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BookStack

Docker Compose deployment guide for BookStack on Ubuntu.

BookStack is a free and open-source wiki and documentation platform designed for organising information into books, chapters, and pages. It is particularly useful for homelab documentation, procedures, notes, and knowledge management.

Official project:

What I Use BookStack For

I use BookStack as my primary documentation platform for:

  • Homelab notes
  • Docker deployment documentation
  • Troubleshooting procedures
  • Network diagrams
  • Project planning
  • Personal reference material

BookStack's organisation into Books, Chapters, and Pages makes it easy to keep large collections of notes structured and searchable.

Create the project folder

mkdir -p /opt/docker/bookstack
cd /opt/docker/bookstack

Create the Docker Compose file

Create:

/opt/docker/bookstack/docker-compose.yml

Paste the following:

services:
  bookstack:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/bookstack:latest
    container_name: bookstack
    stop_grace_period: 90s

    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - APP_KEY=base64:REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_APP_KEY
      - APP_URL=https://your-domain.com
      - DB_HOST=bookstack_db
      - DB_PORT=3306
      - DB_USERNAME=bookstack
      - DB_PASSWORD=REPLACE_WITH_DB_PASSWORD
      - DB_DATABASE=bookstackapp
      - APP_DEFAULT_DARK_MODE=true

    volumes:
      - /opt/docker/bookstack/bookstackdata:/config

    ports:
      - 6875:80

    restart: unless-stopped

    depends_on:
      - bookstack_db

  bookstack_db:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/mariadb
    container_name: bookstack_db
    stop_grace_period: 90s

    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=REPLACE_WITH_ROOT_PASSWORD
      - TZ=America/Santo_Domingo
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=bookstackapp
      - MYSQL_USER=bookstack
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=REPLACE_WITH_DB_PASSWORD

    volumes:
      - /opt/docker/bookstack/bookstackdbdata:/config

    restart: unless-stopped

Generate an APP_KEY

BookStack requires an application key.

One easy method is:

openssl rand -base64 32

Example:

base64:qW8a6K7Rr0U7v9Yx1V4kQ0M5fP2nL8cD3aT9mX6hJ1Y=

Replace the APP_KEY value in the Docker Compose file with your generated key.

Start BookStack

From the project directory:

docker compose up -d

Verify the containers are running:

docker ps

You should see:

bookstack
bookstack_db

Initial Access

Open:

http://SERVER-IP:6875

Default login credentials:

Email: [email protected]
Password: password

Change these immediately after logging in.

Reverse Proxy Configuration

I strongly recommend placing BookStack behind a reverse proxy such as Caddy.

Example Caddy configuration:

bookstack.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy 192.168.1.100:6875
}

If you are new to reverse proxies, see the Topic page:

What is a Reverse Proxy?

Updating BookStack

Pull the latest images:

docker compose pull

Recreate the containers:

docker compose up -d

Remove unused images:

docker image prune -f

Backups

The important folders to back up are:

/opt/docker/bookstack/bookstackdata
/opt/docker/bookstack/bookstackdbdata

These contain:

  • Application configuration
  • Uploaded files
  • Database data
  • User accounts
  • Books and pages

If you already back up your Docker folders, BookStack can be included in the same backup process.

For details, see:

How I Backup My Homelab

Folder Structure

My BookStack deployment uses:

/opt/docker/bookstack
├── docker-compose.yml
├── bookstackdata/
└── bookstackdbdata/

This keeps application data and database data separated while keeping everything self-contained inside a single project directory.

Why I Like BookStack

BookStack has become one of my most-used self-hosted applications.

Advantages include:

  • Clean and simple interface
  • Excellent search functionality
  • Easy organisation of documentation
  • Markdown support
  • Image uploads
  • User and permission management
  • Active development
  • Reliable Docker deployment

For homelab documentation, it strikes a good balance between simplicity and functionality.

Final Thoughts

BookStack is an excellent self-hosted documentation platform for homelab users.

Whether you are documenting Docker deployments, network configurations, troubleshooting notes, or project plans, BookStack provides a structured and easy-to-use knowledge base that is far more organised than keeping notes scattered across text files.

I have found it particularly useful for recording deployment procedures and maintaining reference documentation for my homelab infrastructure.