InkLoom
A local-first documentation platform — write, review, and publish docs that stay current as your product evolves.
Create, review, and publish documentation with a rich block editor, Git-style version control, and static output you can deploy anywhere.
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Documentation drifts. Products evolve, APIs change, features get reworked — and the docs quietly fall behind.
Most documentation tools focus on making docs look good. InkLoom focuses on making them stay good — with Git-style version control, structured review workflows, and a build pipeline that treats docs like code you can maintain over time.
InkLoom is an open-source, local-first documentation platform with a visual block editor, Git-style version control, and static site generation.
It's designed for teams that want real control over their documentation workflow — drafting, review, conflict resolution, and publishing — without being locked into a hosted platform.
No authentication required. InkLoom runs as a single-tenant tool backed by Convex.
| Category | What you get |
|---|---|
| Editor | BlockNote rich-text editor with 15 custom block types: accordion, callout, card, code block, code group, columns, expandable, frame, iframe, image, LaTeX, response field, steps, tabs, video |
| Version control | Branches, merge requests, diff viewer, conflict resolver, version history |
| Comments | Threaded comments with inline marks |
| Theming | 10 built-in theme presets (Ink, Aurora, Verdant, Ember, Midnight, Dune, Fossil, Vapor, Aubergine, Custom), custom colors/fonts, logo and favicon |
| SEO | OG tags, sitemap.xml, robots.txt, llms.txt |
| OpenAPI | Validate OpenAPI specs and auto-generate API reference pages |
| CLI | inkloom build, inkloom push, inkloom pull, inkloom export |
| Static output | Generate a static dist/ folder deployable to any host |
| i18n | Built-in internationalization with next-intl |
InkLoom is under active development. Core documentation workflows, version control, static site generation, and theming are stable and in use.
npx create-inkloom my-docs && cd my-docsOr clone the repo directly:
git clone https://github.com/inkloom/inkloom.git && cd inkloom && pnpm installConvex offers a generous free tier — more than enough for any documentation project.
- 1M function calls/month
- 0.5 GB database + 1 GB file storage
- Up to 6 developers — no credit card required
1. Start the Convex backend (creates a free account if needed):
npx convex dev2. In a new terminal, start the app:
pnpm devOpen http://localhost:3000 — no login required.
Run everything on your own infrastructure. No account needed, no data leaves your machine.
1. Scaffold or clone (same as above).
2. Start the Convex backend locally:
docker compose up -d3. Generate an admin key:
docker compose exec backend ./generate_admin_key.sh4. Deploy your Convex functions to the local backend:
CONVEX_SELF_HOSTED_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3210 \
CONVEX_SELF_HOSTED_ADMIN_KEY=<key-from-step-3> \
npx convex dev5. Create .env.local:
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL=http://127.0.0.1:32106. Start the app:
pnpm devOpen http://localhost:3000. The Convex dashboard is available at http://localhost:6791.
Generate a static site from your docs:
# Via CLI
inkloom build
# Output is in dist/ — deploy to any static hostDeploy the dist/ folder to Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, S3, or any static host.
InkLoom's backend runs on Convex. You have two options:
| Convex Cloud | Self-Hosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | npx convex dev (2 min) |
docker compose up (5 min) |
| Cost | Free tier (generous) | Your infrastructure |
| Scaling | Automatic | Manual (single-machine default) |
| Backups | Automatic | You manage |
| Dashboard | cloud.convex.dev | localhost:6791 |
For production self-hosting, Convex supports PostgreSQL as a storage backend (instead of the default SQLite) for better durability and scalability. See the Convex self-hosting guide for details.
To run both the Convex backend and the InkLoom app in containers:
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.app.yml up -dThis requires a standalone Next.js build. Add output: "standalone" to your next.config.ts, then build the Docker image with docker build -t inkloom ..
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
inkloom build |
Generate a static site to dist/ |
inkloom push |
Push local MDX files to a Convex project |
inkloom pull |
Pull pages from Convex as local MDX files |
inkloom export |
Export all project data to inkloom-export.json |
Install the CLI:
pnpm add -g @inkloom/cliapps/web/ # Next.js application
app/[locale]/(dashboard)/ # Dashboard routes
components/ # Editor, settings, merge requests, dashboard
convex/ # Convex backend (schema, queries, mutations)
lib/ # Utilities, adapters, site generation
hooks/ # React hooks
messages/en.json # i18n translations
packages/
ui/ # Shared UI component library (@inkloom/ui)
mdx-parser/ # MDX <-> BlockNote conversion (@inkloom/mdx-parser)
cli/ # CLI tool (@inkloom/cli)
create-inkloom/ # Project scaffolding (create-inkloom)
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js 16, React 19, BlockNote editor, Tailwind v4 |
| Backend | Convex (serverless functions + real-time database) |
| Build | Static site generation (HTML, CSS, JS) |
| Monorepo | pnpm workspaces |
InkLoom stores data in Convex using a portable schema. Export your entire project at any time:
inkloom export --output inkloom-export.jsonThe export includes all projects, pages, folders, branches, and asset references.
When you're ready for managed hosting, team collaboration, AI doc generation, GitHub sync, and custom domains:
inkloom migrate --to-cloud --file inkloom-export.jsonYour data transfers seamlessly to InkLoom Cloud with zero data loss.
We welcome contributions! InkLoom is maintained by a small team. We review every PR.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
pnpm type-check # Type-check all packages
pnpm build # Build all packages
pnpm test # Run all tests
pnpm lint # Lint all packagesInkLoom is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.