DokuWiki is a lightweight, self‑hosted wiki that stores pages in plain text files, so you don’t need a database. This guide explains what it does well and walks you through a clean install on Ubuntu or Debian with Nginx or Apache.
Publish date: 9/1/2025
If you’ve ever wanted a simple, tidy place to keep notes, internal docs, or knowledge base articles without spinning up a full database stack, DokuWiki hits a sweet spot. It’s quick to set up, friendly to maintain, and flexible enough for teams or solo projects.
Below, we’ll cover what DokuWiki is, where it shines, and then walk you through an installation on a fresh Linux server. Let's dive in.
DokuWiki is open‑source wiki software written in PHP. Unlike many CMSs and wikis, it uses flat files instead of a database, which makes it easy to back up, migrate, and version with standard tools. You edit pages with a straightforward markup, manage media uploads, and extend behavior with templates and plugins.
Here's what DokuWiki looks like by default (they made their own website with DokuWiki):
All content, from pages and media uploads to configuration settings, is stored in simple text files. This design choice dramatically reduces complexity. Backups are as easy as copying a directory, migrations involve moving a folder, and there are far fewer potential points of failure. This also makes DokuWiki exceptionally lightweight and fast, capable of running on almost any server, including shared hosting.
Because every page is a text file, your entire knowledge base is human-readable. This is a game-changer for technical teams who can use version control systems like Git to manage documentation just as they would code. You can track changes, review contributions, and roll back to previous versions with familiar tools.
Don't let its simplicity fool you. DokuWiki features a robust Access Control List (ACL) system. You can restrict permissions (read, edit, create, upload, delete) for specific users or groups. These rules can be applied to individual pages or entire "namespaces" (which function like folders), making it ideal for managing both public and private information within a single installation.
A vast ecosystem of community-developed plugins and templates allows you to extend DokuWiki far beyond its core functionality. You can integrate syntax highlighting for code, create interactive diagrams, embed calendars and videos, add task lists, or completely overhaul the wiki's appearance to match your brand.
The wiki markup is straightforward and easy to learn. Better yet, the built-in editor includes a toolbar for common formatting tasks, allowing even non-technical users to contribute content immediately without a steep learning curve.
Note: If you're still curious about other self-hosted wiki options, we compared DokuWiki, Wiki.js, and BookStack here. We have an article about Wiki.js and how to install it as well.
The steps below assume a fresh system and a non‑root user with sudo.
sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade
Choose one web server.
For Nginx (LEMP):
sudo apt -y install nginx php-fpm php-xml php-gd php-mbstring php-intl php-zip php-curl unzip
For Apache (LAMP):
sudo apt -y install apache2 libapache2-mod-php php php-xml php-gd php-mbstring php-intl php-zip php-curl unzip
Grab the current stable release:
cd /tmp
wget https://download.dokuwiki.org/src/dokuwiki/dokuwiki-stable.tgz
tar xzf dokuwiki-stable.tgz
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/dokuwiki
sudo rsync -a dokuwiki-*/ /var/www/dokuwiki/
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/dokuwiki
Nginx server block (PHP‑FPM):
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/dokuwiki
Paste:
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
root /var/www/dokuwiki;
index index.php index.html;
# DokuWiki recommended locations
location ~ /(data/|conf/|bin/|inc/|vendor/|install.php) { deny all; return 404; }
location / { try_files $uri $uri/ @dokuwiki; }
location @dokuwiki {
rewrite ^/_media/(.*) /lib/exe/fetch.php?media=$1 last;
rewrite ^/_detail/(.*) /lib/exe/detail.php?media=$1 last;
rewrite ^/_export/([^/]+)/(.*) /doku.php?do=export_$1&id=$2 last;
rewrite ^/(.*) /doku.php?id=$1 last;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php-fpm.sock;
}
location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico|svg|woff2?)$ {
expires 30d;
access_log off;
}
}
Enable and reload:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/dokuwiki /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/dokuwiki
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
Apache VirtualHost:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/dokuwiki.conf
Paste:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName example.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/dokuwiki
<Directory /var/www/dokuwiki>
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Require all granted
</Directory>
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dokuwiki_error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dokuwiki_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
Enable modules and site, then reload:
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo a2ensite dokuwiki
sudo systemctl reload apache2
Visit example.com/install.php to set the wiki name, admin user, and ACL defaults.
Then when done, delete the installer:
sudo rm -f /var/www/dokuwiki/install.php
Use Let’s Encrypt and Certbot.
For Nginx:
sudo apt -y install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com
For Apache:
sudo apt -y install certbot python3-certbot-apache
sudo certbot --apache -d example.com
Certbot sets up auto‑renewal. For more information on how to use Certbot, read our article here.
If you don’t need root access, shared hosting is a simple option. Upload the DokuWiki files via your control panel or SFTP, point the document root, and run install.php in your browser.
DokuWiki keeps documentation straightforward, which makes it a steady pick for teams that want a self‑hosted wiki without a database. You can deploy it on a small VPS, scale up when you need to, and keep backups simple with file copies or Git.
Thanks for reading. If you’re mapping out infrastructure for DokuWiki or other apps, xTom offers enterprise‑grade options: dedicated servers, colocation, NVMe‑powered KVM V.PS for fast VPS deployments, IP transit, and shared hosting. You can also browse more on our services page.
Ready to discuss your infrastructure needs? Contact our team to explore the right solution for your projects.
It uses flat files instead of a database, which keeps installs and backups simple. This also makes it a good fit for lightweight servers and Git‑based workflows.
Yes. You can enable ACLs, create groups, and restrict namespaces so only certain users can read or edit content.
Both work well. Nginx with PHP‑FPM is common on modern VPS and dedicated servers, while Apache can be simpler on shared hosting due to .htaccess support.
Back up the ./data and ./conf directories, plus any custom templates or plugins. With flat files, you can use rsync, tar, or Git, and pair that with provider snapshots.
DokuWiki is designed for flat files. If you later need a database‑driven CMS, plan a content export and migration, or mirror certain content to a different platform.
A small VPS handles many internal wikis. Add CPU and RAM as your user base and plugin count grows. For high traffic, move to a dedicated server and consider a CDN for static assets.
Yes. Upload the package, point your document root, and run the installer in your browser. If you want to start quickly, see V.PS shared hosting plans here.