WikiDocs is a databaseless, flat-file wiki: every page is a plain Markdown file on disk, with no database to back up or migrate. It began as a small PHP application and version 2 is a complete rewrite in TypeScript — a NestJS backend, an Angular web client and an Electron desktop app — while keeping the same principle that your knowledge base is a folder of portable text files you can open, sync or hand to any other tool.

Two ways to run it

• Desktop app: an Electron application for Windows and macOS that keeps the wiki entirely on your own machine, with no server required.
• Self-hosted service: the official zavy86/wikidocs:2 Docker image serves the same data as a web wiki on port 3210, in either public or private browsing mode.
• Sync: the desktop app can connect to your own remote instance, so the same pages stay available locally and over the network.
• A documented REST API, with Swagger documentation served at /api/ on any instance, makes the wiki scriptable and easy to integrate.

Editing and Markdown

• A full WYSIWYG editor over Markdown, with YAML frontmatter for document metadata such as title, author and tags.
• KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams render directly in pages.
• Attachments can be uploaded and downloaded, and images can be pasted straight from the clipboard.
• Unlimited page revisions, a versions view and a trash can for restoring or discarding deleted pages.
• Syntax highlighting for code blocks, a dark mode and a multi-language interface.
• Documents are organised into namespaces, with an index and sitemap generated automatically.
• Public and private browsing modes, plus per-account management when the wiki is opened to a team.

Deployment

• Quick start with Docker: docker run -p 3210:3210 zavy86/wikidocs:2.
• Persist content by mounting a volume at /var/lib/wikidocs/datasets; set MODE to public or private and provide a SECRET for a compose deployment.
• Upgrading from the 1.x PHP releases is supported: the data stays compatible after reconfiguring the wiki and creating an administrator account, with only the homepage document needing to move to the root directory. The original PHP code remains on the legacy branch.
• MIT licensed and actively developed, with the current release 2.0.2 published in October 2026.

Licence

Open source — MIT Licence. Free to use, modify and self-host, including for commercial purposes.

Alternatives

• An Otter Wiki — minimal Flask wiki storing pages in a git repository
• Wiki.js — full-featured Node.js wiki with a database backend
• BookStack — structured documentation wiki organised into books, chapters and pages
• DokuWiki — long-standing flat-file wiki with a large plugin ecosystem
• SilverBullet — Markdown knowledge base with a built-in editor and queries