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BookStack

A free, MIT-licensed self-hosted wiki that organises pages into shelves, books and chapters.

Open sourceSelf-hostableWiki and knowledge base tools
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About BookStack

BookStack is an open-source wiki you install on your own server. Its structure borrows from a library: shelves contain books, books contain chapters, and chapters contain pages, which makes it easy for non-technical staff to understand where things go. Pages are written in a WYSIWYG editor, or in Markdown with live preview if you prefer, and there are revisions, page templates, full-text search, diagrams via draw.io, and role-based permissions down to individual items. Logins can come from LDAP, SAML or OpenID Connect, and the interface is translated into many languages. It runs on PHP with a MySQL or MariaDB database, so it fits on modest hardware and many hosting setups. The project is maintained largely by one lead developer with community help, and it is entirely free with no paid edition, although that means support comes from docs and the community rather than a vendor. It is a common choice for IT teams, homelabs and organisations replacing an internal Confluence.

Best for: Teams that want a simple, free wiki they host themselves.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Fully free and MIT licensed
  • Easy-to-grasp shelves, books and chapters structure
  • WYSIWYG and Markdown editors
  • LDAP, SAML and OIDC login

Why people leave

  • Self-hosted only; you run updates and backups
  • Rigid hierarchy doesn't suit loosely linked notes
  • No vendor support contract

Top BookStack alternatives

See all 6
  1. 1Confluence logo
    Confluence

    Hosted, with a free tier, if you'd rather not run a server.

    68.6
  2. 2Wiki.js logo
    Wiki.js

    Another free self-hosted wiki, on Node.js, with Git sync and more editors.

    66.5
  3. 3Docmost logo
    Docmost

    Open-source with a Notion-like editor and real-time collaboration.

    62.6
  4. 4Outline logo
    Outline

    A more modern, collaborative editor with optional paid support.

    59.6
  5. 5DokuWiki logo
    DokuWiki

    Even lighter to host, storing pages as plain files with no database.

    57.2

Why people left BookStack

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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BookStack: common questions

Is BookStack free?

Yes. BookStack is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is BookStack open source?

Yes. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does BookStack run on?

BookStack is available for Web and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to BookStack?

The highest-ranked BookStack alternatives right now are Confluence, Wiki.js and Docmost. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 BookStack alternatives