Desire Paths for Wikipedia (2025-2026);

Desire Paths for Wikipedia is a browser userscript that remembers the path of a cursor over the linked pages of Wikipedia.org. It averages these paths and “wears” them into the page, showing your browsing history over time. Return to a page months or years later and find not just that you had been there before, but exactly how you wandered.

With thanks to Kate Compton and Christina Cuneo, with whom this idea emerged in conversation. Desire Paths for Wikipedia uses the library Leader Line to draw onto the page.


Installation instructions:

- Download a browser extension that can manage user scripts. Tampermonkey is an option that runs on most common browsers.

- Go to the Desire Paths script on Greasy Fork and hit 'Install this script'.

- Go to Wikipedia and browse around!

Desire Paths for Wikipedia runs in local storage. No information is sent or received from an external server. To clear data, simply use localStorage.clear().