No default admin to change
The console refuses [email protected], so the first login is the email you chose.
BookStack 26.09 Content
Free credit available Limited time
BookStack hosting Your team wiki, signed in as your own admin from the firstย page.
Selfhost.dev offers one-click BookStack hosting on a dedicated server we provision, secure and run, with MariaDB bundled and your own admin login set before BookStack serves its first page. The published [email protected] default never works here.
No PHP, no web server and no default password to change.
BookStackone-click template ready
- wikiBookStack v26.09
- databaseMariaDB 11.8, bundled
- sign-inyour email + password
- default adminreplaced by yours
- HTTPSon from the start
European 4 GB server$0.02/hr
In one line
What is BookStack hosting on Selfhost.dev?
What it is
BookStack is an open source wiki that organises documentation into shelves, books, chapters and pages. This template runs it with its own MariaDB on a server of your own.
Where to start. Open the console with BookStack selected
Who it is for
Teams writing internal documentation, product manuals or a knowledge base who want an editor anyone can pick up.
When to use it
When shared hosting cannot run it and you would rather not install PHP, MariaDB and a web server yourself.
Server
BookStack hosting, set up before your first page
BookStack needs PHP with its extensions, MySQL or MariaDB and a web server, which is why shared hosting cannot run it. Here all three are in place, with HTTPS and your admin, before you sign in.
The stack, end to end
Callers
Your team's browsers
Edge
HTTPS
Your project server
Container
BookStack
Database
MariaDB
Content
Shelves and books
To sign in
Your admin
| BookStack by hand | BookStack hosting on Selfhost.dev |
|---|---|
| Rent a VPS, since shared hosting cannot run it | A dedicated server, set up for you |
| Install PHP, its extensions and a web server | BookStack ready to serve |
| Create a MariaDB database and run migrations | MariaDB bundled and migrated |
| Add HTTPS with a reverse proxy | HTTPS on a generated address |
BookStack and its MariaDB run side by side on one server. Deploy the stack
Docker
BookStack Docker, with no default login
BookStack Docker guides end the same way: sign in as [email protected] with the word password, then change both. On this template that login never works: your own admin replaces it before BookStack serves a page.
No compose file to write
BookStack and MariaDB run from a compose file we write, with the database migrated for you.
No reverse proxy to configure
BookStack answers on its own HTTPS address. Your own domain is optional.
What you need
BookStack hosting requirements
The console starts BookStack on a 4 GB server, the smallest server we offer, on x86 or ARM. You need an email address and a password of 12 characters or more. A domain is optional.
What it needs
- Server
- 4 GB, the smallest server we offer; x86 or ARM
- Admin login
- Your email and a 12+ character password; [email protected] is refused
- Database
- MariaDB, bundled on the same server
- Domain
- Optional; a generated HTTPS address works first
Server size: 4 GB, enough for BookStack. Deploy on a 4 GB server
Quickstart
Install BookStack in 3 steps
Launch, sign in, write.
-
Launch the template
Launch opens the BookStack template. Enter your email and a password of 12+ characters; [email protected] is refused. The template deploys in about fifteen minutes.
-
Sign in
Open the HTTPS address the console shows and sign in with that email and password. There is no install wizard.
-
Write your first page
Create a shelf and a book, then write your first page. Add your team as users from BookStack's settings.
Deploy BookStackStep 1 starts in the console.
Launch BookStack Billing
BookStack hosting cost
BookStack hosting here is one server billed by the hour from prepaid credits. BookStack is MIT licensed with no per-user fee, so 5 editors or 50 pay the same. A European 4 GB server is $0.02/hr, about $15 to $16 a month.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| The BookStack template | $0 |
| The bundled MariaDB | $0, it runs on the same server |
| Bandwidth to your readers | $0, included in the server price |
| Optional daily backups | +20% of the server price |
| Server | RAM, cores, disk | Where | Rate | About a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
cx23 (recommended) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $15.18 |
cax11 (ARM) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $16.35 |
cpx21 | 4 GB, 3 cores, 80 GB | US | $0.12/hr | $87.75 |
cpx22 | 4 GB, 2 cores, 80 GB | Singapore | $0.10/hr | $72.56 |
cx33 (more room) | 8 GB, 4 cores, 80 GB | Europe | $0.03/hr | $23.36 |
Monthly figures assume 730 hours. The US and Singapore servers need a first top-up.
If your balance reaches zero
With a card on file or a past top-up, BookStack runs for 5 more days after your balance reaches zero, then stops. Top up within 24 hours to restart it; after that it is deleted, with a 14-day copy you can restore. Welcome-credit-only servers are deleted at zero.
Price an 8 GB server for a large wiki with many uploads in the calculator, no signup.
Database
BookStack PostgreSQL: why it runs on MariaDB
BookStack supports MySQL and MariaDB only, so PostgreSQL is not an option for it. This template bundles MariaDB on the same server and migrates it before your first sign-in.
MySQL or MariaDB only
BookStack's requirements list MySQL or MariaDB. No setting points it at a PostgreSQL server.
Bundled and migrated
The deploy migrates MariaDB, so the tables exist before the first page loads.
Keep PostgreSQL for your apps
Selfhost.dev's managed PostgreSQL suits your other apps; BookStack keeps its pages in MariaDB.
Status
Five checks before your first page
- Every service is health-checked every 60 seconds.
- A stalled deploy is retried automatically, without you starting over.
- Done means the URL answers, not just that a container started.
- No default admin. [email protected] is refused and replaced by yours before the first request.
- You see the release it runs. The console flags Update available when a newer one ships.
~15 min to deploy
The console estimates about fifteen minutes for the BookStack template after the server is ready; first-time server provisioning adds time.
Notes
BookStack hosting limitations
- No email is set up. BookStack sends no invites or password-reset emails, so an admin resets passwords in its user settings.
- You add your team's accounts. Only your admin exists at first. Create each user in BookStack's settings and give them a password.
- MariaDB is not a managed database. It runs on the same server as BookStack and shares that server's memory and disk.
Nothing here in your way? The template deploys in about fifteen minutes.
Launch BookStack Planning
Moving a team's docs to BookStack?
Tell us how many people write and how much you store. We reply with the server size we would pick and its monthly cost.
Help
Frequently asked questions
What is the BookStack default login?
On a standard install it is [email protected], with the word password as its password. Every guide says to change it. On this template that login never works. You enter your own email and a password of 12 or more characters at deploy. They replace the default before the first page loads.
Is BookStack free?
Yes. BookStack is open source under the MIT license, so the software costs nothing and there is no fee per user. The only bill is the server under it, charged hourly against prepaid credits; the cost table has the rates. Adding readers or editors never adds a fee.
Can BookStack send email?
Not as deployed. No mail server is configured, so BookStack sends no invites and no password-reset emails. An admin creates each user with a password and resets forgotten ones from BookStack's user settings. Everything else, from editing to search and page history, works without email.
How many users can BookStack hosting have?
BookStack sets no user limit and the price does not change with team size. The server is the only cost. If a large team or many uploads make pages slow, scale up from Project Settings; the console shows the downtime and the new price before you confirm the move.
Can I export my BookStack content?
Yes. BookStack's Export menu saves any page, chapter or book as contained HTML, PDF, plain text or Markdown. The contained HTML file carries its images inside it, so one download holds a whole book. Your documentation is never locked into this server; moving it later starts with that export.
Can I use my own domain for BookStack?
Yes. BookStack first answers on a generated HTTPS address. When the wiki is up, go to the service's Settings, enter a domain you own and add the DNS record the console gives you. As soon as that record resolves, the wiki answers on your domain too.
Your team wiki, ready to write. No default login to change.
- BookStack and MariaDB on a server of its own
- Your admin login and HTTPS before the first page
- A European 4 GB server, about $15 to $16 a month
About Selfhost.dev
Selfhost.dev is a managed self hosting platform for developers and small teams. Open source apps and databases on dedicated servers you control, billed by the hour, in six locations across three continents.
Best for: A team wiki beside file storage, document archives and a forum, plus managed PostgreSQL, MySQL and Redis.