I need a team wiki that stores data as markdown files and does not use a proprietary database.

If you want a team wiki where the source of truth is Markdown files and there is no proprietary database, look for a “file-based” or “Git-backed” wiki. Good options:

Wiki	Storage model	Database?	Best fit
Gollum	Markdown/text files in a Git repository	No	Engineering teams that already use Git
LeafWiki	Markdown files on disk	No external DB	Simple internal team wiki with web editing
wikmd	Markdown files on disk	No	Lightweight self-hosted wiki
Fluence Wiki	Git repository containing Markdown pages	No content database	Teams wanting Git-native workflows
MkDocs	Markdown files in a repo	No	Documentation sites rather than collaborative wikis

My shortlist

1. Gollum — best if Git is your source of truth

Gollum treats a Git repository as the wiki. Pages are editable Markdown/text files, organized in folders, with Git providing history, diffs, and rollback.GitHub

Good for:

• engineering teams
• infrastructure runbooks
• architecture docs
• teams comfortable with pull requests and Git workflows

Tradeoff:

• Less “Confluence-like” for nontechnical users.

2. LeafWiki — closest to a traditional team wiki

LeafWiki stores Markdown on disk and does not require an external database server. It provides a browser UI, search, permissions, and wiki-style navigation while keeping content as files.GitHub+1

Good for:

• company handbook
• onboarding docs
• team knowledge base
• mixed technical/nontechnical teams

Tradeoff:

• Check whether its workflow matches your preferred Git backup/versioning model.

3. wikmd — minimal and file-first

wikmd is explicitly designed around Markdown files instead of a database. It supports Git integration, search, plugins, and browser editing.GitHub

Good for:

• small teams
• self-hosted environments
• people who want the simplest possible architecture

A setup I would choose for a team

For a technical team:

wiki/
├── engineering/
│   ├── architecture.md
│   ├── services.md
│   └── runbooks.md
├── onboarding/
│   ├── developers.md
│   └── tools.md
├── projects/
│   └── project-name.md
└── README.md

Store it in Git:

• Markdown files = canonical data
• Git = history, backup, review
• Wiki UI = convenience layer

That avoids vendor lock-in because the entire knowledge base remains readable with a text editor.

If you want the closest replacement for Confluence/Notion while still keeping Markdown files, I would start by evaluating LeafWiki and Gollum.GitHub+1

If you want a team wiki that completely bypasses proprietary databases and treats your file system (or a Git repository) as the absolute source of truth, you need a flat-file, Git-backed, or Markdown-native wiki.

The best options available for teams range from zero-database Python/Go apps to pure Git-backed wikis:

• An Otter Wiki
  • How it works: Built with Python/Flask, it stores all pages as plain Markdown files directly inside a local Git repository.
  • Why it fits: It has a clean, modern web interface (with dark mode), user authentication, full page history via Git, and even acts as a built-in Git server so team members can clone, push, and pull changes locally.
  • Check it out:An Otter Wiki on GitHub+2
• Gollum
  • How it works: A mature Ruby-based web frontend that points directly at any local Git repository filled with Markdown (or other markup) files. It's the exact engine that GitHub used to power its built-in wikis.
  • Why it fits: Completely decentralized. Every edit you make through the web UI instantly creates a clean Git commit on disk. You can use any Git hosting (GitHub, GitLab, self-hosted Gitea) to sync.
  • Check it out:Gollum on GitHub+1
• Wiki.js (with Git Storage Module)
  • How it works: While Wiki.js can use a database for rendering cache/users, its Git Storage module syncs all rendered/raw content bi-directionally as pure Markdown files to a remote or local Git repository.
  • Why it fits: It gives you a heavy-duty, feature-rich modern UI while ensuring your actual content lives transparently as .md files in a repository rather than being trapped in an opaque database schema.
  • Check it out:Wiki.js Storage Documentation+2
• LeafWiki
  • How it works: A lightweight, single-binary application (written in Go) designed specifically for folks who find heavy Node.js or multi-container database setups overkill.
  • Why it fits: Keeps a clean data directory on disk for long-lived documentation with minimal operating overhead.
  • Check it out:LeafWiki on GitHub+1

To help narrow down the best choice, let me know:

• Do you want a web UI with user logins for the team to edit in-browser, or are you comfortable with people editing .md files locally and pushing via Git?
• Do you prefer a specific self-hosting stack (like Docker, Python, or Go)?

If your requirement is “the wiki content itself must live as normal Markdown files, not inside a proprietary database”, I’d look at these options:

Tool	Markdown files as source of truth	Database required	Best fit
Gollum	✅ Yes (Git repository)	❌ No	Developer teams, Git workflows
LeafWiki	✅ Yes (Markdown on disk)	❌ No external DB	A simple internal team wiki with web editing
DokuWiki	✅ Yes (flat files)	❌ No	Long-running internal documentation
MkDocs	✅ Yes	❌ No	Engineering docs and version-controlled documentation
KiwiFS	✅ Yes	❌ Content DB; indexes are rebuildable	Teams wanting Markdown + search + automation

LeafWiki GitHub## My recommendations

Best overall for a non-technical team: LeafWiki

LeafWiki is probably closest to a Confluence/Notion-style experience while keeping pages as Markdown files. It runs as a self-hosted app, stores Markdown on disk, and is designed around internal documentation.LeafWiki+1

Good for:

• Team handbook
• Processes and runbooks
• Onboarding docs
• Project notes
• People can edit in a browser

Best if your team already uses Git: Gollum

Gollum treats a Git repository as the wiki. Pages are ordinary files, and Git provides history, review, branching, and backups.Parse

Good for:

• Engineering organizations
• Docs-as-code workflows
• Teams comfortable with pull requests

Best for polished documentation sites: MkDocs

MkDocs keeps everything in Markdown and builds a documentation website. It is less of a collaborative wiki and more of a documentation platform.Parse

Good for:

• Product documentation
• API docs
• Internal developer portals

If you mean literally no database of any kind

Be careful: some tools keep Markdown as the canonical content but still use a small database or index for things like users, search, or metadata. For example, some modern tools store the pages as Markdown but may use SQLite or another index internally.GitHub

For a strict “the entire wiki is just a folder of Markdown files” requirement, I’d choose:

1. Gollum — if Git is acceptable
2. DokuWiki — if you want a classic wiki server
3. SlimWiki — if you want a very lightweight Markdown file-based wikiSlim Wiki

A practical team layout could simply be:

team-wiki/
├── README.md
├── Handbook/
│   ├── values.md
│   ├── onboarding.md
│   └── benefits.md
├── Engineering/
│   ├── architecture.md
│   ├── deployment.md
│   └── troubleshooting.md
├── Operations/
│   ├── runbooks.md
│   └── policies.md
└── Projects/
    └── project-alpha.md

If you want browser editing + permissions + search + Markdown files, I would start with LeafWiki. If you want maximum portability and zero lock-in, I would start with Gollum + Git.

Wiki|Docs, Gollum, and Docusaurus are top open-source team wiki choices that store data as plain Markdown files on disk rather than relying on a proprietary or external database .reddit.com+2

Flat-file wikis give your team full ownership of documentation. Because everything is stored as standard text files, you can version-control your knowledge base via Git, edit files locally with any text editor, and avoid vendor lock-in.github.com+1

Top Databaseless Markdown Wikis

Project	Core Technology	Primary Storage	Best Suited For
[Wiki	Docs](https://github.com/Zavy86/WikiDocs)	TypeScript, Angular, Docker	Flat Markdown files on disk
Gollum	Ruby / Sinatra	Git repository (Raw Markdown files)	Technical teams that want a fully Git-backed wiki mirroring GitHub/Gollum wiki specs.

Detailed Breakdown of Options

• Wiki|Docs : A privacy-friendly, databaseless flat-file wiki. It provides a clean web interface via Docker for self-hosting and a standalone desktop app, allowing team members to edit Markdown locally or remotely without a SQL database.github.com+1
• Gollum : Built by the GitHub team, Gollum treats a standard Git repository as its database. Every edit commits a change directly to your .md files. You can run it locally or deploy it on a server, and you can edit pages either through its built-in web frontend or by pushing commits via Git.
• Docusaurus : Maintained by Meta, this "docs-as-code" framework turns a folder of Markdown/MDX files into a fast, searchable static documentation website. It does not use a database; changes are managed via pull requests and built via continuous integration.reddit.com+1
• Docsify : Unlike traditional wikis that generate static HTML pages, Docsify dynamically parses your Markdown files on the fly in the browser. It requires no database and can be hosted statically on any basic web server or .

If you can tell me whether your team prefers a live collaborative web editor or a Git-based "docs-as-code" workflow , I can recommend the easiest option to deploy for your specific infrastructure.

If you want a team wiki where the source of truth is Markdown files on disk (not a proprietary database), look for a flat-file wiki or Markdown-native wiki. Good options:

Wiki	Storage model	Best for	Notes
Wiki	Docs	Markdown files + YAML frontmatter	Teams wanting a full wiki UI
wikmd	Markdown files	Engineering docs, lightweight internal wikis	File-based, Git-friendly, supports search, plugins, diagrams, and version control workflows.GitHub
LeafWiki	Markdown files on disk	Small teams that want simplicity	Single-binary approach, no external database server, easy backups because content is ordinary files.LeafWiki
Wiki-Go	Markdown files	Teams wanting more features	Includes Markdown editing, search, hierarchy, permissions, comments, and file-based storage.GitHub

My shortlist

Best overall team wiki: Wiki|Docs

Good fit if you want a Confluence-like experience but want your content to remain portable Markdown. It has collaboration-oriented features while keeping the content in plain files.GitHub

Best if you use Git already: wikmd

A strong choice for engineering teams that want:

• Markdown in a repository
• pull-request reviews
• Git history
• no database migration concerns

GitHub### Best lightweight/self-hosted option: LeafWiki

Good if your priority is:

• "just give me a wiki server"
• simple backups (rsync, snapshots, Git, etc.)
• no database administration

LeafWiki## Things I would avoid for your requirement

Many popular wiki tools store content in:

• PostgreSQL/MySQL databases
• proprietary document formats
• cloud-only storage layers

They can be excellent products, but they make exporting and long-term ownership harder.

A practical team setup

A common pattern is:

team-wiki/
├── Engineering/
│   ├── architecture.md
│   ├── deployment.md
│   └── runbooks.md
├── Product/
│   ├── roadmap.md
│   └── decisions.md
├── People/
│   └── onboarding.md
└── README.md

Then:

• store it in Git for history and review
• run a Markdown wiki UI on top
• back it up like any other folder

For a software engineering team, I would lean toward wikmd + Git. For a broader company wiki with nontechnical users, I would lean toward Wiki|Docs.GitHub+1

team-wiki/
├── Engineering/
│   ├── architecture.md
│   ├── deployment.md
│   └── runbooks.md
├── Product/
│   ├── roadmap.md
│   └── decisions.md
├── People/
│   └── onboarding.md
└── README.md

Then:

• store it in Git for history and review
• run a Markdown wiki UI on top
• back it up like any other folder

For a software engineering team, I would lean toward wikmd + Git. For a broader company wiki with nontechnical users, I would lean toward Wiki|Docs.GitHub+1