BookStack
BookStack provides a self-hosted wiki for organizing and storing information.
About BookStack
BookStack is a self-hosted wiki for organising and storing information. Content is structured into books, chapters and pages, with search within a book or across all content and the ability to link to specific paragraphs. It includes a WYSIWYG editor with an optional Markdown editor, built-in diagrams.net drawings, page revisions, image management, and role-based permissions. Use requires downloading, installing and maintaining your own instance using PHP and MySQL.
Key features
- Organizes content into books, chapters, and pages
- Searches within a book or across all books, chapters, and pages
- Provides WYSIWYG editor and optional Markdown editor with live preview
- Creates diagrams inside pages with built-in diagrams.net
- Supports email/password, OIDC, SAML2, and LDAP login
- Allows per-role multi-factor authentication with TOTP and backup codes
Best for: Teams and individuals that need a self-hosted wiki to organize documentation.
Good for
- Free to download and install, MIT licensed with source available
- Interface available in many languages with per-user language setting
- Offers light and dark themes configurable at user level
Watch out for
- Requires installing and maintaining a self-hosted instance using PHP and MySQL
BookStack at a glance
- Website
- bookstackapp.com
- Category
- Productivity › Notes & Knowledge Management
- Type
- Online tool
- Pricing
- Free
- Platforms
- Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Language
- English
- Last checked
- Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
Guides for Notes & Knowledge Management
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BookStack FAQ
Is BookStack free?
It is described as fully free and open under the MIT license, with no cost to download and install your own instance.
What is required to run BookStack?
It is built using PHP on the Laravel framework and uses MySQL to store data.
Can I try BookStack before installing?
Yes, a demo is available at demo.bookstackapp.com. The demo database and image storage reset every half hour, and user deletion, user updates and setting updates are restricted.
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