Skip to content
appsgit

10 top picks · 3 audience rankings

Best open source wikis and knowledge bases

The best open source wiki is SiYuan (AGPL-3.0, 46,973 GitHub stars, Docker image). Outline (source-available) stands out for an appsgit step-by-step deploy guide, and Wiki.js stands out for the most recent release (3.0.0-beta.705, October 2026).

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: SiYuan leads for startups, small business and enterprise.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    SiYuan

    siyuan-note/siyuan

    A privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Wikis & Knowledge BasesTypeScriptDocker

    AI-nativeStands out for the most GitHub stars. SiYuan has 46,973 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,161 commits in the last year.

  2. Rank 2:

    Outline

    outline/outline

    Extensible wiki for your team.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Source-availableWikis & Knowledge BasesTypeScriptDocker

    Stands out for an appsgit step-by-step deploy guide. Outline has 41,090 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,392 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

  3. Rank 3:

    Wiki.js

    requarks/wiki

    Modern, lightweight and powerful wiki app using Git and Markdown.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Wikis & Knowledge BasesTypeScriptDocker

    Stands out for the most recent release (3.0.0-beta.705, October 2026). Wiki.js has 29,098 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 281 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

At a glance

Open source wikis and knowledge bases compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 27 apps in the wikis & knowledge bases category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
SiYuanthe most GitHub starsAGPL-3.046,97310,161Oct 28, 2026Yes
Outlinean appsgit step-by-step deploy guidesource-available, BSL 1.141,0902,392Oct 28, 2026Yes
Wiki.jsthe most recent release (3.0.0-beta.705, October 2026)AGPL-3.029,098281Oct 28, 2026Yes
docmost Community Editionthe newest codebase (created August 2023)AGPL-3.022,127469Oct 27, 2026Yes
BookStacka permissive MIT licenseMIT19,111432Oct 28, 2026Yes
Docs–MIT16,9531,171Oct 27, 2026No
TiddlyWiki–BSD-3-Clause8,696431Oct 18, 2026No
NoteDiscovery–MIT2,853731Oct 27, 2026Yes
Dokuwiki–GPL-2.04,733483Sep 29, 2026No
Atomic Server–MIT1,6272,110Oct 28, 2026Yes

1 of 4 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 27 apps in the wikis & knowledge bases category.

  1. 1

    SiYuan

    A privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang.

    AI-nativeStands out for the most GitHub stars. SiYuan has 46,973 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,161 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    Outline

    Extensible wiki for your team.

    Stands out for an appsgit step-by-step deploy guide. Outline has 41,090 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,392 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

  3. 3

    Wiki.js

    Modern, lightweight and powerful wiki app using Git and Markdown.

    Stands out for the most recent release (3.0.0-beta.705, October 2026). Wiki.js has 29,098 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 281 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

  4. 4

    docmost Community Edition

    Collaborative wiki and documentation software (alternative to Confluence, Notion).

    Stands out for the newest codebase (created August 2023). docmost Community Edition has 22,127 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 469 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

  5. 5

    BookStack

    Simple, self-hosted, easy-to-use platform for organising and storing information.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. BookStack has 19,111 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 432 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

  6. 6

    Docs

    Collaborative note taking, wiki and documentation platform that scales.

    Docs has 16,953 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,171 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    TiddlyWiki

    Reusable non-linear personal web notebook.

    TiddlyWiki has 8,696 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 431 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    NoteDiscovery

    Markdown note-taking app with plain-file storage, graph view, and MCP integration (alternative to Obsidian, Notion).

    NoteDiscovery has 2,853 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 731 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    Dokuwiki

    Easy to use, lightweight, standards-compliant wiki engine with a simple syntax allowing reading the data outside the wiki. All data is stored in plain text files, therefore no database is required.

    Dokuwiki has 4,733 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 483 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.

  10. 10

    Atomic Server

    Knowledge graph database with documents (similar to Notion), tables, search, and a powerful linked data API. Lightweight, very fast and no runtime dependencies.

    Atomic Server has 1,627 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,110 commits in the last year.

2 of 4 · 5 picks

Which open source wiki is best for startups?

For startups, SiYuan ranks first (AGPL-3.0, 46,973 GitHub stars), followed by BookStack and Wiki.js. Ranked for startups on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites and recent commits.

  1. 1

    SiYuan

    A privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang.

    AI-nativeSiYuan has 46,973 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,161 commits in the last year. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    BookStack

    Simple, self-hosted, easy-to-use platform for organising and storing information.

    BookStack has 19,111 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 432 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Wiki.js

    Modern, lightweight and powerful wiki app using Git and Markdown.

    Wiki.js has 29,098 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 281 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    docmost Community Edition

    Collaborative wiki and documentation software (alternative to Confluence, Notion).

    docmost Community Edition has 22,127 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 469 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Outline

    Extensible wiki for your team.

    Outline has 41,090 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,392 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

3 of 4 · 5 picks

Which open source wiki is best for small business?

For small business, SiYuan ranks first (AGPL-3.0, 46,973 GitHub stars), followed by Outline (source-available) and Wiki.js. Ranked for small business on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides.

  1. 1

    SiYuan

    A privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang.

    AI-nativeSiYuan has 46,973 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,161 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Outline

    Extensible wiki for your team.

    Outline has 41,090 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,392 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence, and appsgit has a step-by-step deploy guide for it. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, a project website, a commit in the last 90 days and an appsgit deploy guide.

  3. 3

    Wiki.js

    Modern, lightweight and powerful wiki app using Git and Markdown.

    Wiki.js has 29,098 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 281 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    docmost Community Edition

    Collaborative wiki and documentation software (alternative to Confluence, Notion).

    docmost Community Edition has 22,127 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 469 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    BookStack

    Simple, self-hosted, easy-to-use platform for organising and storing information.

    BookStack has 19,111 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 432 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

4 of 4 · 5 picks

Which open source wiki is best for enterprise?

For enterprise, SiYuan ranks first (AGPL-3.0, 46,973 GitHub stars), followed by Outline (source-available) and Wiki.js. Ranked for enterprise on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    SiYuan

    A privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang.

    AI-nativeSiYuan has 46,973 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,161 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Outline

    Extensible wiki for your team.

    Outline has 41,090 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,392 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For enterprise it also scores on a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Wiki.js

    Modern, lightweight and powerful wiki app using Git and Markdown.

    Wiki.js has 29,098 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 281 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    docmost Community Edition

    Collaborative wiki and documentation software (alternative to Confluence, Notion).

    docmost Community Edition has 22,127 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 469 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Docs

    Collaborative note taking, wiki and documentation platform that scales.

    Docs has 16,953 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,171 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is SiYuan free?

Yes. SiYuan is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these wikis and knowledge bases with Docker?

Yes, 7 of the 10 picks. SiYuan, Outline and Wiki.js publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these wikis and knowledge bases open source?

9 of the 10 apps on this list are open source; 1 is source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy.

Which of these wikis and knowledge bases is the most actively developed?

SiYuan, with 10,161 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v3.8.8, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 27 apps in the wikis & knowledge bases category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

The weekly digest

New self-hosted apps, every week

Fresh releases, rising projects and one deploy guide a week. Join home labbers and engineers who self-host.

One email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.