Doctave vs LeafWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
LeafWiki
Lightweight self-hosted wiki with Markdown stored on disk
| Feature | Doctave | LeafWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 12 · At risk | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 670 | ★ 1,148 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Confluence, GitBook | DokuWiki, Confluence |
What are Doctave and LeafWiki?
Doctave
Doctave is an opinionated documentation site generator that builds fast static documentation sites from Markdown files. It includes built-in search, Mermaid diagram support, and live preview without requiring complex configuration.
- Markdown documentation
- Built-in search
- Mermaid diagrams
- Live preview server
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
Doctave vs LeafWiki: key differences
Doctave is written in Rust, while LeafWiki is built with Go. LeafWiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Doctave. Doctave is the more established project (first released 2021), while LeafWiki arrived in 2024. LeafWiki lists first-class Docker deployment; Doctave does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Doctave if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Static output only
- Limited theming
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 Doctave or LeafWiki better?
Neither is universally better. LeafWiki has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Doctave and LeafWiki free and open-source?
Yes. Doctave is licensed under MIT and LeafWiki under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Doctave and LeafWiki with Docker?
Doctave: check the project docs for container support. LeafWiki: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Doctave or LeafWiki?
LeafWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Doctave. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.