kiwix-tools
Collection of command-line tools to manage, search, and serve offline ZIM content (e.g., Wikipedia).
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Offline Wikipedia in your pocket – simple CLI tools to manage, search, and serve ZIM files.
Core Features
- kiwix-manage: Create, update, and delete XML-based ZIM libraries
- kiwix-search: Full-text search across ZIM archives
- kiwix-serve: Lightweight HTTP daemon for serving ZIM files in a browser
- Official Docker images for zero-compile deployment
- Cross-platform: Linux, macOS, Windows (via Docker or build)
What It Can't Do
- •kiwix-serve binds to all network interfaces by default – consider firewall rules. 2. Ensure libkiwix and libzim versions are compatible before compilation. 3. ZIM files are large (e.g., full Wikipedia ~90 GB). 4. Use -Dstatic-linkage=true for static builds to ease deployment.
Use Cases
- Offline Wikipedia server for schools, libraries, or remote areas without internet
- Testing ZIM-based apps locally with quick backend setup
- Personal knowledge base: manage and search offline copies of Wikipedia, Stack Exchange, etc.
Kiwix-tools provides three essential CLI utilities: kiwix-manage for managing XML-based libraries of ZIM files, kiwix-search for full-text search within ZIM archives, and kiwix-serve, an HTTP daemon that serves ZIM files over a local network. It is built on top of libkiwix and libzim, offering lightweight and efficient offline access to massive content like Wikipedia, Stack Exchange, or medical resources. The tools can be compiled from source or used via official Docker images, making deployment flexible across servers, Raspberry Pi, or personal computers.
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Getting Started
Download installer
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Install the software
Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the prompts
Option 1 (Docker): docker run -p 8080:80 ghcr.io/kiwix/kiwix-serve -v /path/to/your.zim:/data/content.zim
Option 2: Download prebuilt binaries from GitHub Releases, extract, and run kiwix-serve yourfile.zim
Option 3 (build from source): Install meson, ninja, libkiwix, libzim, then meson . build && ninja -C build
- Option 1 (Docker): docker run -p 8080:80 ghcr.io/kiwix/kiwix-serve -v /path/to/your.zim:/data/content.zim
- Option 2: Download prebuilt binaries from GitHub Releases, extract, and run kiwix-serve yourfile.zim
- Option 3 (build from source): Install meson, ninja, libkiwix, libzim, then meson . build && ninja -C build
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Open Source Transparency
View GitHub SourceUninstall Info
If compiled: run 'ninja -C build uninstall'. If binary: delete the executable files. Docker: 'docker rmi ghcr.io/kiwix/kiwix-tools'.
No Extra Dependencies
Ready to use after download. No additional runtime required.
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