About Qwiki / Introduction

⚡ Standalone Qwiki

Standalone Qwiki is a modern, fast, zero-database documentation portal and wiki system written in PHP, Vanilla JavaScript, and CSS. It supports local Markdown files (.md), rich HTML documents (.html), embedded PDF documents (.pdf), and published Google Docs (gdoc) within a unified, responsive interface featuring dynamic search, zero-flicker dark/light themes, drag-and-drop menu reordering, resizable sidebar, self-contained extensions, and role-based user management.

🌐 Sub-Folder & Sub-Domain Deployment

Standalone Qwiki is 100% location-agnostic:

  • It can be deployed in any sub-folder of your server root (e.g. /help, /documentation, /docs/v1, /wiki) or as a root domain.
  • Universal Clean URLs: Beautiful URLs (/category/document) resolve seamlessly across all environments (Apache with/without mod_rewrite, Nginx, and PHP built-in CLI server).
  • Zero Hardcoded Paths: All web assets, navigation links, and API requests use relative paths (index.php?, assets/css/, api/admin.php).
  • Zero Configuration Required: Simply place the standalone-qwiki folder into your desired directory on your server; auto-setup takes care of the rest!

🔒 Public vs. Private Access Modes

Admins can control whether documentation is publicly readable or requires authentication:

  1. Open ⚙️ Settings in the header as Admin.
  2. Select Access Mode:
    • Public Access (Default): Anyone can view and search documentation without logging in. Authentication is only required for editing, uploading, reordering, and user management.
    • Private Portal: Authentication (as Viewer or Admin) is strictly required to view documentation content. Unauthenticated visitors see a secure login prompt.

🌟 Key Features

  • Zero Database Requirement: Operates completely standalone using file-based JSON configuration (qwiki.json) and user store (users.json). No MySQL or MariaDB setup needed!
  • 🧩 Self-Contained Extension System: Extend Qwiki with custom page types and agentic tools located in assets/extensions/ without modifying core files.
  • Multi-Format Support:
    • Markdown (.md): Server-side parsing via Parsedown with an inline WYSIWYG Toast UI editor, direct image upload, and playable video auto-embedding.
    • HTML Documents (.html): Sandboxed interactive HTML pages with built-in SunEditor WYSIWYG visual editor and raw source code toggle.
    • Google Docs (gdoc): Embed published Google Docs URLs with automatic HTML cleaning and theme integration.
    • PDF Manuals (.pdf): Embedded responsive iframe PDF viewer with download links.
  • ✨ Agentic Visual & Chart Generator: Create vector Bar Charts, Line Trends, Pie/Donut Charts, Flow Diagrams, and Status Badges. Generates standalone SVG files saved directly to uploads/ with 1-click Markdown editor insertion.
  • 🌓 Zero-Flicker Theming: Instant theme switching with persistent server-side cookie and synchronous head script sync.
  • 🖐️ Drag-and-Drop Menu Reordering: Authenticated Admins can drag items using visual handles (⣿) to reorder documents, nest items into categories/sub-folders, or reorder top-level categories.
  • ↔️ Resizable Sidebar Menu: Click and drag the right border of the sidebar menu to adjust width (200px to 550px).
  • 👥 Multi-User Management & RBAC: Role-based access with Admin and Viewer accounts encrypted using native PHP Bcrypt (password_hash()).
  • 🎨 Cascading Themes & Live CSS Editor: Assign different CSS themes across the site, categories, or documents with a live browser-based theme editor.
  • 👁️ Visibility Controls: Restrict entire categories to logged-in users or admins only. Hide document type badges (MD, PDF, GDOC, HTML) from public viewers.
  • 🛡️ Security Hardening: Strict path traversal prevention, sanitized filenames, and protected .json stores.

📋 System Requirements

  • PHP: PHP 7.4 or PHP 8.x
  • PHP Extensions: json, session, mbstring, fileinfo, zip (for 1-click updates)
  • Web Server: Apache, Nginx, or Caddy (or built-in PHP CLI dev server for local testing).

🔑 Default Credentials & Admin Suite

When accessing for the first time, click Login in the top right header:

  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin