BookStack

Key Features

• Hierarchical content organization with Shelves, Books, Chapters, and Pages structure for logical documentation flow
• Dual editing modes supporting both WYSIWYG visual editor and Markdown syntax for different user preferences
• Multi-format export capabilities including PDF generation, HTML export, and Markdown conversion for content portability
• Advanced search functionality with full-text indexing powered by MariaDB's enhanced search capabilities
• Role-based permission system with granular access controls at shelf, book, chapter, and page levels
• Drawing and diagramming tools with built-in image annotation and markup features
• Page templates and custom HTML support for standardized documentation formats
• MariaDB's Aria storage engine providing crash-safe operations and improved performance for BookStack's data

Common Use Cases

• 1Technical documentation hubs for software development teams managing API docs, deployment guides, and coding standards
• 2IT knowledge bases storing troubleshooting procedures, network diagrams, and infrastructure documentation
• 3Project wikis for tracking requirements, specifications, and collaborative planning documents
• 4Educational institutions creating course materials, student handbooks, and research documentation
• 5Small business operations manuals documenting processes, procedures, and training materials
• 6Personal knowledge management systems for researchers and professionals organizing notes and references
• 7Client documentation portals for agencies and consultants sharing guides and project information

Prerequisites

• Minimum 1GB RAM for optimal MariaDB performance with BookStack's database operations
• Docker and Docker Compose installed with support for environment variable substitution
• Port 6875 available for BookStack web interface access
• Environment variables configured for DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME, and DB_ROOT_PASSWORD
• Basic understanding of user permission systems for configuring BookStack access controls
• Storage space planning for document uploads, images, and database growth over time

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  bookstack: 
3    image: linuxserver/bookstack:latest
4    container_name: bookstack
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      PUID: 1000
8      PGID: 1000
9      APP_URL: http://localhost:6875
10      DB_HOST: mariadb
11      DB_USER: ${DB_USER}
12      DB_PASS: ${DB_PASSWORD}
13      DB_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
14    volumes: 
15      - bookstack_config:/config
16    ports: 
17      - "6875:80"
18    depends_on: 
19      - mariadb
20    networks: 
21      - bookstack
22
23  mariadb: 
24    image: mariadb:11
25    container_name: bookstack-mariadb
26    environment: 
27      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
28      MARIADB_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
29      MARIADB_USER: ${DB_USER}
30      MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
31    volumes: 
32      - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
33    networks: 
34      - bookstack
35
36volumes: 
37  bookstack_config: 
38  mariadb_data: 
39
40networks: 
41  bookstack: 
42    driver: bridge

.env Template

1DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
2DB_NAME=bookstack
3DB_USER=bookstack
4DB_PASSWORD=changeme

Usage Notes

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

bookstack:
  image: linuxserver/bookstack:latest
  container_name: bookstack
  restart: unless-stopped
  environment:
    PUID: 1000
    PGID: 1000
    APP_URL: http://localhost:6875
    DB_HOST: mariadb
    DB_USER: ${DB_USER}
    DB_PASS: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    DB_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
  volumes:
    - bookstack_config:/config
  ports:
    - "6875:80"
  depends_on:
    - mariadb
  networks:
    - bookstack

mariadb:
  image: mariadb:11
  container_name: bookstack-mariadb
  environment:
    MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
    MARIADB_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
    MARIADB_USER: ${DB_USER}
    MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
  volumes:
    - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
  networks:
    - bookstack

Quick Start

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  bookstack:
5    image: linuxserver/bookstack:latest
6    container_name: bookstack
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      PUID: 1000
10      PGID: 1000
11      APP_URL: http://localhost:6875
12      DB_HOST: mariadb
13      DB_USER: ${DB_USER}
14      DB_PASS: ${DB_PASSWORD}
15      DB_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
16    volumes:
17      - bookstack_config:/config
18    ports:
19      - "6875:80"
20    depends_on:
21      - mariadb
22    networks:
23      - bookstack
24
25  mariadb:
26    image: mariadb:11
27    container_name: bookstack-mariadb
28    environment:
29      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
30      MARIADB_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
31      MARIADB_USER: ${DB_USER}
32      MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
33    volumes:
34      - mariadb_data:/var/lib/mysql
35    networks:
36      - bookstack
37
38volumes:
39  bookstack_config:
40  mariadb_data:
41
42networks:
43  bookstack:
44    driver: bridge
45EOF
46
47# 2. Create the .env file
48cat > .env << 'EOF'
49DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
50DB_NAME=bookstack
51DB_USER=bookstack
52DB_PASSWORD=changeme
53EOF
54
55# 3. Start the services
56docker compose up -d
57
58# 4. View logs
59docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/bookstack/run | bash

Troubleshooting