Template:Lead too short

File:Test Template Info-Icon - Version (2).svg Template documentation[view] [edit] [history] [purge]

Usage

Place {{Lead too short|date=May 2026}} at the top of articles where the lead section is much shorter than what is recommended, relative to the length of the article. The appropriate length of the lead section depends on the total length of the article. If the lead fails to provide an adequate summary of the article's key points, without necessarily being too short, use the template {{lead rewrite}} instead.

You can use the |reason= parameter to specify the reason why the lead is too short, as in the following example:

{{Lead too short|date=May 2026|reason=Your critique here.}}

• Do not use this template on stub articles. Stub articles are by definition underdeveloped articles - it is not yet appropriate to tag them as having a lead too short.

Notes

• This template will categorize tagged articles into Category:Wikipedia introduction cleanup and Category:Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify.

Tracking category

• Category:All pages needing cleanup (34,138)

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Lead too short in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Lead too short

Use this cleanup template to indicate that the lead section of an article is too short relative to the length of the article and should be expanded.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Month and year	date	The month and year that the template was placed (in full). "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}" inserts the current month and year automatically. Example January 2013 Auto value {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}	Line	required
Reason	reason	The reason why the lead is too short (e.g., what it is missing)	String	optional
Talk page section	talk	Section name on the talk page for further discussion	Line	optional

Redirects

1. {{build lead}}
2. {{expand lead}}
3. {{intro too short}}
4. {{intro-expand}}
5. {{intro-tooshort}}
6. {{lead-too-short}}
7. {{lede too short}}
8. {{short intro}}
9. {{short lead}}
10. {{too short}}

• This template contains a self-reference (it refers to Wikipedia in its contents).
• This template should not be substituted. Bots rely on the transcluded form for dating and categorisation.

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Lead too short/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (edit | diff) and testcases (edit) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.