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For self-hosted codebase documentation, repowise is the best pick when the docs should come from the code, and Backstage TechDocs, BookStack or Outline are the best picks when people write them. The deciding question is whether you need documentation that tracks a changing repository or a place for humans to write and store knowledge. All of these except GitBook can run inside your own network.
The short list, as of October 2026:
- repowise: generates a wiki, dependency graph and git history analysis from the repository, locally, with no API key.
- Backstage TechDocs: docs-as-code inside a Backstage developer portal, built from Markdown next to the code.
- BookStack: a simple, MIT-licensed wiki for mixed audiences.
- Outline: a polished collaborative knowledge base with a self-hosted edition.
- Docusaurus: a static site generator you host anywhere, including air-gapped.
- GitBook: strong publishing, but cloud-only.
We build repowise, so weigh our entry accordingly. The measurements we publish about it, with their methods, are on the benchmarks page.
How we evaluated
We used each vendor's own site, docs and pricing pages, fetched on 12 October 2026.
- Where it runs: can the whole system, including the data, live inside your boundary?
- Where the content comes from: written by people, or derived from the code?
- Identity: SSO, SAML, LDAP or OIDC, and what tier gates it.
- Agent access: can AI tools read the documentation over a standard interface such as MCP?
Comparison table
| Tool | Self-host | License | Content comes from | Auth | Starting price (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| repowise | Yes, local or on your infrastructure | AGPL-3.0, free for internal use | The repository (structure, git, graph) | Local; your network | Free local; hosted Free is two public repositories |
| Backstage TechDocs | Yes | Open source, CNCF incubating | Markdown in the repo, built with MkDocs | Backstage auth plugins | Free |
| BookStack | Yes | MIT | Pages people write | LDAP, SAML2, OIDC | Free |
| Outline | Yes | Open source, Docker | Pages people write | Basic SSO; SAML on paid tiers | Community free; Business $4 per user per month |
| Docusaurus | Yes (static files) | Open source (Meta) | Markdown people write | Whatever fronts the site | Free |
| GitBook | No, cloud only | Proprietary | Pages people write, Git sync | SAML on Enterprise only | Free; Essential $65 per site per month |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
repowise
repowise builds a wiki for your repository at index time: a page per source file, per public symbol, per subsystem, plus an overview and onboarding collection, refreshed after each commit. Almost all of it is rendered from the code's structure with no model involved, so a repository indexed with no key still gets a complete wiki. A provider key adds prose to the subsystem and top-level narrative pages.
The wiki sits on top of a graph, git history, ownership, health, dead code and decisions, all exposed to agents through ten MCP tools and to people through a local dashboard. Graph, git, health, change risk, tests and dead code make zero LLM calls, and source is parsed in memory and not stored. For a fully offline setup, use Ollama with a local embedding model. See the wiki feature, the architecture and a live example.
pip install repowise
repowise init --no-prose # keyless, free, no network
repowise serve # browse the wiki at localhost:3000
repowise export --format markdown # write the wiki out as files
- Pricing: AGPL-3.0, free for individuals, teams and companies using it internally. Commercial licensing for embedding it in a product. Hosted indexing is optional; Free covers two public repositories.
- Pick it if the docs should track the repository without anyone maintaining them, or the code cannot leave your network.
Backstage TechDocs
TechDocs is a docs-like-code solution inside Backstage: engineers write Markdown next to the code and get a documentation site in the developer portal. It uses MkDocs underneath, works with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps, and stores built output in S3, GCS, Azure Blob or local storage (Backstage docs). Spotify runs more than 5,000 documentation sites on it.
It is the natural choice if you already run Backstage and want service docs discoverable in one catalog. It does not write anything for you.
- Pick it if you operate Backstage and want teams to own their docs in each repository.
BookStack
BookStack is a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted wiki built on PHP and Laravel, organized as books, chapters and pages. It supports LDAP, SAML2 and OIDC, and runs on a small VPS (bookstackapp.com). The editor is approachable for non-engineers, which suits runbooks, policies and onboarding guides.
It stores what people write. It does not read your repository.
- Pick it if most of your content is human-written and spans the whole organization.
Outline
Outline is a collaborative knowledge base with real-time editing, permissions and an API, available as a free self-hosted Community Edition and paid tiers. On the pricing page, Community has basic SSO and no support, Business is $4 per user per month (10-user minimum, annual) and Enterprise is $5 (100-user minimum). SAML 2.0 and AI question answering are on the paid tiers. Outline's own hosting guide notes that it needs DevOps experience to run in production.
- Pick it if collaboration and a polished writing surface matter more than repository analysis.
Docusaurus
Docusaurus builds a static site that you host wherever you like. Its deployment docs state that its only job is to emit static files, which makes it a good fit for air-gapped hosting and full control over caching and access. It is a publishing layer: content is Markdown your team writes or another tool generates.
- Pick it if you want a versioned docs site with total control over where it is served.
GitBook
GitBook is a cloud-only documentation platform. Its pricing page lists Free, Essential ($65 per site per month, annual), Ultimate ($249 per site per month) and custom Enterprise, with GitHub and GitLab sync and SAML SSO on Enterprise only. It does not offer self-hosting, so it cannot meet an on-premise or strict data-residency requirement.
- Pick it if hosted publishing polish matters and residency rules allow a vendor cloud.
How to choose
Match the tool to where the content comes from. Most teams end up with two: a generated layer for the code and a written layer for everything else.
| If you need | Use |
|---|---|
| Docs that follow the code with no upkeep | repowise |
| Code that never leaves your network | repowise (offline with Ollama) or Docusaurus |
| Service docs in a Backstage portal | Backstage TechDocs |
| A wiki for runbooks and policy, edited by everyone | BookStack or Outline |
| A static, air-gapped public or internal site | Docusaurus |
| Hosted publishing, no residency constraint | GitBook |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
A common pairing is repowise for the code wiki and agent access, and BookStack or Outline for human-written policy. Head-to-head pages for hosted tools are in the comparison hub, and the codebase documentation guide covers keeping docs current.
FAQ
- What is the best self-hosted documentation platform for a private codebase?
- For documentation generated from the code, repowise: it runs locally with no API key and builds a wiki, graph and git analysis from the repository. For human-written docs, BookStack and Outline are the simplest self-hosted options.
- What works for on-premise or air-gapped code documentation?
- repowise's deterministic features need no network access, and its prose layer can run on Ollama with a local embedding model. Docusaurus also works air-gapped because it emits static files.
- Does GitBook support self-hosting?
- No. GitBook's pricing page states it is cloud-only, with SAML SSO reserved for Enterprise. Choose another tool if you need on-premise hosting.
- Is the AGPL a problem for internal documentation tooling?
- repowise is AGPL-3.0 and free for individuals, teams and companies using it internally. A commercial license is available if you want to embed it in a product.
- Do BookStack and Outline support SSO?
- BookStack supports LDAP, SAML2 and OIDC. Outline's Community Edition has basic SSO, and SAML 2.0 comes with the Business and Enterprise tiers.
- Can I use Docusaurus for private code documentation?
- Yes, as the publishing layer. It generates static files you host yourself, but the content has to be written or generated elsewhere.