDE-Fisch moved this task from Stories in preparation to Tickets in sprint on the WMDE-TechWish (product board) board.Dec 10 2025, 11:26 AM

Lina_Farid_WMDE moved this task from NEXT to NOW on the Cite (Sub-referencing) board.Dec 18 2025, 11:03 AM

Unfortunately I'm unable to reproduce this. Here is what I could find so far:

The code responsible for the correct sub-ref numbers can be seen in patch https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1191389 (tracked via T405581). That code was added about 1 month ago.
One way to make the wrong sub-ref number appear is to manually disable that ::marker code. But how can this happen in a prod environment?
One theory is that you sometimes get an old, cached version of the CSS file that didn't had the necessary ::marker code.
Another theory is an outdated or buggy browser that fails rendering the ::marker and falls back to the default "1.", "2." and so on.
Another theory is that we have a problem with the selector ol.references .mw-subreference-list > li::marker being to specific and not getting activated. However, I cannot think of a way to mess this up.

@Johannes_Richter_WMDE, can you check again if you can still reproduce this? In case you cannot (the default 30 days should be over now) it might have been a caching issue.

I'm using the latest iOS version (26.1) and all of the browsers I tested are up to date (Firefox version 146.1, Chrome version 143.0.7499.151, Safari version 26)

I took new screenshots today (from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel) and the bug still exists in all three browsers – sub-refs have been added to the article just a few hours ago therefore it cannot be a caching issue.

Note that the issue has been originally reported during @ElineWMDE's VE mobile user testing by another iOS user, it might be specific to Apple devices.

Let's link this under the epic T378570: [Epic] Render explicit reflist numbers in read mode, without relying on browser <li> which will solve this entire family of issues, as well as stabilize the localization.

::marker compatibility is worse than I had expected: https://caniuse.com/?search=%3A%3Amarker reports that Safari has a long-standing lack of support, and cannot see ::marker content which we rely on for these numbers. The gory details are in https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=204163 , there is no hint of future support.

awight added a subtask: T378570: [Epic] Render explicit reflist numbers in read mode, without relying on browser <li>.Jan 2 2026, 2:21 PM

I wonder if we can use @supports selector( :marker ) and fall back to :before on these browsers?

thiemowmde claimed this task.Jan 5 2026, 9:27 AM

thiemowmde moved this task from Sprint Backlog to Doing on the WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2025-12-09-Christmas-Cookie board.

thiemowmde moved this task from Doing to Tech Review on the WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2025-12-09-Christmas-Cookie board.Jan 5 2026, 4:15 PM

Change #1223217 had a related patch set uploaded (by Thiemo Kreuz (WMDE); author: Thiemo Kreuz (WMDE)):

[mediawiki/extensions/Cite@master] Temporary workaround for missing sub-ref markers in Safari

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1223217

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Jan 5 2026, 4:19 PM

Test wiki created on Patch demo by Thiemo Kreuz (WMDE) using patch(es) linked to this task:
https://628b2fdc24.catalyst.wmcloud.org/w/

@Johannes_Richter_WMDE, can you check if the sub-ref numbers on the patch-demo page https://628b2fdc24.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Ludwig_Boltzmann appear in Safari? I tried a CSS hack but cannot verify it with my machines.

Definitely worth trying! But I think it's tricky to use @supports because Safari does know about ::marker, it just incompletely implements it.

In T411472#11492767, @thiemowmde wrote:

@Johannes_Richter_WMDE, can you check if the sub-ref numbers on the patch-demo page https://628b2fdc24.catalyst.wmcloud.org/wiki/Ludwig_Boltzmann appear in Safari? I tried a CSS hack but cannot verify it with my machines.

It's "fixed" by removing the sub-ref numbers entirely on iOS browsers...

Safari:

Google Chrome:

By the way I just noticed that the issue also occurs in the desktop version of iOS browsers (but not in the desktop version of MacOS browsers) – that's true both for production and your patch demo:

Test wiki on Patch demo by Thiemo Kreuz (WMDE) using patch(es) linked to this task was deleted:

~~https://628b2fdc24.catalyst.wmcloud.org/w/~~

WMDE-Fisch added a project: WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2026-01-06-New-Year-Donuts.Jan 6 2026, 10:52 AM

lilients_WMDE moved this task from Sprint Backlog to Tech Review on the WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2026-01-06-New-Year-Donuts board.Jan 6 2026, 11:01 AM

Change #1223217 merged by jenkins-bot:

[mediawiki/extensions/Cite@master] Temporary workaround for missing sub-ref markers in Safari

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1223217

WMDE-Fisch moved this task from Tech Review to Demo on the WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2026-01-06-New-Year-Donuts board.Jan 7 2026, 7:54 AM

WMDE-Fisch updated the task description. (Show Details)Jan 7 2026, 8:08 AM

Maintenance_bot removed a project: Patch-For-Review.Jan 7 2026, 8:31 AM

awight moved this task from Demo to Done on the WMDE-TechWish-Sprint-2026-01-06-New-Year-Donuts board.Jan 20 2026, 9:16 AM

thiemowmde closed this task as Resolved.Jan 20 2026, 9:18 AM

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Sub-reference numbers are displayed incorrectly in the reference list in (some?) mobile browsersClosed, ResolvedPublicBUG REPORTActions