Tiki

Tiki is a self‑hosted, all‑in‑one wiki and groupware platform that blends content management with collaborative tools such as trackers, forums, calendars, and more. From a developer’s standpoint it is a full‑stack PHP application that exposes a rich set of APIs, plugin hooks, and a flexible data model. Tiki’s core philosophy is “one installation, one database, one user base,” which eliminates the need for multiple CMS instances while still allowing granular control over each component.

Technical Stack

• Language & Framework: PHP 8.x (core is procedural with object‑oriented extensions) running on a standard LAMP/LEMP stack. The codebase follows the Model‑View‑Controller pattern loosely, with templating handled by a lightweight engine that supports Smarty‑like syntax.
• Database: MySQL/MariaDB (default) with optional support for PostgreSQL. The schema is highly normalized and includes a “tracker” system that stores arbitrary fields, enabling developers to treat any page as a data entry form.
• Front‑end: Bootstrap 5 underpins the UI, while optional themes can be swapped via CSS overrides. JavaScript is minimal but extensible through the tiki.js library, which exposes event hooks for custom widgets.
• Containerization: Official Docker images are available on Docker Hub, providing a ready‑to‑run container with volumes for persistence and configurable environment variables. Kubernetes manifests are also provided in the community repo.

Core Capabilities

• REST & XML‑RPC APIs: Exposes CRUD operations for pages, trackers, users, and attachments. Authentication can be handled via session cookies or OAuth tokens.
• Plugin System: A plugin architecture based on PHP interfaces allows developers to register hooks (onPageSave, onTrackerFieldRender) and add new modules without modifying core files. The marketplace hosts over 200 community plugins covering SEO, analytics, and integration with external services.
• Webhooks: Tiki can trigger HTTP callbacks on events such as page edits, tracker updates, or user registration. This is useful for CI/CD pipelines or third‑party notification services.
• i18n & Translation: Built‑in collaborative translation interface that stores language strings in the database, making it trivial to expose localized content via APIs.

Deployment & Infrastructure

Tiki is designed for self‑hosting on commodity hardware. A single‑node deployment can run comfortably on a 2‑core, 4 GB RAM machine for small teams, while horizontal scaling is achieved by sharing the same MySQL instance across multiple web servers behind a load balancer. The Docker image supports docker‑compose setups with separate services for the web server, database, and optional Redis cache. For high‑availability, you can replicate the MySQL instance using Galera Cluster or Percona XtraDB.

Integration & Extensibility

• Custom Themes: Developers can create theme packages that override templates and CSS, then register them in the admin panel. This makes brand‑specific front‑ends straightforward.
• API‑First Development: The REST API allows you to build headless front‑ends in React, Vue, or mobile apps. Tracker data can be queried as JSON, enabling dynamic dashboards.
• External Authentication: LDAP, SAML, and OAuth providers are supported out of the box, simplifying single‑sign‑on for enterprise environments.
• Data Export/Import: XML export of entire sites or individual pages, and a migration tool that converts legacy wiki content (e.g., MediaWiki dumps) into Tiki format.

Developer Experience

The documentation is organized into a developer guide, API reference, and plugin development tutorial. Community support is robust: monthly roundtables, an active mailing list, and a GitHub issue tracker. The codebase follows PSR‑12 standards where applicable, and unit tests cover 70 % of core modules. Continuous integration ensures that every PR passes linting and functional tests before merging.

Use Cases

• Enterprise Knowledge Base: Combine wiki pages with trackers for issue tracking and calendars for project planning, all under a single authentication domain.
• Learning Management System (LMS): Use trackers as course modules, forums for discussion, and the built‑in file manager for resources.
• Open‑Source Project Documentation: Leverage the collaborative translation interface to maintain multilingual docs without separate tools.
• Internal Collaboration Hub: Host documents, events, and user groups with fine‑grained permissions, all self‑hosted for compliance.

Advantages

• All‑in‑One: Eliminates the need to stitch together separate CMS, forum, and file‑sharing solutions.
• Flexible Data Model: Trackers allow arbitrary schema definitions, giving developers the ability to treat pages as data stores.
• Open Source & MIT‑like License: No vendor lock‑in, and the community contributes regular security updates.
• Performance: Caching layers (Redis or APCu) and optimized SQL queries keep response times low even with complex tracker views.
• Extensibility: The plugin API and webhooks make it trivial to integrate with CI/CD pipelines, third‑party analytics, or custom authentication providers.

In summary, Tiki offers a technically rich platform for developers who need a unified, self‑hosted solution that blends wiki content with collaborative tools. Its modular architecture, comprehensive APIs, and strong community support make it a compelling choice for building internal knowledge bases, LMSs, or any project that requires flexible data handling and tight integration.