Schreibzeug – like Google Docs, but on your own server

Edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files – .docx, .xlsx, .pptx and PDF, open source

Editing together in real time, in the browser or as a desktop app. No document server, no tracking. Made in Europe.

Why •
Install •
Features •
Screenshots •
Alternatives •
FAQ •
Documentation •
Deutsch

🖱️ Try the demo – the editors with sample files, in your browser, nothing to install

💡 Why Schreibzeug?

Cloud office suites keep your documents on someone else's servers and charge per user.
Self-hosted office suites usually need a separate document server next to Nextcloud and look like
the office programs of 2010. Schreibzeug is one small server with a modern interface.

• Made in Europe, for Europe: developed in Europe, open source, on Euro-Office's European
  engine and your server. No US provider in between, so no access to your files under the US
  CLOUD Act.
• Your files stay with you (GDPR): documents live on your server, or with the desktop app on
  your own computer. No US cloud, no third-party document server, no telemetry.
• Real Office files: a .docx stays a .docx, an .xlsx an .xlsx, an .odt an .odt – Word, Excel
  and LibreOffice open them as before.
• Mature compatibility: the editing engine is Euro-Office, the European open-source fork of
  ONLYOFFICE, so tables, tracked changes, comments, charts and pivot tables come through intact.
• Editing together in real time: several people in the same file with live cursors and
  comments, without a document server.
• E-invoices: ZUGFeRD invoices straight from an invoice document, and e-invoices in PDFs read
  and shown.
• Accessible by keyboard: menus and toolbars work without a mouse –
  more on accessibility.
• AI if you want it: Claude Code and other assistants find, read and write your files with your
  rights; changes to a document you have open need your consent and can be undone.
• Simple to run: one container with a SQLite database and a data folder; backing up the folder
  backs up everything.

Runs on any Linux server or VPS with Docker or Podman (amd64), on a home server, or without any
server as the desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux.

🚀 Install

1. Let an agent set it up

Give Claude Code or another coding agent this repository and SSH access to your server and say:
"Set up Schreibzeug on my server following the installation guide."

2. Manually

On a server with Docker (or Podman), a domain pointing to it and open ports 80 and 443:

# The configuration (compose.yaml, .env.example, Caddyfile); the programs come from Docker Hub
git clone https://github.com/firsttris/schreibzeug /opt/schreibzeug && cd /opt/schreibzeug
cp deploy/.env.example deploy/.env
nano deploy/.env                                          # domain, mail for Let's Encrypt, version
docker compose -f deploy/compose.yaml up -d schreibzeug   # pulls Schreibzeug and starts it, for now only on the server itself

Then:

1. Create the first account through an SSH tunnel (ssh -L 3000:127.0.0.1:3000 <server>, then
   http://localhost:3000), before anyone else can reach the server.
2. Start Caddy as well, which gets the HTTPS certificate: docker compose -f deploy/compose.yaml up -d.
3. Open https://<your domain>. More accounts come through sharing links, or by anyone with
   SCHREIBZEUG_OPEN_SIGNUP=true in deploy/.env.

With Kontext Schreibzeug needs no install of its own: it
comes with Kontext as its documents. Only trying it on your own computer:
docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 -v schreibzeug-data:/data tristanteu/schreibzeug, then
http://localhost:3000. Settings, your own reverse proxy, backups and updates are in the
installation guide.
The desktop app is described under Desktop app; its installers for Windows, macOS and Linux are attached to every release.

✨ Features

📸 Screenshots

🔀 Schreibzeug and the alternatives

Schreibzeug is made for people who want the compatibility of a mature office engine with an
interface that feels like today's web apps, on their own server.

❓ FAQ

Yes. Schreibzeug runs on your own server with Docker and edits Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF
files in the browser, several people at once. See the installation guide.

No. The Euro-Office engine runs in the browser and the Schreibzeug server stores the files and
relays the changes; there is nothing else to install. How that works is in the engine.

No. A .docx stays a .docx, an .xlsx stays an .xlsx, an .odt stays an .odt; every save is a new
version of the same file.

Yes, with the desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux: it opens the files in your documents folder
directly. See Desktop app.

Yes, through the built-in MCP server and a personal access token you create in the settings. A token
can be limited to "Nur lesen" (read only); edits to an open document need your consent and can be
undone. See MCP server.

ZUGFeRD yes: an invoice written in the text editor becomes a ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 with Factur-X XML
(EN 16931). XRechnung is read and shown, but not created yet. See E-invoices.

Check it yourself, the code is open: let your agent run Cloudflare's Security Audit Skill or
Claude Code's /security-review on this repository.
Report vulnerabilities privately as described in SECURITY.md.

📚 Documentation

The documentation opens with a tour in pictures, made to send to customers: in English and in German.

The full documentation, with search, is at firsttris.github.io/schreibzeug: every feature
in detail, installation, accounts and sharing,
collaboration, the engine and
development. What changed in each release, with the steps an
update needs: the changelog.

🛠️ Development

Requires Bun 1.4 or newer, on Linux x86_64 for preparing the engine; the database is a SQLite file.

git clone https://github.com/firsttris/schreibzeug && cd schreibzeug
bun install
bun run dev              # http://localhost:5173, with the API on http://localhost:3000

A React SPA with TanStack Router and Query, Tailwind and shadcn-style components; Euro-Office
sdkjs as the editing engine; a Bun server with Hono, Drizzle and SQLite; Tauri 3 (alpha) for the desktop
app. Checks, tests and architecture: Development.

🧩 More from us

• Looking for a replacement for Gmail or Google Workspace? Kontext: mail, calendar, contacts, chat and calls for your team, on your own server.
• Doing your own books in Germany? Haben: invoices with e-invoicing, receipts, bank reconciliation and VAT returns via ELSTER.

🤝 Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. For a rendering or compatibility bug, please attach a file
that shows it (or a small one that reproduces it) and say which program made it. Please run
bun run lint && bun run typecheck && bun run test before opening a pull request; the checks,
conventions and how contributions are licensed are in CONTRIBUTING.md.
Security problems please report privately (SECURITY.md).