Wiki Engines

16 Best Free and Open Source Linux Wiki Engines

A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. A Wiki engine is a type of collaborative software that runs a wiki system. This facilitates web pages being created and edited using a web browser. This type of software is usually implemented as an application server that runs on one or more web servers.

The content is stored in a file system, and changes to the content are typically stored in a relational database management system (such as MySQL), although some simple wiki engines use text files instead.

Wikis try to make it as simple as possible to write and share useful content, using intuitive page naming and text formatting conventions. Wikis are usually (but not always) wide open and assume a cooperating community. However, with spam bots prevalent, most wiki engines have lots of anti-spam measures such as page permissions, Access Control Lists, host blocking, blacklists, and CAPTCHAs in place.

To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 16 high quality free Linux wiki engines. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for anyone who wishes to share information with others.

Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

Ratings chart for the best free and open source wiki engines

Click the links in the table below to learn more about each wiki engine.

Wiki Engines
Wiki.jsWiki engine running on Node.js and written in JavaScript
MediaWikiCollaborative editing software that runs Wikipedia
XWikiEnterprise wiki written in Java
TiddlyWikiPersonal wiki and non-linear notebook
DokuWikiTargeted at developer teams, workgroups and small companies
Tiki Wiki Wiki-based content management system
BookStackPlatform to create documentation/wiki content
GollumSimple wiki system built on top of Git
PmWikiOffers a simple-to-install system
JSPWikiBuilt around the standard J2EE components of Java, servlets and JSP
FoswikiSupports the embedding of active and passive macros
WackoWikiSmall, lightweight, handy, expandable, multilingual written in PHP
PhpWikiWiki engine written in PHP
MoinMoinAdvanced, easy to use and extensible wiki engine implemented in Python
TWikiEasy to use enterprise wiki and collaboration platform
WikkaWikiFlexible, lightweight, standards-compliant wiki engine

This article has been revamped in line with our recent announcement.

Best Free and Open Source SoftwareRead our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software.

The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk.

There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Please read our FAQ before making a comment.

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
P.B.
P.B.
11 months ago

I’d highly recommend Zim:

multi platform
WYSIWYG
transparent (text file based)

Naz
Naz
11 months ago
Reply to  P.B.

It’s included in the Notes roundup (from a search).

https://www.linuxlinks.com/Notes/