Wiki.js

Wiki.js is an open-source, self-hosted wiki built on Node.js. It ships with a modern editor, granular permissions, and a choice of database engines, and it’s the app most often set against BookStack in self-hosted wiki debates. Both are free. Both get regular releases. The decision between them usually comes down to how you want content stored and who’s allowed to touch it.

What Wiki.js actually does

Pages are flat documents navigated through a sidebar tree, not BookStack’s fixed Shelves > Books > Chapters > Pages hierarchy. You can write in Markdown, in a WYSIWYG builder, or in plain HTML, and every edit gets versioned, so a page can be rolled back or diffed against an earlier revision.

Authentication and storage are where Wiki.js actually pulls ahead of most self-hosted wikis. Login options run from Google, Microsoft, GitHub, Discord and Slack down to enterprise protocols like LDAP, SAML, Azure AD and generic OAuth2/OIDC, with two-factor authentication as an option on top. On storage, Wiki.js can sync content to a Git repository instead of, or alongside, the database. That’s the one feature homelab users bring up most when explaining why they picked it over BookStack. Search runs on a built-in, zero-config engine by default; Elasticsearch, Algolia and Azure Search are there if a wiki outgrows it.

Installing Wiki.js with Docker

Wiki.js publishes its own Docker images: ghcr.io/requarks/wiki on GitHub Container Registry, and requarks/wiki on Docker Hub. That’s a real difference from BookStack, which has no first-party image and relies on a community build instead. The docs recommend pinning the major version tag (:2) rather than :latest, and pairing it with PostgreSQL, the only database that survives once Wiki.js 3.x ships.

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: wiki
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: wikijsrocks
      POSTGRES_USER: wikijs
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  wiki:
    image: ghcr.io/requarks/wiki:2
    depends_on:
      - db
    environment:
      DB_TYPE: postgres
      DB_HOST: db
      DB_PORT: 5432
      DB_USER: wikijs
      DB_PASS: wikijsrocks
      DB_NAME: wiki
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"

volumes:
  db-data:

1. Save the file above as docker-compose.yml and change both database passwords before the first run.
2. Run docker compose up -d. Give the database a moment to initialize; Wiki.js needs it ready before its own startup finishes.
3. Open http://your-server-ip:3000 and complete the setup wizard to create the first administrator account.
4. Put a reverse proxy such as Nginx Proxy Manager or Caddy in front of the container for HTTPS. Wiki.js needs a dedicated subdomain and can’t be mapped to a URL subfolder.

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f wiki

Wiki.js vs BookStack

• Official Docker images from the project itself, on both GHCR and Docker Hub
• Choice of database engines today, plus Git-backed content sync as a genuinely different storage model
• Deep authentication support: LDAP, SAML, OAuth2/OIDC, social logins, and 2FA
• Actively maintained, with more than 28,000 GitHub stars and regular releases

• AGPL-3.0 is more restrictive than BookStack’s MIT license if you plan to build on and redistribute the code
• Requires a dedicated subdomain, unlike tools that tolerate a subfolder
• MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL Server and SQLite are all being retired in the next major version
• No third-party plugin marketplace, just a fixed set of modules you toggle on or off

Still picking the hardware to run this on? Our homelab setup guide for beginners covers that first machine. And since Wiki.js needs a real subdomain, Nginx Proxy Manager or Caddy are the two reverse proxies most homelabbers already have in place to issue the HTTPS certificate for it.

FAQ

Is Wiki.js free to use?

Yes. It’s released under AGPL-3.0 with no paid tier and no feature paywall. The source-sharing requirement only applies if you modify Wiki.js’s own code and distribute that version publicly; running the stock software for your own team doesn’t trigger it.

What database does Wiki.js need?

PostgreSQL 9.5 or later is the officially recommended choice. MySQL 8.0+, MariaDB 10.2.7+, MS SQL Server 2012+ and SQLite 3.9+ are all currently supported too, but everything except PostgreSQL is being dropped in the next major version, and SQLite isn’t recommended for production even now.

Wiki.js or BookStack for a homelab wiki?

Both are solid, free options. BookStack’s fixed structure and WYSIWYG-first editing suit non-technical contributors better; Wiki.js’s Git-backed storage and wider authentication options suit teams that want more control over storage and login. Neither is a wrong choice.

Can Wiki.js run without Docker?

Yes. It’s a Node.js app, so it runs natively on Linux, macOS or Windows with Node 22 or 24 installed, alongside a supported database. Docker’s just the fastest path, since the image already bundles the right Node.js version.

Does Wiki.js support single sign-on?

Yes. Beyond local accounts and social logins, Wiki.js includes LDAP, SAML, CAS, Auth0, Okta and Azure AD modules, plus generic OAuth2 and OpenID Connect for identity providers that don’t have a dedicated module.