Wikimedia Commons

Also known as Commons, commonswiki, WikiCommons, commons.wikimedia.org, commons wikimedia, commons:, Wikipedia Commons

online repository of free-use image, audio, and other media files

AI overview

Wikimedia Commons is a free online library where anyone can upload and download images, audio files, and other media that are available for anyone to use. It matters because it provides a centralized place to share and access media content without copyright restrictions, making it easier for people around the world to find and use materials for projects, research, and education.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Part of: Wikimedia project
Founded by: Wikimedia Foundation
Owned by: Wikimedia Foundation
Operator: Wikimedia Foundation
Country of origin: United States
Game engine: Q83
Official website: commons.wikimedia.org
Image: Commons screenshot.png
Has use: free content

Show 24 more facts

language of work or name: multiple languages
IRC channel URL: irc://irc.freenode.net/#wikimedia-commons
Stack Exchange tag: stackoverflow.com/tags/wikimedia-commons
API endpoint URL: magnus-toolserver.toolforge.org/commonsapi.php
data size: 375021629721153
Commons category: Wikimedia Commons
Commons gallery: Wikimedia Commons
inception: 2004-09-07
topic's main category: Category:Wikimedia Commons
search formatter URL: commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=$1
Alexa rank: 300
sponsor: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
social media followers: 20119
uses: Q16354758
web feed URL: commons.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?action=featuredfeed&feed=motd&feedformat=atom
P11914: Earth
privacy policy URL: foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Privacy_policy
terms of service URL: foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Terms_of_Use
SPARQL endpoint URL: commons-query.wikimedia.org/sparql
native label: Wikimedia Commons
P8168: North Vandergrift-Pleasant View
DuckDuckGo bang: wmc
maximum size or capacity: 5
copyright license: Creative Commons CC0 License

Sources (13)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Wikimedia Commons, also known as Wikicommons, or simply Commons, is a wiki-based media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in all languages, including Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikisource, Wikiquote, Wiktionary, Wikinews, Wikibooks and Wikispecies, and can also be downloaded for offsite use. As of May 2026, the repository contains over 141 million free-to-use media files, managed and editable by registered volunteers.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Wikimedia Commons” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.