How to install HedgeDoc on Saplo (live collaborative Markdown editing)

Having one person write meeting notes while the rest of the team waits or adds comments in a separate chat is slower than collaboratively editing the same document live. Notion and Dropbox Paper can do this, but at the cost of an account in someone else's cloud and a subscription that grows with the number of people on your team. HedgeDoc is an open-source Markdown editor where multiple people can work on the same document simultaneously, see other people's cursors and changes in real-time, and you can host it all on your own Box. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to set up HedgeDoc on Saplo.

Why HedgeDoc Instead of Notion or Dropbox Paper

Paid tools for collaborative document editing have two characteristics that are most troublesome for small teams and freelancers:

• price increases with the number of users - a free plan usually suffices for one person, but adding each subsequent collaborator to your team in Notion or similar tools is a separate line item on your invoice every month,
• document content resides on someone else's server - meeting notes, project plans, and text drafts are in the hands of an external company, not yours.

HedgeDoc runs as a Docker container with its own PostgreSQL container on your Box, so all document content and editing history remain on your infrastructure, with no per-user fees and no limit on the number of documents.

HedgeDoc vs. Trilium, Wiki.js, and BookStack - three different niches for notes in the Saplo catalog

Trilium Notes, Wiki.js, and BookStack are already in the Saplo catalog, so it's natural to ask how HedgeDoc differs from them. The answer lies in what each of these tools is used for:

• Trilium Notes is a single-user notebook - a hierarchical database of notes and knowledge, built by a single user over a long period, without emphasis on live editing by multiple people at once.
• Wiki.js and BookStack are corporate wikis with page versioning, category structure, and permissions - good for documentation that has a fixed structure and change history, but not for quick, live collaborative drafting.
• HedgeDoc focuses exclusively on live, simultaneous editing of a single Markdown document - you see other participants' cursors and their changes in real-time, without the structure of an entire knowledge base and without a permission system like in a corporate wiki.

If you're building a personal knowledge base, check out Trilium. If your team needs structured documentation with version history, choose Wiki.js or BookStack. If it's about collaboratively writing meeting notes or drafting text live, right here, right now, with someone, HedgeDoc fits best.

Requirements

To set up HedgeDoc on Saplo, you need:

• A Box with Docker running (the engine automatically enables it during installation from the catalog; container nesting is required, which Saplo has by default),
• A minimum of 1 GB RAM free on the Box and 2 GB disk space, meaning a Box M plan or higher,
• A domain or subdomain *.saploapp.pl included with every plan, where the editor will be hosted,
• You DO NOT manually set up a separate database - HedgeDoc requires an SQL database, and the engine sets up a dedicated PostgreSQL container in the same docker-compose for this purpose (Saplo's shared database only supports MySQL/MariaDB).

Step-by-step installation

1. In the Saplo panel, go to Application Catalog and select HedgeDoc (under "Business").
2. Select a Box with at least 1 GB of free RAM, where the editor will be installed, and the domain or subdomain where it will operate.
3. Confirm the installation. The engine deploys a container from the official quay.io/hedgedoc/hedgedoc image along with a dedicated postgres:15-alpine container, generates a random database password and a random session secret, and then exposes the application exclusively on the Box's loopback, connected to nginx, which serves it under the specified domain with free SSL. Only port 443 is exposed externally, not the raw container port.
4. After docker compose up, the engine additionally checks if the HedgeDoc page actually responds via HTTP, because the first container start performs database schema migrations and can take longer than the typical few seconds, so the "container is running" status alone does not yet mean the application is ready.
5. Collaborative editing works via websocket on the same domain as the application - it does not require any additional client-side configuration or a separate port.

First-time setup

HedgeDoc, unlike Directus or Wiki.js, does not have an administrator account concept. Everyone who registers is a regular user and sees only their own documents and those for which they have received a link.

1. Go to your domain address, for example, notatki.saploapp.pl, and create your first account using the registration wizard when you first visit the page.
2. Create a new document with the New note button. You get a unique editing link, which you send to everyone who is supposed to join the collaborative work on the content.
3. Collaborators open the same link and immediately see cursors and others' changes in real-time, without the need to create their own account if the document has open editing access.
4. You can export the finished document to PDF, HTML, or a raw Markdown file from the document menu, or you can share it further for read-only access with a separate link.
5. You can view the document's version history in the Revision view, which allows you to revert to earlier content without manually copying backups.

HedgeDoc on Saplo vs. Notion and Dropbox Paper

FAQ

Does HedgeDoc need a separate database? Yes, unlike some applications in the Saplo catalog, HedgeDoc requires an SQL database. The engine sets up a dedicated PostgreSQL container for it within the same docker-compose, and does not use the shared Saplo database which is only available for MySQL/MariaDB.

How does HedgeDoc differ from Trilium Notes, since both are in the Saplo catalog? Trilium is a hierarchical notebook for a single person, built over a long period. HedgeDoc focuses on simultaneous, live editing of a single document by multiple people.

Do you need to create an account to collaboratively edit a document? No, if the document has open editing access, a link is sufficient. You only create an account yourself to have a permanent list of your own documents.

Can you export a finished document from HedgeDoc? Yes, from the document menu you can export content to PDF, HTML, or a raw Markdown file.

If your team writes notes and drafts together, live, and is looking for a simple editor without a per-person subscription, contact us. We'll help you choose the right Box for your team.