Wiki.js Setup Guide

Wiki.js is a lightweight, modern-looking open-source Wiki system that supports Markdown editing, Git sync backup, and multiple database backends. Below is a complete walkthrough of deploying with Docker Compose.

docker-compose.yml

version: "3.9"
networks:
  wikinet:
    driver: bridge
volumes:
  pgdata:
services:
  db:
    image: postgres:17
    container_name: db
    hostname: db
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - wikinet
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: wiki
      POSTGRES_USER: wiki
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE: /etc/wiki/.db-secret
    volumes:
      - /etc/wiki/.db-secret:/etc/wiki/.db-secret:ro
      - /etc/wiki/pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  wiki:
    image: ghcr.io/requarks/wiki:2
    container_name: wiki
    hostname: wiki
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - wikinet
    depends_on:
      - db
    ports:
      - "80:3000"
      - "443:3443"
    environment:
      DB_TYPE: postgres
      DB_HOST: db
      DB_PORT: 5432
      DB_USER: wiki
      DB_NAME: wiki
      DB_PASS_FILE: /etc/wiki/.db-secret
      UPGRADE_COMPANION: "1"
    volumes:
      - /etc/wiki/.db-secret:/etc/wiki/.db-secret:ro
      - /etc/wiki/keys:/etc/wiki/keys:ro
      - /etc/wiki/ssh/known_hosts:/etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts:ro
  wiki-update-companion:
    image: ghcr.io/requarks/wiki-update-companion:latest
    container_name: wiki-update-companion
    hostname: wiki-update-companion
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - wikinet
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro

1. Create Directories

sudo mkdir -p /etc/wiki
sudo mkdir -p /etc/wiki/keys

2. Generate Database Password

Use openssl to generate a random password and write it to the secret file:

openssl rand -base64 32 | sudo tee /etc/wiki/.db-secret > /dev/null
sudo chmod 644 /etc/wiki/.db-secret

Note: .db-secret file permissions can be set to 644 — PostgreSQL runs as root inside the container and can read it.

3. Start

docker compose up -d

After starting, visit http://your-server-ip to complete the initial setup (create admin account, etc.).

4. Configure Git Sync

Wiki.js supports automatically syncing content to a Git repository for backup and version control.

Generate a passwordless ed25519 key for Wiki.js:

sudo ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -N "" -f /etc/wiki/keys/wikijs_git
sudo chmod 600 /etc/wiki/keys/wikijs_git

View the public key:

sudo cat /etc/wiki/keys/wikijs_git.pub

Using GitHub as an example:

Go to Repo → Settings → Deploy keys → Add deploy key

Paste the public key content and check Allow write access (Wiki.js needs write permission to push changes).

Pre-generate GitHub's host key to avoid Host key verification failed errors on first connection:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/wiki/ssh
sudo ssh-keyscan -H github.com | sudo tee /etc/wiki/ssh/known_hosts > /dev/null
sudo chmod 644 /etc/wiki/ssh/known_hosts

Enter the Wiki.js admin panel:

Git Sync → Authentication → SSH Private Key Path

Enter: /etc/wiki/keys/wikijs_git

Some Notes