Getting Started

Getting Started

Fastest path: try the demo, then run Folio with one command, create a space and invite your team. Plan about 15 minutes for the install and a first page.

1. Try the demo (no install)

Open demo.foliowiki.online and pick Sam on the sign-in screen. Look at the tree, a data table with a form, a whiteboard and the published Folio Handbook. The login is shared and data resets every 24 hours. Git, import, API tokens, share links, invitations and the AI assistant are turned off on the demo, so those need your own installation.

2. Install

You need Docker and Git. Folio runs as three containers: the app, PostgreSQL and Redis.

git clone https://github.com/evergreen-it-dev/folio.git
cd folio
docker compose up -d

The first start builds the app and takes a few minutes (about 1 GB). Open http://localhost:4870; the first account you create becomes the instance administrator.

For a team, use a server. Minimum sizing everywhere: 2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB disk.

Where	How
Any Linux server	curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/evergreen-it-dev/folio/main/deploy/vps/install.sh | bash (guide)
Render	Blueprint, paid plan because of the disk (guide)
Railway	one-click template (guide)
Coolify, DigitalOcean, Dokploy, CapRover, Easypanel, Portainer, Fly.io	all install guides

Set PUBLIC_URL to the exact address people type (invitation and share links are built from it). Serverless hosting (Vercel, Netlify) cannot run Folio. Details: INSTALL.md.

3. Create the first space

After the sign-up a short welcome asks what to create first: a document, a whiteboard or a data table. Name the space, or choose From a git repository to connect a repository you already have (a vault, a docs/ folder, a notes repo). Skip creates an empty space at once. A space is a Git repository, or a folder inside one.

4. Invite people and set roles

Roles are per space: admin, editor, viewer. A space is private (members only), open to the instance (everyone signed in can read) or public (readable on the internet).

1. Create an invitation link with a preset space and role, an expiry date and a use limit.
2. Send it. The person creates an account and lands in the space.
3. Narrow a single page when needed: open to all members, to you only, or to chosen people.

Optional: Sign in with Google for listed email domains. See Sharing and Permissions.

5. Write the first page, board and table

Press + in the tree or use / in a page.

• Page: Reading, Live edit or Source (plain Markdown). [[ links a page, @ mentions a person.
• Board: a whiteboard, drawn together (Boards).
• Table: typed columns and views, with an optional form (Data Tables and Forms).

Start from a free template: meeting notes, runbook, onboarding checklist.

What to do next

• Bring content over: Confluence, Notion, Obsidian.
• Add the assistant: Set Up Folio AI.
• Plan backups: Backups, Updates and Monitoring.

Limits

• Editing in a browser commits to Git about 90 seconds after the space goes quiet; Sync commits at once.
• File names of new pages are Latin only (the title can be in any language).
• Data tables, forms and uploads need a connection; documents and boards you opened before work offline.

See also

Install guides · Demo · Templates · FAQ and Troubleshooting