📖 Portable BookStack Installer for Windows

A fully automated PowerShell script that sets up a totally self-contained, portable installation of BookStack. A simple, self-hosted wiki and knowledge base, on Windows.

Tired of complicated software installs? This script takes care of absolutely everything, from downloading all the necessary dependencies to fine-tuning the performance. The result is a complete, ready-to-run environment packed neatly into a single folder.

• The BookStack Control Center PowerShell script for super easy management of your portable instances.
• The Bookstack Migration Tool Powershell script to make migrations from old Bookstacks to new Bookstack Editions

       

✨ Why Go Portable?

Feature	Description	Benefit
100% Portable	The entire application lives inside just one folder (C:\BookStack is the default location).	Move it, copy it, or run it straight from a USB drive without reinstalling anything.
Zero Dependencies	Everything you need is configured and included: Apache 2.4, PHP 8.x, MariaDB, Composer, and Portable Git.	You don't need any pre-existing software. No messy registry changes or system clutter.
Performance Tuned	It comes pre-configured for maximum speed with JIT Compiler, OPcache, and database optimizations already set up.	You get a fast, responsive knowledge base right from the start.
Automated Setup	The script handles all the downloading, configuration, database creation, and shortcut generation.	Go from hitting "Run" on the script to having a working wiki in just a few minutes.

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📋 What You Need

• OS: Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server.
• PowerShell: Version 5.1 or newer (it's pre-installed on all modern Windows versions).
• Internet Connection: Only needed during the initial installation to grab the components.

🚀 Installation: Let's Get Running

1. Download

Grab the installation script right here from this repository.

2. Execute

Open PowerShell as Administrator (you need this for file permissions and network settings) and run the script:

.\Install.Bookstack.On.Windows.ps1

3. Script Parameters (Customize It)

You can easily change the installation defaults using these parameters.

Parameter	Default	Description
-RootPath	C:\BookStack	The exact folder where everything will be installed.
-AppPort	8080	The port for the Apache web server (e.g., 80 if you want a standard URL).
-DBPort	3366	The port for the MariaDB database.
-DBPassword	bookstack123	The initial database root password. Seriously, change this right away!

Example: To install the app inside your user profile folder and use port 80: .\Install.Bookstack.On.Windows.ps1 -RootPath "$env:USERPROFILE\BookStack" -AppPort 80

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🖥️ How to Use It

The installation folder has easy batch files for managing the whole setup.

The Quick Way (Primary Controls)

Command	Description
START-BOOKSTACK.bat	The main command. Kicks off both Apache (the Web Server) and MariaDB (the Database) in the background.
STOP-BOOKSTACK.bat	Shuts down everything running (Apache, all PHP-CGI processes, and MariaDB).

Controlling Things Separately

Command	Description
START-DATABASE.bat / STOP-DATABASE.bat	Just controls the MariaDB server.
START-APACHE.bat / STOP-APACHE.bat	Just controls the Apache web server.

Default Login Info

Here's how to access your BookStack:

Detail	Value
URL	http://localhost:<AppPort> (e.g., http://localhost:8080)
Email	admin@admin.com
Password	password

⚠️ Important: Please change these default credentials immediately after you log in for the first time!

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📂 What the Folder Looks Like

The installation creates a tidy, self-contained structure:

C:\BookStack\
├── app\             # The main BookStack code (this is where you'd put updates)
├── apache\          # Apache HTTPD Web Server files
├── php\             # The PHP Runtime optimized for this setup
├── mariadb\         # Database Server files
├── data\            # **THIS IS WHERE YOUR CONTENT IS SAVED!** (Database files, uploads, and config)
├── logs\            # Access, Error, and PHP logs (handy for debugging)
├── downloads\       # A cache of the installers it downloaded (you can safely delete this later)
├── temp\            # Temporary session files
└── START-BOOKSTACK.bat # The main launcher

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🔄 Backup & Moving

The best part about being portable: backing up or moving your entire BookStack instance is incredibly easy.

1. Run STOP-BOOKSTACK.bat to make sure all services are safely closed.
2. Copy the whole C:\BookStack folder to your backup drive or your new machine.
3. On the new computer, just run START-BOOKSTACK.bat. That's it!

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🔧 Need Help? (Troubleshooting)

Port 8080 is already busy

• Option 1 (Easiest): Just run the installer again with a different port number: .\Install.Bookstack.On.Windows.ps1 -AppPort 8088
• Option 2 (Manual Fix):
  1. Edit apache\conf\httpd.conf and change Listen 8080 to your preferred port.
  2. Then, update the APP_URL variable inside app\.env to match the new port.

Missing Visual C++ Redistributable Errors

If Apache or PHP fails to load, you might be missing a necessary system library.

• Solution: Download and install the latest Visual C++ Redistributable (vc_redist.x64.exe) from Microsoft.

Services won't start at all

Your first stop should always be the log files in the logs\ folder.

Log File	Component	What to look for
logs\apache_error.log	Apache Web Server	Permissions issues or configuration mistakes.
logs\mariadb_error.log	MariaDB Database	Port conflicts or database startup failures.
logs\php_errors.log	PHP Runtime	Any fatal PHP errors or missing extensions.

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📜 License

This installation script is open-source.

• BookStack itself is licensed under the MIT license.
• The other components it downloads (Apache, PHP, MariaDB) follow their own respective open-source licenses.

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⚖️ Project Status and Transparency

This code is provided to the community "as is" (as you see it) with the goal of being helpful and functional.

Our Commitment

While we strive to provide high-quality and reliable code, please note:

• We cannot offer any express or implied guarantees or warranties regarding its performance, suitability for a specific purpose, or lack of defects.
• The author(s) and contributors are not liable for any issues or damage that may arise from using this software.

🛡️ Best Practices for Use

We encourage responsible testing and deployment, especially in critical environments. Before running this code on a production server, we strongly recommend that you:

1. Always test first in a staging or development environment.
2. Verify your backups are complete and working, ensuring you have a safe restore point.
3. Understand that using the code means you are accepting responsibility for assessing its suitability for your specific needs.