I wanted to find the best tool to build a personal knowledge base (PKB) for my notes, recipes, code snippets, and any other information I find worthy of keeping track of. So I looked into Obsidian after trying to create it in Notion, but that didn’t pan out. The primary reason is that I wanted something easy to use, that works on any platform, lets me decide how to store my files, and gives me complete ownership.
After some research, I came across a free, open-source tool called TiddlyWiki. It has a very different philosophy when it comes to creating PKGs, and it solved many of the problems and concerns I have with Notion and Obsidian. It may not provide everything out of the box (few open-source solutions do), but setting it up is worthwhile for all the amazing features it offers.
An introduction to TiddlyWiki
It’s not your average notebook
In addition to being open-source, TiddlyWiki is described as a “non-linear personal workbook.” That means I don’t have to scroll the content from top to bottom like in a traditional notebook or a Word document. Instead, TiddlyWiki emphasizes breaking the content down into mini pages or cards called Tiddlers. Each Tiddler is self-contained, allowing me to evolve my ideas without being constrained by a fixed structure.
However, TiddlyWiki still allows me to link Tiddlers, which form relationships, and jump from one Tiddler to another in any order that I like. I can also embed one Tiddler into another, a process called transclusion. This displays the content of an embedded Tiddler in another without requiring me to open the source Tiddler.
This makes Tiddlers reusable and ideal for building custom views such as outlines, summaries, and dashboards in the wiki. Also, when I update the source Tiddler, all the embeds are updated to reflect the changes—no need to edit or sync them individually.
The fastest way to get started with TiddlyWiki
No need to install anything
Using TiddlyWiki is as simple as visiting the main site and clicking Download in the Getting Started section. This will download a file called empty.html, which houses the entire wiki. When I open the HTML file, it launches TiddlyWiki in my default browser. I can use the editor to create Tiddlers offline and store them however I like–locally, on a flash drive, email them to someone, or upload them to the cloud.
A desktop version of TiddlyWiki can be downloaded from the main site. However, I prefer the web version because it requires virtually no setup.
I can use the formatting toolbar to edit the Tiddlers, but I prefer using its built-in markup language called WikiText. Here are examples of the codes you can use to format the text.
! Heading 1
!! Heading 2
!!! Heading 3
//Italic//
”Bold”
~~strike~~
__underline__
I can link Tiddlers by wrapping the name of the Tiddler I want to link to in double square brackets, like this: [[My other Tiddler]]. Clicking on the link will instantly jump me to the linked Tiddler. If I want to embed or transclude a Tiddler, I can wrap the name in double curly brackets instead, like this:{{My other Tiddler}}.
I can also embed images—these can be annotated within TiddlyWiki—and audio into the Tiddlers, as well as add tags to them for better categorization and searching.
Saving and sharing Tiddlers is also easy
Access Tiddlers anywhere and collaborate with others
After I’m done editing a Tiddler, I can save it by hitting the check mark in the right panel below the wiki’s name. If I’m using the desktop version, the TiddlyWiki will save the file automatically. However, the browser version of TiddyWiki will download the updated version of the wiki as an HTML file, creating another copy. The problem here is that these files can accumulate, making it hard to tell which file I’m working on.
To get around this, I need to enable overriding the original file. Thankfully, modern browsers have a feature that can help with this. I use Chrome, so I went to Settings -> Downloads and toggled Ask where to save each file before downloading. When I save my changes in TiddlyWiki, I get a prompt asking me where I want to save the file rather than immediately downloading another copy. I then navigate to the folder where I saved the HTML file and replace the old file with the new one.
TiddlyWiki also offers the option to use various cloud storage solutions. On my Windows computer, I used my personal OneDrive folder. This also lets me share that folder with others, giving them instant access to the wiki so they can edit it. I can also utilize other cloud storage options, such as Dropbox and Nextcloud.
Tracking changes made to Tiddlers
Adding version control to TiddlyWiki
I liked that I could easily use a version control system to create a history of edits for my wiki. This allows me to roll back to earlier versions in case something goes wrong. TiddlyWiki offers several options for version control, but I found Git to be the most user-friendly option. Specifically, I pushed the TiddlyWiki HTML file to GitHub, a free and reliable hosting platform.
Related
I use Git to sync my notes and it’s easier than you think
Git keeps my notes synced, safe, and versioned without the usual sync mess.
First, I created a git repository on GitHub. Then, I went to Control Panel -> Saving -> GitHub Saver in TiddlyWiki and entered the necessary details to link the wiki to the repository, including username, personal access token (which I had to generate in GitHub’s settings), branch name, file path, and file name. Now GitHub tracks the changes I make.
This is also beneficial for collaboration, since others can clone the repository, edit the wiki, and initiate pull requests for me to review the changes and either accept or reject them. It’s a great way to create documentation for a team project.
Other than that, I can easily publish my wiki for free using GitHub Pages. Remember—TiddlyWiki is a single HTML file. This makes the wiki easier to share and access wherever I go.
No need for Notion or Obsidian to create a personal knowledge base
Although I mixed TiddlyWiki with some proprietary solutions (e.g., OneDrive and GitHub), you don’t have to if you want to go fully open-source. Furthermore, TiddlyWiki is highly extensible, with plugins that enable you to perform tasks like writing equations and drawing. You can even create templates and macros to speed up your workflow. Developers can also create entire web apps using TiddlyWiki.
All this takes some know-how to achieve, but it just goes to show the power behind this wiki builder. I find it to be better than using Notion and Obsidian in this regard. This is especially true when you consider that it’s yours to own forever—no paid tiers or feature locks.
