Redmineflux Knowledge Base is a project-level documentation Plugin for Redmine that allows teams to create, organize, and share structured documentation within their projects. It supports hierarchical content organization through Spaces, Folders, and Pages, a draft and publish workflow, version history, a built-in rich text editor, user mentions, content templates, and public URL sharing.
The plugin connects project teams with their documentation in one central place, making it easy to write, review, publish, and maintain project knowledge without leaving Redmine.
Main capabilities include:
Supported Redmine versions:
| Dependency | Version |
|---|---|
| Redmine | 5.1+ |
| Ruby | 3.0+ |
| rack-attack gem | ~> 6.7 |
To install the Redmineflux Knowledge Base plugin:
cd {REDMINE_ROOT}/plugins
git clone <repository_url> redmineflux_knowledgebasebundle installRAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake redmine:plugins:migrate
For development:
RAILS_ENV=development bundle exec rake redmine:plugins:migrate
After installation, navigate to Administration > Plugins. The Redmineflux Knowledgebase Plugin should appear in the list.
The plugin settings are accessible from Administration > Plugins > Redmineflux Knowledgebase Plugin > Configure.
Settings are organized into tabs:
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| General | Toggle email notifications for @mention support and issue mention linking |
| Public Access | Enable public URL sharing, configure rate limiting, IP allowlist and blocklist |
| Templates | Create, edit, and delete content templates (admin only) |
Configure notification behavior for the plugin:
Control how the public URL feature works:
The plugin provides three main working areas:
After enabling the module:
A Space is the top-level container within a project knowledge base. Think of it as a section, for example Engineering Docs, Onboarding, or Product Specs.
To create a space:
To edit a space:
To delete a space:
Note: Deleting a space permanently deletes all folders, pages, and version history within it. This action cannot be undone.
Folders are organizational containers within a space. They can be nested inside other folders to create a hierarchy.
To create a folder:
To create a nested folder inside another folder:
To edit or delete a folder:
Note: Folders cannot have page-type nodes as parents. Pages cannot contain children.
Pages are documents with rich text content. They live inside a space or inside a folder within a space.
To create a page:
The page opens in the editor in draft status and is ready to be written.
To edit a page:
To delete a page:
The built-in WYSIWYG editor supports the following formatting options:
Content is auto-saved automatically as you type. The auto-save status indicator appears in the page toolbar and shows Saving or Saved.
Auto-save saves content as a draft only. It does not create a new version.
In the editor, type @ followed by a username to mention a project member.
A dropdown appears showing matching active members of the project. Select the user to insert the mention.
On publish, the plugin sends an email notification to each mentioned user. The email includes:
Mention notifications can be enabled or disabled in Plugin Settings > General.
In the editor, type # followed by an issue number to reference an open Redmine issue.
A dropdown appears showing matching issues in the project. Linked issues are tracked and shown in the issue detail view.
Every page has a status: either draft or published.
Draft pages
manage_knowledgebase_pagesPublishing a page
After publishing:
view_knowledgebaseEditing a published page
Unpublishing a page
After unpublishing:
manage_knowledgebase_pages can view itVersions are created only on publish. Draft auto-saves do not generate version history entries.
Each version records:
To view version history:
The current active version is highlighted with a Current Version badge.
To restore a previous version:
After restoring:
Templates provide pre-structured content for common page types. Admins manage templates from Plugin Settings > Templates.
The plugin ships with six pre-built templates:
To use a template when creating a page:
To create a new template:
To edit a template:
To copy a template:
To delete a template:
Individual published pages can be shared with people who do not have a Redmine account.
To enable a public URL for a page:
To disable public access:
Public URL characteristics:
Sub-projects can inherit and display the Knowledge Base spaces of their parent project in the sidebar.
When enabled:
view_knowledgebase permission on the parent project to see inherited content.Inheritance is enabled by default and can be toggled in Plugin Settings > General.
The sidebar includes a live search field that filters spaces, folders, and pages as you type.
To search:
The search is client-side and does not require a page reload.
Knowledge Base pages that mention a Redmine issue using the #issue syntax are automatically linked to that issue.
To view linked pages on an issue:
The link is created and removed automatically as pages are updated. No manual action is required.
Permissions are configured per role under Administration > Roles and Permissions.
The Knowledge Base module exposes three permissions:
| Permission | What it covers | Default |
|---|---|---|
view_knowledgebase |
View spaces, folders, and published pages | Public — all project members |
manage_knowledgebase_spaces |
Create, edit, and delete spaces | Managers |
manage_knowledgebase_pages |
Create, edit, publish, and delete pages and folders | Members with write access |
| Page State | Who Can View |
|---|---|
| Published | All project members with view_knowledgebase |
| Draft (no published version) | Author and users with manage_knowledgebase_pages |
| Draft (has published versions) | All members see the last published version |
| Explicitly unpublished | Author and users with manage_knowledgebase_pages only |
| Folders | Always visible to all members |
The plugin exposes a JSON REST API for external integrations. All API endpoints require authentication and return JSON.
API base path: /api/knowledgebase/
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/knowledgebase/spaces?project_id=X |
List all spaces in a project |
| GET | /api/knowledgebase/spaces/:id?project_id=X |
Get a single space |
| POST | /api/knowledgebase/spaces?project_id=X |
Create a space |
| PATCH | /api/knowledgebase/spaces/:id?project_id=X |
Update a space |
| DELETE | /api/knowledgebase/spaces/:id?project_id=X |
Delete a space |
| Method | Path | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/knowledgebase/nodes?project_id=X |
List all nodes in a project |
| GET | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id?project_id=X |
Get a single node |
| POST | /api/knowledgebase/nodes?project_id=X |
Create a node |
| PATCH | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id?project_id=X |
Update a node |
| DELETE | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id?project_id=X |
Delete a node |
| POST | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id/publish?project_id=X |
Publish a page |
| POST | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id/unpublish?project_id=X |
Unpublish a page |
| GET | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id/versions?project_id=X |
List version history |
| POST | /api/knowledgebase/nodes/:id/restore_version?project_id=X |
Restore a version |
All API responses follow the format:
{
"success": true,
"data": { ... },
"meta": {
"total_count": 10,
"page": 1,
"per_page": 25,
"total_pages": 1
}
}
Pagination parameters: page (default: 1) and per_page (default: 25, max: 100).
The plugin uses Rack::Attack to throttle requests to public KB URLs (/kb/public/*).
Rate limiting is active in production and test environments only. It is disabled in development.
Default behavior:
Configuration is read dynamically from plugin settings. Changes in the admin UI take effect within 60 seconds without a server restart.
Public URLs use a 64-character cryptographically secure random hex token generated by SecureRandom.hex(32). The token format is validated before any database lookup to prevent enumeration attacks.
Disabling public access immediately clears the token from the database. The old URL becomes invalid at once.
If you face issues with the plugin, try the following:
plugins/redmineflux_knowledgebase.bundle exec rake redmine:plugins:migrate RAILS_ENV=productionview_knowledgebase or manage_knowledgebase_pages as needed.rack-attack gem is installed if public URL rate limiting is required.Rails.cache is configured to a shared cache store (not MemoryStore).tail -f {REDMINE_ROOT}/log/production.logQ1. What is the difference between a Space, a Folder, and a Page?
A Space is the top-level container for a section of the knowledge base (for example Engineering Docs). A Folder is an organizational container inside a space used to group related pages. A Page is the actual document containing written content. Spaces and Folders are structural containers; only Pages hold content.
Q2. Can I have multiple knowledge bases in one project?
No. Each project has one knowledge base. Within it you can create as many Spaces as needed to organize your content into separate sections.
Q3. Who can see a draft page?
Draft pages are visible only to the page author and users with manage_knowledgebase_pages permission. Regular members with only view_knowledgebase cannot see draft pages unless a published version already exists, in which case they see the last published version.
Q4. Does auto-save create a new version?
No. Auto-save updates the draft content only. A new version is created only when the user explicitly clicks Publish or Update. This keeps version history clean and meaningful.
Q5. Can I restore an old version of a page?
Yes. Open the page, click Versions, find the version to restore, and click Restore. The page is published immediately with the restored content. A new version entry is created recording the restore action.
Q6. Can external users without a Redmine account view a page?
Yes, but only for pages where Public Access has been enabled by a user with manage_knowledgebase_pages. The public URL contains a secure token. Anyone with the link can view the page. Disabling public access immediately revokes the URL.
Q7. Can a sub-project see the knowledge base of its parent project?
Yes. When the parent project has the Knowledge Base module enabled and the user has view_knowledgebase permission on the parent, the parent project’s spaces appear in the sub-project sidebar as inherited (read-only) content.
Q8. Can I link a Knowledge Base page to a Redmine issue?
Yes. In the page editor, type # followed by the issue number to mention the issue. The link is tracked automatically and appears in the Related Knowledge Base Pages section at the bottom of the issue detail view.
Q9. Are there limits on the number of spaces, folders, or pages?
There are no plugin-imposed limits. The only constraints are your database capacity and Redmine’s general performance characteristics.
To uninstall the plugin:
bundle exec rake redmine:plugins:migrate NAME=redmineflux_knowledgebase VERSION=0 RAILS_ENV=productionrm -rf plugins/redmineflux_knowledgebasetouch tmp/restart.txtTake a database backup before rollback or uninstallation. The rollback removes all knowledge base tables and data permanently.
| Channel | Link |
|---|---|
| Knowledge Base | redmineflux.com/knowledge-base |
| Website | redmineflux.com |
Redmineflux Knowledge Base is a complete documentation management Plugin for Redmine that brings structured knowledge creation, version-controlled publishing, team collaboration, and external sharing into one integrated experience. It supports the full content lifecycle from draft through publish, hierarchical organization with spaces and folders, flexible access control, and secure public URL sharing. The plugin is designed to give project teams a clean and reliable way to maintain documentation without leaving their existing Redmine workflow.
