DOKUWIKI vs RST
A detailed comparison of DokuWiki Markup and reStructuredText — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.
DokuWiki Markup
Documents & TextDokuWiki markup is the wiki syntax used by the DokuWiki engine, a popular flat-file wiki that requires no database. Its syntax is designed for simplicity, storing all content as plain text files with intuitive formatting conventions.
About DOKUWIKI filesreStructuredText
Documents & TextRST (reStructuredText) is a lightweight markup language used in Python documentation.
About RST filesStrengths Comparison
DOKUWIKI Strengths
- No database — just flat files.
- Easy syntax.
- Git-friendly.
- Simple self-hosting.
RST Strengths
- Rich directives for admonitions, code, math, and custom elements.
- Cross-references work within and across documents.
- Sphinx ecosystem offers best-in-class Python docs output.
- Standardized as part of Python PEP infrastructure.
- Plain text, version-controllable.
Limitations
DOKUWIKI Limitations
- Scales poorly past ~10 000 pages.
- Smaller community than MediaWiki.
- Limited standardization.
RST Limitations
- Syntax denser than Markdown — higher learning curve.
- Less widely adopted than Markdown outside Python world.
- Multiple directive dialects (Sphinx, Docutils, custom) create fragmentation.
- MyST (Markdown + Sphinx) has pulled many Python projects toward Markdown.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | DOKUWIKI | RST |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | text/x-dokuwiki | text/x-rst |
| Extension | .dokuwiki, .txt (stored) | .rst |
| Native engine | DokuWiki (PHP) | — |
| Toolchain | — | Docutils, Sphinx, Read the Docs |
| Encoding | — | UTF-8 |
| Related formats | — | MyST (Markdown + RST directives) |
Typical File Sizes
DOKUWIKI
- Typical wiki page 2-50 KB
RST
- API reference page 5-50 KB
- Sphinx project chapter 20-100 KB
- Full library documentation 500 KB - 10 MB
Ready to convert?
Convert between DOKUWIKI and RST online, free, and without installing anything. Encrypted upload, automatic deletion after 2 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
DOKUWIKI (DokuWiki Markup) is a document format used to store paginated text, with optional formatting, tables, images, hyperlinks, headers and footers. It sits in the documents & text family and is typically associated with a specific office suite or publishing pipeline that defined the format and ships the canonical reader.
RST (reStructuredText) is a document format used to store paginated text, with optional formatting, tables, images, hyperlinks, headers and footers. It sits in the documents & text family and is typically associated with a specific office suite or publishing pipeline that defined the format and ships the canonical reader.
Modern office suites — Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer, Apple Pages — open most DOKUWIKI files with reasonable fidelity. If your installed software does not support DOKUWIKI, convert to DOCX or PDF first using KaijuConverter; both open in virtually every reader, including free online viewers.
Modern office suites — Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer, Apple Pages — open most RST files with reasonable fidelity. If your installed software does not support RST, convert to DOCX or PDF first using KaijuConverter; both open in virtually every reader, including free online viewers.
Upload the DOKUWIKI to KaijuConverter and pick DOCX, PDF, ODT, RTF, HTML, Markdown, or plain text. Our pipeline runs LibreOffice headlessly plus pandoc for text formats — the same engines behind professional document pipelines. Styles, tables, images, and hyperlinks survive the conversion intact.
Yes, to a high degree. Standard fonts, headings, lists, tables, images, hyperlinks and page structure transfer cleanly. Custom fonts substitute to the closest match if not embedded; obscure layout features unique to DOKUWIKI (frames, legacy macros) may flatten to static content in the target format.