# BookStack

> A wiki for your team's documentation, organized like a library of books.

- Web page: https://documentation.federated.computer/apps/bookstack/
- Category: Files, photos, and documents
- Use instead of: Confluence, Notion (wiki), GitBook, Guru
- Typical address: `bookstack.example.com`
- Project website: https://www.bookstackapp.com/
- Official docs: https://www.bookstackapp.com/docs/

## Overview

BookStack is a simple, well-organized wiki. Content is arranged in a structure everyone understands: **shelves** hold **books**, books hold **chapters**, and chapters hold **pages**. It's ideal for internal procedures, onboarding guides, policies, and knowledge bases.

Main capabilities:

- A clean **WYSIWYG editor**, or a **Markdown editor** with live preview.
- Images, attachments, tables, code blocks, callouts, and diagrams drawn with the built-in **diagrams.net** integration.
- **Revisions** for every page, with comparison and restore.
- **Full-text search** with filters (by tag, type, date, author).
- **Tags** and **templates** for consistent page layouts.
- **Roles and permissions** down to individual books, chapters, and pages.
- **Export** of pages, chapters, and books to PDF, HTML, Markdown, or plain text.
- Page comments, a recycle bin, and an audit log for administrators.

### What it replaces

BookStack replaces Confluence and similar wiki and knowledge base tools such as Notion (as a wiki), GitBook, and Guru.

## Signing in

Open your BookStack address and sign in with your organization account.

## Structure your content

| Level | Use it for | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shelf | A department or broad area | Operations |
| Book | One topic or handbook | Office procedures |
| Chapter | A section of the book | Opening and closing |
| Page | One piece of content | Alarm codes and lock-up checklist |

Chapters are optional; a book can contain pages directly. Shelves are optional too, but they make browsing easier once you have more than a handful of books.

## Write and edit pages

1. Open a book or chapter and choose **New page**.
2. Write in the editor. Use the toolbar for headings, lists, links, tables, and callouts. Paste or drag images straight in.
3. Choose **Save page**. Drafts save automatically while you type, so you won't lose work if your browser closes.

To switch to Markdown for yourself, open your profile, **My account**, **Preferences**, and change the editor. Administrators can choose the default editor for everyone.

### Revisions

Open a page's **Revisions** from the page menu to see who changed what. Use **Preview** or **Changes** to compare, and **Restore** to roll back.

### Templates

Mark any page as a **template** (in the editor's sidebar). When creating pages, insert a template from the same sidebar. Books can also have a default template for new pages.

## Find things

- The search box searches titles, content, and tags. Use the filters on the results page to narrow down, or search for an exact phrase in quotes.
- Tags (for example `status: draft` or `team: finance`) are searchable with `[status=draft]`.

## Control who sees what

Permissions are role-based. By default, roles such as **Admin**, **Editor**, and **Viewer** apply everywhere. To restrict a specific book, chapter, or page:

1. Open it and choose **Permissions**.
2. Override the role permissions for that item, for example letting only the **HR** role view the HR book.

Roles are managed under **Settings**, **Roles**. If your organization maps directory groups to BookStack roles, role membership follows group membership in Superpanel.

## Export and share

From a page, chapter, or book, choose **Export** and pick the format. PDF works well for printing policies; Markdown or HTML is useful for moving content elsewhere.

## Administer BookStack

Administrators see **Settings** in the header:

- **Customization**: app name, logo, colors, and a custom home page (for example a specific shelf or page).
- **Features & Security**: whether public (signed-out) viewing is allowed, comments, and registration.
- **Maintenance**: empty the recycle bin and clean up unused images.
- **Audit log**: see who did what and when.

## Superpanel settings

- **Access**: choose which groups can sign in to BookStack.
- **Administrators**: choose who gets the BookStack Admin role.

> **You host only**
>
> You host customers can run BookStack's `php artisan bookstack:` commands in the container, for example regenerating the search index (`bookstack:regenerate-search`) after a bulk import, or bulk-updating URLs if your domain changes (`bookstack:update-url`).
>
> Command-line access is available only when Federated Core was installed with the You host option. [What this means](https://documentation.federated.computer/getting-started/command-line-access/)

## Further reading

- [BookStack user guide](https://www.bookstackapp.com/docs/user/)
- [BookStack admin guide](https://www.bookstackapp.com/docs/admin/)
- [Roles and permissions](https://www.bookstackapp.com/docs/user/roles-and-permissions/)
- [Content import and export](https://www.bookstackapp.com/docs/user/import-export/)