NeoWiki
| NeoWiki | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Professional Wiki |
| Type | MediaWiki Extension |
| Initial release | TBA (in development 2026) |
| Operating system | Web (SaaS), Linux |
| Written in | PHP, JavaScript, TypeScript |
| License | Open Source (core) / Proprietary (extensions) |
| Website | professional.wiki |
| Contents | |
NeoWiki is a MediaWiki extension in development by Professional Wiki that enables structured data and knowledge graph capabilities within a wiki. It is designed as a spiritual successor to Semantic MediaWiki and Wikibase, aiming to deliver the core value of structured, linked knowledge with dramatically better usability.
Motivation
Semantic MediaWiki and Wikibase are powerful tools for structured knowledge management in wikis, but both have significant usability barriers. Complex query languages, intricate data models, and steep learning curves limit adoption to technically skilled users. Meanwhile, modern productivity tools like Notion and Coda have demonstrated that structured data — databases, typed properties, linked records — can be made accessible to non-technical knowledge workers.
NeoWiki aims to combine the openness and sovereignty of MediaWiki with the usability standards of modern SaaS tools: getting 90% of the value of Semantic MediaWiki and Wikibase with 10% of the complexity.
Key Design Goals
- Dramatically better usability — structured data entry and querying accessible to non-technical editors
- Knowledge graph — entities with typed properties and defined relationships, queryable across the wiki
- AI readiness — structured, linked content that can serve as a high-quality grounding source for AI systems such as AI Assistant
- Sustainable commercial model — open-source core with commercially supported extensions and hosting via ProWiki
- Interoperability — structured data accessible via API and compatible with linked data standards
Relationship to Existing Technologies
- Semantic MediaWiki
- NeoWiki addresses the same use case — structured data in a wiki — but with a fundamentally simpler user experience. It does not aim for feature parity; rather, it targets the most valuable subset of SMW functionality with a modern UX.
- Wikibase
- Wikibase is optimised for large-scale, multilingual, open knowledge graphs (as used by Wikidata). NeoWiki targets enterprise knowledge management use cases where usability and integration with existing MediaWiki content are the primary concerns.
- Notion / Coda
- These tools inspire NeoWiki's usability goals, but NeoWiki runs on MediaWiki — giving organisations full data sovereignty, self-hosting options, and integration with the broader MediaWiki ecosystem.
AI Integration
NeoWiki's structured knowledge graph is designed to serve as a high-quality data source for AI-powered question answering. Structured, typed, interlinked data dramatically improves the accuracy and reliability of RAG-based systems like AI Assistant, compared to unstructured prose. This positions NeoWiki as the knowledge infrastructure layer that makes AI useful in enterprise settings.
