Wiki.js is a powerful and extensible open-source wiki software known for its intuitive interface and robust feature set. It has a beautiful and intuitive interface to help you enjoy writing documentation.
Wiki.js is highly flexible. It works on pretty much any platform you can think of and is compatible with many different databases. It is also highly customisable, with support for multiple languages and themes.
And if that wasn't enough, Wiki.js has a wide range of modules that you can turn on or off as you need them. These modules add extra features and functionality, giving you the power to create the perfect wiki or knowledge base documentation for your needs.
Wiki.js is completely free to use, and licensed under AGPLv3. As of writing this, a large and active community supports Wiki.js, with over 50 million downloads and 23,300+ stars on GitHub.
Table of Contents
What Makes Wiki.js so Great?
- Beautiful and intuitive interface: Wiki.js makes writing documentation enjoyable with its user-friendly design.
- Extensive admin area: You can easily manage every aspect of your wiki.
- Fast performance: Built on the Node.js engine, Wiki.js is designed for speed.
- Customizable appearance: Personalize your wiki with light or dark mode and other options.
- Flexible privacy settings: You can make your wiki public, private, or a mix of both.
- Scalable to your needs: Wiki.js works efficiently on a variety of platforms, from small devices to powerful servers.
- Easy installation: It can be installed on many platforms and cloud.
Key Features
- Flexible Deployment: Wiki.js boasts cross-platform compatibility, running smoothly on various operating systems (Linux, macOS, Windows) and deployment environments (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Database Versatility: Supports a wide array of databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL Server, and SQLite.
- User-Friendly Interface: A key strength of Wiki.js is its intuitive administrative interface, simplifying content management and wiki configuration.
- Performance Optimized: Built on the high-performance Node.js engine, Wiki.js is designed for speed and responsiveness, even with large datasets.
- Customizable Appearance: Offers light and dark modes and extensive customization options to tailor the wiki's look and feel.
- Security & Access Control: Enables fine-grained control over wiki access, ranging from public to completely private, and integrates with various authentication mechanisms.
- Scalability: Adaptable to diverse hardware, from a Raspberry Pi to high-performance cloud VMs, Wiki.js intelligently utilizes available resources.
Modules & Extensibility
Wiki.js utilizes a modular architecture, allowing administrators to selectively enable features based on their needs. Key module categories include:
Authentication
Wiki.js Offers diverse authentication options as listed below.
- Local Authentication: Built-in authentication with self-registration and password recovery.
- Social Authentication: Integrates with Google, Facebook, Microsoft, GitHub, Discord, Slack, and more.
- Enterprise Authentication: Supports LDAP, SAML, CAS, Auth0, Okta, Azure AD, and generic OAuth2/OpenID Connect.
- Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Adds an extra security layer for supported authentication modules.
Editors
Wiki.js provides flexibility in content creation. It consists of the following editors, with more to come in the future.
- Markdown: The popular choice for developers with live preview and shortcuts.
- Visual Builder: WYSIWYG editor ideal for non-technical users.
- Plain HTML: For direct HTML input and importing pre-formatted content.
- WikiText (Coming Soon): Facilitates migration from MediaWiki platforms.
- API Docs (Coming Soon): Specialized editor for REST/GraphQL API documentation.
- Tabular (Coming Soon): For creating spreadsheet-like pages.
History & Versioning
Wiki.js ensures content integrity and traceability.
- Version Tracking: All changes are tracked, allowing reverts and recovery of deleted pages.
- Version Comparison: Visually compare changes between versions.
- Export/Branching: Export specific versions or create new pages from older versions.
Localization
Wiki.js makes the wiki accessible to a global audience.
- Multilingual Support: Translated into over 40 languages, with tools for adding more.
- Native RTL Support: Full support for right-to-left languages.
- Multilingual Content: Enable multiple languages for the same page, with easy switching.
Media Assets
- Assets Manager: Centralized management of images, documents, and other assets.
- Media Players (Coming Soon): Embed content from YouTube, audio sources, and more.
- Image Editor (Coming Soon): Built-in editor for cropping, resizing, and applying filters.
- Diagram Generation: Create UML, flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and more.
Rendering
- Code Highlighting: Syntax highlighting and line numbering for code snippets.
- Math Expression Rendering: Support for TeX and MathML syntax.
Search
- Built-in Database Search: Requires no setup and suitable for most users.
- Cloud Search: Integrate with services like Algolia and Azure Search.
- Elasticsearch: Leverage existing Elasticsearch installations.
- Other Search Engines (Coming Soon): Support for Manticore, Solr, and Sphinx.
Storage
Wiki.js offers various options for backup and content synchronization.
- Git: Synchronize or back up to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, and others.
- Enterprise Cloud Storage: Support for AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage, and more.
- Personal Cloud Storage (Coming Soon): Integrate with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and others.
- Local/Network: Backup to local disks, network shares, or remote servers via SSH.
User & Group Management
Wiki.js provides a comprehensive system for user management and access control:
- Management Tool: Centralized administration area for user creation and modification.
- Groups: Efficiently manage permissions by assigning users to groups.
- Permissions: Granular control over page editing, asset management, and administrative access.
- Page Rules: Define precise access rules for groups using path filters and regular expressions.
Theming & Customization
Wiki.js allows for visual customization through themes:
- Custom Themes (Coming Soon): Create unique themes to completely revamp the wiki's appearance.
- Dark Mode: Switch between light and dark modes for the user interface.
- Default Theme Personalization (Coming Soon): Customize colours and display options of the default theme.
- Custom CSS/JS Injection: Override CSS styles or inject JavaScript for further customization.
Installing Wiki.js
One of the great things about Wiki.js is that it's easy to install. Wikijs official documentation provides step-by-step installation guides, and you could be up and running in just a few minutes.
Wiki.js supports multiple operating systems and is compatible with many different databases:
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- MS SQL Server
- SQLite
We will be covering the installation of Wiki.js shortly.
Conclusion
Wiki.js is powerful, open-source wiki software offering extensive features and customisation. It stands out as a versatile and feature-rich wiki platform suitable for a wide range of use cases.
Its intuitive interface, flexible deployment options, and extensive customization capabilities make it an excellent choice for teams of all sizes looking for a robust and user-friendly knowledge management solution.
Resources:
