WARNING This site is for the unreleased, still under development 3.0 version of Wiki.js. Go to the current 2.5 version instead.

DigitalOcean Droplet

The DigitalOcean Marketplace Wiki.js image is a pre-configured environment, made by the developers of Wiki.js, containing everything you need to get started with Wiki.js.

Coming Soon
The current DigitalOcean droplet image is using the 2.x version. 3.x Wiki.js droplets will be available in the future.

Image Specifications

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with the following software pre-installed:

  • Docker
  • PostgreSQL 16 (dockerized)
  • Wiki.js 3.x (dockerized, accessible via port 80)
  • Wiki.js Update Companion (dockerized)
  • OpenSSH with UFW Firewall preconfigured for SSH, HTTP and HTTPS

Droplet Size

Wiki.js works great on even the smallest Droplet size (1GB RAM + 1 CPU).

However, for best performance, we recommend using at least the 2GB RAM + 2 CPU droplet size. Wiki.js use background processes for CPU intensive tasks (e.g. page rendering). Therefore, having at least 2 CPU cores will results in improved performance for such tasks.

Note that you can always upgrade to a more powerful droplet configuration in the future from the DigitalOcean control panel.

Getting Started

  1. Go to the Wiki.js listing in the DigitalOcean Marketplace and click Create Wiki.js Droplet.
  2. Select a droplet size, datacenter region and additional options.
  3. Click Create droplet once you entered all necessary info.
  4. Wait for the droplet to be created.
  5. Click on the newly created droplet and copy the public IP address.
  6. In a new browser tab, navigate to http://YOUR-PUBLIC-IP (replace with your IP) ::: tip It can take several minutes before the server starts accepting requests. Various services must initialize for the first time before you'll be able to access your wiki. If it doesn't load on first attempt, wait 5 minutes and try again. :::
  7. A setup screen for Wiki.js should appear. Enter the desired email address and password for the administrator account.
  8. Enter the full URL to your wiki, without the trailing slash. It's recommended to point a sub-domain / domain to your public IP (e.g. wiki.example.com). If you don't have a domain setup yet, you can use your public IP as the URL (e.g. http://xx.xx.xx.xx). This can be changed later in the Administration Area (under the General section).
  9. Click on Install to complete the installation. You'll automatically be redirected to the login page once completed. Enter the email and password for the administrator account you entered earlier.

Automatic HTTPS with Let's Encrypt

Prerequisites
You must complete the setup wizard (see Getting Started) BEFORE enabling Let's Encrypt!
  1. Create an A record on your domain registrar to point a domain / sub-domain (e.g. wiki.example.com) to your droplet public IP.
  2. Make sure you're able to load your wiki using that domain / sub-domain on HTTP (e.g. http://wiki.example.com).
  3. Connect to your droplet via SSH.
  4. Stop and remove the existing wiki container (no data will be lost) by running the commands below:
docker stop wiki
docker rm wiki
  1. Run the following command by replacing the wiki.example.com and admin@example.com values with your own domain / sub-domain and the email address of your wiki administrator:
docker create --name=wiki -e LETSENCRYPT_DOMAIN=wiki.example.com -e LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=admin@example.com -e SSL_ACTIVE=1 -e DB_TYPE=postgres -e DB_HOST=db -e DB_PORT=5432 -e DB_PASS_FILE=/etc/wiki/.db-secret -v /etc/wiki/.db-secret:/etc/wiki/.db-secret:ro -e DB_USER=wiki -e DB_NAME=wiki -e UPGRADE_COMPANION=1 --restart=unless-stopped -h wiki --network=wikinet -p 80:3000 -p 443:3443 requarks/wiki:2
  1. Start the container by running the command:
docker start wiki
  1. Wait for the container to start and the Let's Encrypt provisioning process to complete. You can optionaly view the container logs by running the command:
docker logs wiki
TIP
The process will be completed once you see the following lines in the logs:

(LETSENCRYPT) New certifiate received successfully: [ COMPLETED ]
HTTPS Server on port: [ 3443 ]
HTTPS Server: [ RUNNING ]
  1. Load your wiki in your web browser using HTTPS (e.g. https://wiki.example.com). Your wiki is now accepting HTTPS requests using a free Let's Encrypt certificate!

Automatic HTTP to HTTPS Redirect

By default, requests made to the HTTP port will not be redirect to HTTPS. You can enable this option using these instructions:

  1. Navigate to the Administration Area by clicking on your avatar at the top-right corner of the page.
  2. From the left navigation menu, click on SSL.
  3. Next to the Redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS section, click on TURN ON to enable HTTP to HTTPS redirection.
  4. Any requests made to the HTTP port will now automatically redirect to HTTPS!

Renew the Certificate

You can renew the certificate at any time from the Administration Area > SSL.

If your certificate has expired and you cannot load the wiki UI to renew it, simply restart the container:

docker restart wiki

The renewal process will run automatically during initialization.

Upgrade

This image comes with the Wiki.js Update Companion. This feature automates the upgrade process when a new version is available.

When a new version is available, you'll be notified in the Administration Area. To perform the upgrade, follow these simple instructions:

  1. Go to the System Info section and click the Perform Upgrade button.
  2. Wait for the process to complete.
  3. You should now be on the latest version. It's that simple!