How to Install BookStack on Windows 11

BookStack is a free open-source platform used for creating documentation and wiki-style websites. In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install BookStack on Windows 11.

Prerequisites

Before installing BookStack, you need to ensure that the following prerequisites are in place:

  • A Windows 11 computer with administrative privileges
  • PHP and MySQL installed on your computer

Step 1: Download the Latest Release of BookStack

Visit the official website of BookStack at https://www.bookstackapp.com/ and download the latest release of BookStack for Windows. This will download a file named something like BookStack-x.x.x.zip.

Step 2: Extract the Downloaded File

Once the download is complete, extract the contents of the downloaded file to a desired location on your computer. In this tutorial, we will use the C:/BookStack directory.

Step 3: Configure PHP

Open the php.ini file located in the C:/BookStack/php folder using a text editor of your choice. Then, perform the following configurations:

  • Uncomment the extension_dir line and set it to ./ext (i.e., extension_dir=./ext)
  • Uncomment the extension=mysqli line (i.e., extension=mysqli)

Save the changes and close the php.ini file.

Step 4: Configure MySQL

Open the my.ini file located in the C:/BookStack/mysql folder using a text editor of your choice. Then, perform the following configuration:

  • Uncomment the bind-address line and set it to 0.0.0.0 (i.e., bind-address=0.0.0.0)

Save the changes and close the my.ini file.

Step 5: Create a MySQL Database

Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell and enter the following commands:

cd C:/BookStack/mysql/bin
mysql --user=root --password= -e "CREATE DATABASE bookstack;"

This will create a new MySQL database named bookstack.

Step 6: Install BookStack

Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell and enter the following commands:

cd C:/BookStack
php artisan bookstack:install

This will start the installation process. During the installation, you will be prompted to enter the MySQL database details, such as the database name, username, and password that you created in Step 5.

Once the installation is complete, you will see a message that contains the URL of your BookStack installation. You can now access your BookStack installation using a web browser.

Conclusion

That's all you need to do to install BookStack on Windows 11. BookStack is a powerful platform that can be used to create your own documentation or wiki-style site. With this tutorial, you should be able to get started with BookStack in no time!