How many times has someone texted you the WiFi password? Or asked which remote turns on the TV? Your household runs on scattered knowledge — sticky notes, group chats, and your memory. Let's put it all in one private place.

We'll self-host a wiki. Think Wikipedia, but only for your home, and only for the people in it.

Why a family wiki beats a group chat

Group chats bury information. That oven manual someone shared in March? Gone, scrolled past forever. A wiki gives every topic its own permanent page. You write it once. Everyone reads it forever.

And because you host it yourself, none of it touches a company server. Your home address, alarm codes, and spare-key location stay on your machine — not in someone's cloud, not in an AI training set.

What you'll use: Wiki.js

Wiki.js is free, looks clean, and runs on almost anything. An old laptop or a Raspberry Pi is plenty. No coding needed once it's running.

Step 1: Install Docker

Docker packages the whole app so you don't fight with dependencies. On a Linux machine or Pi, run:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

That one line installs everything.

Step 2: Launch Wiki.js

Create a folder, make a file called docker-compose.yml, and paste a setup from the official Wiki.js docs. It bundles the wiki and its database together. Then run:

docker compose up -d

Wait a minute. Open a browser and go to http://your-server-ip:3000. You'll see the setup screen.

Step 3: Create your admin account

Pick a strong email and password. This is the master key to your home's knowledge, so use your password manager.

Step 4: Build your first pages

Start with the pages people ask about most:

  • WiFi — network name, password, guest network
  • Appliances — how the dishwasher, oven, and thermostat actually work
  • Emergency — doctor, vet, plumber, and where the water shutoff is
  • Subscriptions — what the family pays for, so nobody double-buys

Each page is just a title and text. Click, type, save.

Step 5: Add the family

In the admin panel, create accounts for the people in your home. Give them edit rights so the wiki grows on its own. Your teenager updating the WiFi page beats answering the question for the tenth time.

Keep it private

Don't expose this to the open internet. Access it on your home network only, or use a tool like Tailscale to reach it securely when you're out. A wiki full of household details is exactly what you don't want indexed by a search engine.

Your takeaway

Tonight, install Wiki.js and create one page: the WiFi password. Share the link with your household. The next time someone asks, you send the link — and you never type that password again.