BookStack

A simple, opinionated platform for documentation and internal knowledge, organized like a library of shelves, books, chapters and pages.

19.1k stars, 2.4k forks PHP On GitHub since August 2015

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is BookStack?

BookStack structures content in a way people understand at once: shelves hold books, books hold chapters, and chapters hold pages. Pages are written in a WYSIWYG editor or in Markdown, with revisions, drawings through diagrams.net, tags, full-text search and fine-grained permissions. Sign-in works with LDAP, SAML 2.0 and OIDC, and an API covers most content. It is a PHP application with a MySQL or MariaDB database, and the interface is translated into about 45 languages.

Good fit if

  • You want an internal wiki that non-technical colleagues can use without training.
  • You need LDAP or SAML sign-in and per-book permissions.
  • You prefer a mature, steadily maintained project with a permissive license.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want real-time collaborative editing: Docmost or Outline.
  • You want a personal knowledge base with links between notes: Trilium Notes.

Before you adopt it

BookStack is MIT-licensed and fully free, maintained since 2015 mostly by its creator, Dan Brown. Its main development now happens on Codeberg, with GitHub as a mirror.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction

BookStack health: is it still maintained?

69 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    111 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 18 October 2026.
    25 / 30
  • Contributors
    3 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 89% of them.
    5 / 20
  • Releases
    15 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v26.09.2, on 20 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 92% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 2 days.
    17 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 3.2 of 10.
    3 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

BookStack license: is it open source?

BookStack uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. August 2015First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

How to run BookStack yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker-compose.yml: 4 services (mysql)
Setup effort
3 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
46 languages

Install instructions: codeberg.org or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to BookStack

  • Docs (La Suite)Docs is an open-source text editor: web-native, made for real-time collaboration, cleanly structured… 80 health · MIT · 17k stars
  • DocmostDocmost is an open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It is an open-source alternative to… 72 health · AGPL-3.0 · 22.2k stars
  • DokuWikiThe DokuWiki Open Source Wiki Engine 69 health · GPL-2.0 · 4.7k stars
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  • AppFlowyBring projects, wikis, and teams together with AI. AppFlowy is the AI collaborative workspace where you… 40 health · AGPL-3.0 · 78.1k stars

All 34 projects in Notes & knowledge bases

Questions about BookStack

Is BookStack open source?

Yes. BookStack is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is BookStack still maintained?

Its health score is 69 of 100 (actively developed). It had 111 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 18 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 20 October 2026.

How do I run BookStack?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to BookStack?

Close alternatives in the Notes & knowledge bases category include Docs (La Suite), Docmost, DokuWiki.