Run Your Own Private Wiki in 5 Minutes with TiddlyWiki

// Before you start

What you need

A Mac, Windows PC, or Linux computer
Internet connection for the initial install
Basic comfort opening a terminal or command prompt

Step 1 of 6

Install Node.js

3 min

TiddlyWiki runs on Node.js, a free engine that lets JavaScript programs run on your computer. Download the installer from nodejs.org, run it, and click through the defaults. When it finishes, Node.js and its package manager (npm) will be ready.

Terminal · mac

$ node --version

What you should see

A version number like v20.11.0 — any number means Node.js is installed correctly.

This might happen

The command is not found after installing

Close your terminal completely and open a new one. The installer updates your system PATH, but the old terminal window does not see the change.

Step 2 of 6

Install TiddlyWiki globally

2 min

This command downloads TiddlyWiki from the npm registry and installs it so you can run it from anywhere on your computer. The -g flag means 'global' — install once, use everywhere.

Terminal · mac

$ npm install -g tiddlywiki

What you should see

Several lines of progress text ending with 'added X packages' and no red error lines.

This might happen

Permission denied error on Mac or Linux

Run the command with sudo in front: sudo npm install -g tiddlywiki — then enter your computer password when prompted.

Step 3 of 6

Confirm TiddlyWiki installed correctly

1 min

Before creating anything, verify the install worked. This prints the version number. If you see a version, you are ready to go.

Terminal · mac

$ tiddlywiki --version

What you should see

A version number like 5.4.1 printed in the terminal.

This might happen

tiddlywiki: command not found on Debian or Ubuntu Linux

Run this once to create a symbolic link: sudo ln -s /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/bin/node — then try again.

Step 4 of 6

Create your new wiki folder

1 min

This command creates a new folder called mynewwiki in whatever directory your terminal is currently in. It sets up all the files TiddlyWiki needs to run as a server. You only do this once per wiki.

Terminal · mac

$ tiddlywiki mynewwiki --init server

What you should see

A line saying 'Copied edition 'server' to mynewwiki' with no errors.

Step 5 of 6

Start the wiki server

1 min

This starts TiddlyWiki as a local web server on your computer. It will keep running in your terminal window while you use the wiki. Do not close the terminal while you are working.

Terminal · mac

$ tiddlywiki mynewwiki --listen

What you should see

A message like 'Serving on http://127.0.0.1:8080' — the server is now running.

This might happen

Port 8080 is already in use

Use a different port by adding port=8090 to the command: tiddlywiki mynewwiki --listen port=8090 — then visit http://127.0.0.1:8090 instead.

Step 6 of 6

Open your wiki and save your first note

2 min

Open your browser and go to the address below. You will see TiddlyWiki's interface. Click the pencil icon or the '+' button to create a new tiddler (that is TiddlyWiki's word for a note). Type something, click the tick/checkmark to save it. To save your whole wiki to disk as a single HTML file, click the cloud/save icon in the sidebar.

Terminal · mac

$ open http://127.0.0.1:8080

What you should see

The TiddlyWiki interface loads in your browser with a welcome message.

This might happen

The 'open' command does not work on Windows or Linux

Just type http://127.0.0.1:8080 directly into your browser's address bar and press Enter.

// Status

cooked. baked. worked.

A private, browser-based wiki running on your own computer at http://127.0.0.1:8080. You can create, edit, and link notes freely. Your data lives in a local folder you fully control.

// the honest bit

The honest part

TiddlyWiki is powerful but has a learning curve for its WikiText formatting and plugin system. The Node.js server has no password by default — anyone on your local network could access it. Do not use this setup on a public or shared network without adding authentication. Your notes are stored in the mynewwiki folder; back it up regularly. The single-file HTML export is great for portability but very large wikis can get slow in that format.