Gollum vs TiddlyWiki
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted wikis & documentation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
TiddlyWiki
A non-linear personal web notebook in a single file
| Feature | Gollum | TiddlyWiki |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 51 · Fair | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Wikis & Documentation | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker, source | binary, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,330 | ★ 8,662 |
| First released | 2010 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Notion, OneNote |
What are Gollum and TiddlyWiki?
Gollum
Gollum is an open-source wiki system built on top of Git, where every page is a file in a Git repository. It powers the wikis found on GitHub and supports many markup languages.
- Git-backed page storage
- Multiple markup languages
- Powers GitHub wikis
- Full history via Git
TiddlyWiki
TiddlyWiki is a unique open-source wiki that can run as a single self-contained HTML file. It is a non-linear notebook for capturing and organizing information, also runnable as a Node.js server.
- Runs as a single HTML file
- Non-linear note structure
- Highly customizable
- Optional Node.js server mode
Gollum vs TiddlyWiki: key differences
Gollum is written in Ruby, while TiddlyWiki is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Gollum versus BSD-3-Clause for TiddlyWiki. TiddlyWiki is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Gollum. TiddlyWiki is the more established project (first released 2004), while Gollum arrived in 2010. Gollum lists first-class Docker deployment; TiddlyWiki does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Gollum if…
- Pages are plain files in Git
- Easy version control
Watch out for
- No fine-grained ACLs
- Ruby toolchain required
Choose TiddlyWiki if…
- Extremely portable
- Works fully offline
Watch out for
- Idiosyncratic concepts
- Multi-user needs the server mode
Frequently asked questions
Is Gollum or TiddlyWiki better?
Neither is universally better. Gollum has the larger community, while TiddlyWiki is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gollum and TiddlyWiki free and open-source?
Yes. Gollum is licensed under MIT and TiddlyWiki under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gollum and TiddlyWiki with Docker?
Gollum: yes. TiddlyWiki: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gollum or TiddlyWiki?
TiddlyWiki has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Gollum. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.