Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MkDocs VS TiddlyWiki

Compare MkDocs VS TiddlyWiki and see what are their differences

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MkDocs logo MkDocs

Project documentation with Markdown.

TiddlyWiki logo TiddlyWiki

a non-linear personal web notebook
  • MkDocs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-18

MkDocs is a fast, simple and downright gorgeous static site generator that's geared towards building project documentation. Documentation source files are written in Markdown, and configured with a single YAML configuration file. Start by reading the introductory tutorial, then check the User Guide for more information.

  • TiddlyWiki Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

MkDocs features and specs

  • User-Friendly
    MkDocs is designed to be easy to use, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise. It uses simple Markdown syntax for content creation and has a straightforward configuration file.
  • Static Site Generation
    MkDocs generates static HTML pages, which are fast to load and easy to deploy. This makes it a good choice for documentation sites that need to be scalable and secure.
  • Customizable Themes
    MkDocs supports custom themes, allowing users to tailor the look of their documentation to fit their branding and design requirements. The built-in themes like 'MkDocs' and 'ReadTheDocs' are visually appealing and functional.
  • Built-in Search
    MkDocs comes with built-in search capabilities, making it easy for users to find the information they are looking for within the documentation.
  • Integration with CI/CD
    MkDocs can be easily integrated into Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, enabling automated builds and deployments.

Possible disadvantages of MkDocs

  • Limited Plugin Ecosystem
    While MkDocs has some plugins available, its plugin ecosystem is not as extensive as some other static site generators. This might limit advanced customization options for some users.
  • Markdown Limitations
    MkDocs relies on Markdown for content creation, which can be limiting for users who need more complex formatting and features that Markdown does not support out of the box.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic usage is straightforward, leveraging advanced features such as custom themes, plugins, and configuration can have a steeper learning curve.
  • Performance on Large Sites
    For very large documentation sites, build times can become longer and navigation might not be as smooth as needed, which can affect the user experience.
  • Dependency on Python
    MkDocs is a Python-based tool, which means that users need to have a Python environment set up. This can be a barrier for users who are not familiar with Python or do not want to deal with additional dependencies.

TiddlyWiki features and specs

  • Flexible and customizable
    TiddlyWiki is highly flexible, allowing users to create and organize content in numerous ways. You can customize the look and behavior extensively with themes, plugins, and custom macros.
  • Self-contained
    Every TiddlyWiki is a single HTML file, which means it's easy to store, share, and move around. This self-contained nature simplifies backup and version control.
  • No server needed
    Since TiddlyWiki runs entirely in the browser, there's no need for a server component. This makes setup and maintenance straightforward.
  • Active community
    TiddlyWiki has an active and supportive community that contributes plugins, themes, and offers help through forums and other platforms.
  • Open source
    Being open-source, TiddlyWiki allows users to inspect, modify, and extend the codebase according to their needs.

Possible disadvantages of TiddlyWiki

  • Learning curve
    The extensive customization options and unique concepts can make TiddlyWiki challenging to learn for new users, especially those without technical backgrounds.
  • Performance with large wikis
    As the size of the TiddlyWiki file grows, performance can degrade, leading to slower loading times and less responsive interactions.
  • Browser limitations
    Relying entirely on browser capabilities can impose limitations, such as compatibility with certain features varying across different browsers.
  • Manual saving
    While some TiddlyWiki variants offer automatic saving, the original version requires manual saving, which can lead to data loss if the user forgets to save often.
  • Collaboration challenges
    With TiddlyWiki being a single file, simultaneous collaboration can be challenging, as merging changes from multiple users isn't straightforward.

Analysis of MkDocs

Overall verdict

  • MkDocs is a good option for documentation, especially if you prefer Markdown and static site generators.

Why this product is good

  • MkDocs is favored for its simplicity, ease of use, and seamless integration with Markdown, making it easy to create clean and professional-looking documentation. It is well-suited for projects that require straightforward documentation without the need for complex configurations or customizations. The tool also benefits from a strong community and a variety of themes and plugins that extend its functionality.

Recommended for

  • Developers and teams seeking to quickly generate project documentation using Markdown.
  • Projects that require static site generation with minimal setup.
  • Users who prefer a simple and hassle-free documentation process.
  • Open-source projects and communities looking for an easy way to document software and APIs.

Analysis of TiddlyWiki

Overall verdict

  • TiddlyWiki is an excellent choice for users seeking a flexible and robust personal knowledge management tool. Its open-source nature and active community support enhance its appeal, particularly for those who appreciate having full control over their data and workflows.

Why this product is good

  • TiddlyWiki is a versatile and unique personal wiki platform that is highly regarded for its customizability, portability, and independence from server dependencies. It allows users to easily create, organize, and manage content in a single HTML file, making it ideal for personal note-taking, journaling, or managing complex projects. Its powerful tagging and linking system facilitates efficient information retrieval. Furthermore, it has a strong community and extensive documentation that supports both beginners and advanced users.

Recommended for

  • Individuals who prefer offline and portable solutions for note-taking and personal knowledge management.
  • Users with a willingness to engage with a tool that offers extensive customization through plugins and custom scripts.
  • Those who appreciate a strong community and open-source solutions.

MkDocs videos

Alternatives to MkDocs

More videos:

  • Review - Урок 5. Плагины для Питон Django vs studio code. (mkdocs + Markdown)

TiddlyWiki videos

TIddlyWiki Tutorial 01 - Installing Tiddlywiki and Creating Your First Tiddler

More videos:

  • Review - Intro to TiddlyWiki
  • Review - TiddlyWiki: Non Linear Note Taking Platform

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MkDocs and TiddlyWiki)
Documentation
100 100%
0% 0
Note Taking
0 0%
100% 100
Documentation As A Service & Tools
Knowledge Base
28 28%
72% 72

User comments

Share your experience with using MkDocs and TiddlyWiki. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MkDocs and TiddlyWiki

MkDocs Reviews

Introduction to Doxygen Alternatives In 2021
. User can host complete fixed HTML websites on Amazon S3, GitHub, etc. There’s a stack of styles offered that looks excellent. The built-in dev-server allows the user to sneak peek, as it has been written on documentation. Whenever users save modifications, it will likewise auto-reload and refresh the tab. MkDocs is a tool in the Tech Stack group of search engines.
Source: www.webku.net
Doxygen Alternatives
User can host full static HTML sites on Amazon S3, GitHub, etc. There’s a stack of themes available that looks great. The built-in dev-server allows the user to preview, as it has been written on documentation. Whenever users save changes, it will also auto-reload and refresh the tab. MkDocs is a tool in the Tech Stack group of search engines.
Source: www.educba.com
The most overlooked part in software development - writing project documentation
MkDocs calls itself a fast, simple and downright gorgeous static site generator that's geared towards building project documentation. It is Python-based. Documentation source files are written in Markdown and configured with a single YAML configuration file. On its Wiki page it provides a long list of themes, recipes and plugins making it a very attractive system for writing...
Source: netgen.io

TiddlyWiki Reviews

  1. Stan
    · Founder at SaaSHub ·
    A great app yet a bit complicated

    Not too far ago, I invested several days into "mastering" and tuning TiddlyWiki. It was an interesting experience. I loved it on the whole and felt very enthusiastic about using it store all my knowledge. It's super flexible and use of tags, filters and macros make it unique. However, it's a bit complicated for mass adoption. Also, the extended use of its powerful features may make your computer tangibly slow.

    That's why I found "Obsidian", that's what I'm using today to store my knowledge.

    🏁 Competitors: Obsidian.md
    👍 Pros:    Very flexible|Browser based
    👎 Cons:    High learning curve|Could be slow

Top 12 Self-hosted Wiki Engines for 2024: A Comprehensive Guide
With its support for non-linear note-taking, TiddlyWiki proves to be a versatile tool for various information management tasks. However, it is worth noting that the unique structure of TiddlyWiki may present a slight learning curve for new users, and the single-file model might be slightly less efficient when handling very large datasets.
Source: medevel.com
5 Best Open Source Alternatives to Notion
One of the most significant advantages of TiddlyWiki is its offline capabilities. It's a self-contained HTML file, which means that you can store all your data locally on your device, even without an internet connection. Additionally, it supports Markdown and other syntaxes, making it an excellent alternative for writers, developers, and anyone who needs a flexible,...
Source: affine.pro
The 10 Best Self-hosted Wiki Software for Linux System
TiddlyWiki is one of the many Wiki Software for Linux. But it is unique because it is a non-linear notebook. So you can use it to create your regular notes, organizing your task, even for brainstorming. Individual pages in TiddlyWiki are known as a tiddler. It has options to create and customize your tiddlers with dropdown menus.
Best 11 Open-source Free Wiki Engines for teams and enterprise in 2022
TiddlyWiki has been my favorite wiki on this list, It is an open-source portal one-file wiki that does not even require install. Despite its simple use and look, it has a rich list of features, plugins, and themes.
Source: medevel.com
The Best 20 Wiki Software For Your Business& Internal Knowledge for 2022
A non-linear notebook for collecting, structuring, organizing, and sharing complex information, TiddlyWiki is the brainchild of software developer Jeremy Rustom. This wiki software is ideal for recording information and keeping it organized so that it’s easily accessible even after years. Want to take notes, keep a journal, or manage tasks? Whatever it is, TiddlyWiki helps...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, TiddlyWiki seems to be a lot more popular than MkDocs. While we know about 191 links to TiddlyWiki, we've tracked only 2 mentions of MkDocs. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

MkDocs mentions (2)

  • Does anyone have an automated workflow to publish their notes to the web?
    I'm a software engineer, and before getting my rM2, I kept all of my notes in Markdown format. They're under source control (git), and I use mkdocs to build them into a static website. I have a CI pipeline set up so that whenever I push changes to my notes to GitHub/Gitlab/Sourcehut, they are automatically built and published to my site. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Quick and dirty mock service with Starlette
    Starlette is a web framework developed by the author of Django REST Framework (DRF), Tom Christie. DRF is such a solid project. Sharing the same creator bolstered my confidence that Starlette will be a well designed piece of software. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago

TiddlyWiki mentions (191)

  • I Created Perfect Wiki and Reached $250K in Annual Revenue Without Investors
    There is also https://tiddlywiki.com/ that you can save anywhere. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Show HN: Replace Chrome new tab with a blank WYSIWYG editor for taking notes
    - 100% handcrafted human code (TM) Here's the primary trick that makes this possible: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43179649 [2] Notetime - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43434152 [4] TiddlyWiki - https://tiddlywiki.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Show HN: Nash, I made a standalone note with single HTML file
    Is this similar to TiddlyWiki https://tiddlywiki.com/ ? - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • 1.5KB Single-File Wiki
    Imagine having a personal wiki that fits in a single HTML file — no databases, no servers, just a self-contained knowledge base you can store in Dropbox, email to yourself, or even host on a static file server. Sounds familiar? Inspired by the legendary TiddlyWiki, I set out to create a minimalist wiki that’s lightweight and works even without JavaScript. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Blogs Rot. Wikis Wait
    Tiddlywiki https://tiddlywiki.com/ is good at cross-linking notes and publishing to the web. Consider writing plain HTML and calling it a digital garden, so you aren't locked into the chronological feed blog mindset. Maybe Obsidian Publish? https://obsidian.md/publish#:~:text=Explore%20Publish%20sites%20by%20the%20Obsidian%20community. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing MkDocs and TiddlyWiki, you can also consider the following products

GitBook - Modern Publishing, Simply taking your books from ideas to finished, polished books.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

Doxygen - Generate documentation from source code

Zim Wiki - Zim is a graphical text editor used to maintain a collection of wiki pages. Each page can contain links to other pages, simple formatting and images.

Docusaurus - Easy to maintain open source documentation websites

DokuWiki - DokuWiki is a simple to use and highly versatile Open Source wiki software that doesn't require a database.