Compare
The modern, markdown-native MediaWiki alternative
Last updated June 30, 2026
MediaWiki is the engine behind Wikipedia — GPL, infinitely extensible, unmatched at encyclopedic public-scale wikis. For a team wiki it is a heavy lift: it uses wikitext rather than markdown, carries a steep learning curve, ships no built-in AI, and has no MCP server in core. tela keeps what is good — open-source, self-hostable, your data on your server — and drops the friction.
tela vs MediaWiki, at a glance
| Feature | tela | MediaWiki |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source (AGPL-3.0) | Open source (GPL-2.0+) |
| Markup | Canonical markdown | Wikitext (not markdown) |
| Ask your docs (AI) | Built in — semantic + full-text, answers with citations | None in core (extensions only) |
| Agents read & write (MCP) | Built in — agents read & write (39 scoped tools) | No core server (community wrappers) |
| Generate docs from your code | Yes — Atlas builds a cited, coverage-checked wiki from git + Jira | No |
| Ops | Lightweight modern stack | Heavyweight (Wikipedia-scale) |
Why teams switch to tela
- Markdown, not wikitext — no template or parser-function learning curve.
- AI- and agent-native out of the box; MediaWiki needs bolt-on extensions and has no MCP in core.
- Atlas generates docs from code, and the stack is far lighter to run.
When MediaWiki is the better choice
For a massive, public, multilingual encyclopedia — thousands of contributors, deep template and transclusion systems, structured data via Semantic MediaWiki, and a vast extension ecosystem refined over two decades — MediaWiki is the proven, purpose-built engine, and nothing else matches it at that scale.
Frequently asked questions
Is tela a good MediaWiki alternative?
Yes. Markdown, not wikitext — no template or parser-function learning curve. tela is open-source (AGPL-3.0), self-hostable, and markdown-native, with a built-in MCP server so AI agents read and write your docs.
Can I self-host tela and connect AI agents to it?
Yes. Self-host tela for free (AGPL-3.0) or start on the free cloud tier. Its built-in MCP server exposes 39 scoped tools, so agents like Claude read and write your wiki directly.
When is MediaWiki the better choice?
For a massive, public, multilingual encyclopedia — thousands of contributors, deep template and transclusion systems, structured data via Semantic MediaWiki, and a vast extension ecosystem refined over two decades — MediaWiki is the proven, purpose-built engine, and nothing else matches it at that scale.
Try tela
tela is an open-source (AGPL), self-hostable team wiki. Self-host it, or start on the free cloud tier at telawiki.com. See the MCP server docs for connecting your agents, or compare tela with other tools.
mediawiki.org — install requirements + copyright (verified 2026). tela facts current as of June 2026.