MediaWiki
MediaWiki is free, server-based software for building wikis that collect, organize and share knowledge. Contributors edit pages in wikitext rather than needing HTML or CSS skills, and earlier page versions can be restored. Administrators can customize appearance and behavior through extensions, while caching is designed to support large, high-traffic wikis. Its REST API provides access to wiki content and functions such as searching, transforming pages and viewing history, with JSON or HTML responses. MediaWiki is self-hosted and licensed under GNU GPL version 2 or later. The latest stable version requires PHP 8.3.0 or later, a web server and a supported database, with specific minimum versions. Each release receives security updates for one year, and developers recommend following the low-traffic mediawiki-announce list. Extensions can pose maintenance, security or compatibility risks. The software is provided without warranty to the extent permitted by law.
Who it is for
MediaWiki suits organizations and communities that want to run a customizable, self-hosted knowledge wiki. The manual cautions that it may not fit projects needing partial access restrictions or dedicated forum or blogging software.
What is good
- Free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later.
- Restore earlier page versions.
- Extensions customize appearance and behavior.
- REST API returns JSON or HTML.
- Caching supports large, high-traffic wikis.
What to know first
- Requires a web server and supported database.
- Latest stable release requires PHP 8.3.0 or later.
- Third-party extensions may be vulnerable or incompatible.
- Each release gets security updates for one year.
Verdict
MediaWiki offers flexible, self-hosted knowledge publishing with page history, extensions and an API. Plan for server and database requirements, and review extensions carefully.
MediaWiki plans and pricing
All plansCompared on knowledge base software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Publishing audience
- both
- Custom domain
- Yes
- SSO support
- Yes
- Version history
- Yes
- Content analytics
- Yes
