Antora vs LeafWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Antora
Multi-repository documentation site generator
VS
LeafWiki
Lightweight self-hosted wiki with Markdown stored on disk
| Feature | Antora | LeafWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 1,148 |
| First released | 2017 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Confluence, GitBook | DokuWiki, Confluence |
What are Antora and LeafWiki?
Antora
Antora is an open-source documentation site generator built for technical content authored in AsciiDoc. It assembles documentation from multiple versioned Git repositories into a single coherent site.
- AsciiDoc-based documentation
- Multi-repository aggregation
- Built-in versioning
- Static output
LeafWiki
LeafWiki is a lightweight self-hosted wiki for long-lived documentation that stores Markdown pages on disk in a tree structure. It ships as a single Go binary with SQLite and supports tables, task lists, footnotes, and Mermaid diagrams.
- Single Go binary deployment
- Markdown pages stored on disk
- Tree-based page organization
- Mermaid diagram support
Antora vs LeafWiki: key differences
Antora is written in JavaScript, while LeafWiki is built with Go. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Antora versus MIT for LeafWiki. LeafWiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Antora. Antora is the more established project (first released 2017), while LeafWiki arrived in 2024. LeafWiki lists first-class Docker deployment; Antora does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Antora if…
- Great for large multi-repo docs
- Strong versioning support
Watch out for
- AsciiDoc learning curve
- No web-based editing
Choose LeafWiki if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Antora or LeafWiki better?
LeafWiki is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Antora if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Antora and LeafWiki free and open-source?
Yes. Antora is licensed under MPL-2.0 and LeafWiki under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Antora and LeafWiki with Docker?
Antora: check the project docs for container support. LeafWiki: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Antora or LeafWiki?
LeafWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Antora. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.