Docs
Open-source collaborative text editor for teams, with real-time editing and self-hosting.
- Stars
- 17k
- Forks
- 688
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- App
What it is
Docs is a web-based, open-source editor where people write, organize, and share documents together in real time. It lets you nest subpages to build a knowledge base, and it is described as an alternative to tools like Notion or Google Docs. You can use a public instance or host it yourself, which keeps your data under your control.
- Write and organize a team wiki with nested subpages
- Co-edit a document with colleagues and leave comments
- Create slide-style presentations from document blocks and export them to PDF
- Import existing .docx or .md files and export to .docx, .odt, or .pdf
- Push meeting transcripts from a Meet instance into Docs using a server-to-server API
Great for
- Teams that want a shared wiki or knowledge base they can host themselves
- Public organizations and companies that need control over where their data lives
- Groups who want real-time co-editing with live cursors and comments
- Developers who want to self-host and extend a Django and React application
Not ideal for
- People who only want a quick document with no setup: the README points to hosted public instances instead, which you would need to find and trust yourself
- Teams that need a fully self-managed, zero-maintenance service, since self-hosting requires running infrastructure
- Users who need PDF export or certain advanced features if they must avoid GPL-licensed components, because those rely on non-MIT BlockNote XL packages unless built with PUBLISH_AS_MIT=true
How to get it
- 1
Run with Docker
You'll need: Docker · Docker Compose · GNU Make
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/suitenumerique/docsBootstrap the project for local development
make bootstrap FLUSH_ARGS='--no-input'Start services
make run - 2
Run it
- Clone the repository and change into its directory
- Run make bootstrap FLUSH_ARGS='--no-input' to build containers and run migrations
- Run make run, then open https://localhost:3000
- Log in with the development-only credentials from the README (username impress, password impress)
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use make demo to create a basic demo site and explore features quickly
- Set up the Meet integration with DJANGO_SERVER_TO_SERVER_API_TOKENS to send transcripts into Docs
- Connect your own AI provider by configuring an API key and URL to enable the AI helpers
- Use the resource server API documented in documentation/resource_server.md for custom integrations
- Run the frontend outside Docker with make run-frontend-development when working on the UI
Downloads
Strengths
- Real-time collaboration with live cursors and presence, built on Yjs and BlockNote
- Open source under the MIT License with self-hosting options such as Docker Compose and Kubernetes
- Optional AI writing helpers that work with your own model or API provider
Trade-offs
- Some advanced features such as PDF export depend on GPL-licensed BlockNote XL packages that are not MIT-compatible
- Self-hosting and local development require Docker, Make, and some technical comfort
- The AI cursor feature is labeled beta in the README
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| docs (this) | 17k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | Teams that want a shared wiki or knowledge base they can host themselves |
| BookStack | 19.1k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | Teams that want an internal knowledge base they can host themselves |
| gollum | 14.3k | App | intermediate | 12 months ago | Teams that want a wiki whose content lives in Git alongside other project files |
| giscus | 12.2k | App | intermediate | 5 months ago | Developers who run a blog or docs site and want comments without a database |
| mdx-deck | 11.5k | Dev tool | intermediate | 3.8 years ago | Developers who already write React and want to present technical material |
| tailwind-nextjs-starter-blog | 10.6k | Other | intermediate | 9 months ago | Developers who want a blog built on Next.js and Tailwind CSS |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.