BookStack

License	FOSS problems	Maintenance	SSO	Users	Tested
MITPermissive license. Preserve the copyright notice. Applies only to the covered code — your surrounding project can stay under any license.	—	Active	✅	Unlimited	✅

Description

BookStack is a structured knowledge base built around a fixed hierarchy: Shelves → Books → Chapters → Pages. It's opinionated — you can't restructure it — but that makes it predictable and easy to navigate. Content is rich text: formatted pages, images, attachments, and diagrams. Designed for structured documentation — books, not notes.

Features

• Fixed hierarchy — Shelves → Books → Chapters → Pages, not a freeform workspace. The structure organizes content without requiring discipline from contributors.
• Full-text search — across all content, not gated behind a paid tier.
• SSO — via OIDC or SAML for central identity management, included rather than paywalled.
• API and MFA — both included in the free feature set.

Usage patterns

• Structured documentation, policies, reference material — a solid, no-nonsense knowledge base well suited to a union context: anyone can find their way around without training, and the rigid hierarchy makes it hard to make a mess of it.
• Not a flexible workspace — no Notion-style embeds, databases, or boards; it's a documentation tool, not a freeform one.
• Not real-time collaborative — multiple people can edit, but not simultaneously on the same page.

License and governance

MIT — permissive, complete feature set with nothing paywalled.

Conclusion

Why you would — a complete, no-nonsense knowledge base with nothing paywalled — full-text search, SSO, API, and MFA all included — and a rigid hierarchy that keeps things organized without requiring discipline from contributors.

Why you wouldn't — the fixed hierarchy is also a limitation: no flexible workspace, no real-time simultaneous editing, and none of the freeform tools (embeds, databases, boards) a more flexible platform would offer. See Setup for the actual deploy steps.