Written by
The XWiki Team
A quarter of 2025 already passed, and we're excited to share news about the latest developments in our products! (Yes, you read that right.)
Without further ado, let's get into it. (For easier reading, click on the topic of interest in the table of contents below.)
XWiki standard
#1 Pin and organize pages
If you have edit rights in a space, you can now pin pages in the navigation panel. Previously, only administrators could organize the navigation, but now editors can highlight the most relevant child pages and move them to the top of the navigation tree. This makes it easier to structure content and ensure important pages are always easy to find.
👉 Check the release notes.
#2 Sort pages easily with Page Tree Macro
The Page Tree Macro now gives you more control over how pages are sorted. With the new "Sort by" parameter, you can organize pages in ascending or descending order based on name, title, last modification date, or creation date. This makes it easier to display content in a way that best fits your needs, whether you're focusing on recent updates or structuring pages alphabetically.
👉 Check the release notes.
#3 Paste images to upload them as attachments
When you paste images into the editor, whether copied via the browser's Copy Image option or as part of web content, they will be automatically uploaded as attachments to your wiki page. This ensures your images remain accessible without relying on external sources. If you prefer not to upload them, simply close the notification before the upload completes. Keep in mind that some images may be referenced instead of uploaded if they come from restricted domains.
👉 Check the release notes.
XWiki Cloud
#1 Upgraded to XWiki Cloud 16.4.6
The first quarter of 2025 brought a new XWiki version to our Cloud clients: 16.4.6. The new version contains 65 bug fixes, along with security improvements.
#1 Pinned pages stay in place when moving spaces
Pinned pages now stay in place when you move a space in the navigation panel, instead of reverting to alphabetical order. This fix ensures that you don’t have to manually re-pin important content, making content organization more reliable and efficient. As a wiki contributor, knowledge manager, or enterprise user, you can now move spaces without disrupting your workflow.
Pressing "Enter" in certain fields unexpectedly opened the hamburger menu. This fix ensures that the Enter key works as intended, allowing smooth text input and form actions without interruptions. For technical writers, documentation teams, and wiki contributors, this improvement eliminates frustrating disruptions and makes content entry more intuitive, improving user experience and productivity.
#3 Show wiki name in mention notifications
Mention notifications now include the name of the wiki where the event occurred, providing clear context for users working across multiple wikis. Previously, mentions from sub-wikis appeared in the main wiki without the location specified, leading to confusion. This improvement ensures better clarity, quicker identification of the context of interactions, and smoother collaboration within multi-wiki environments.
👉 We're always happy to hear your thoughts. Let us know what would you like us to introduce or improve in XWiki Cloud.
#2 Evaluation of flavors in XWiki Cloud
In the first months of 2025, we have been focusing on evaluating the feasibility of incorporating flavors into our cloud product, determining which flavor to prioritize, and defining the key features to include.
👉 Let us know if you are interested in a certain use case in XWiki.
What's next
We are currently working on making XWiki Cloud easier to use, helping both newcomers and existing users figure out what features and apps they need for their use case. Moreover, administrators will soon benefit from improvements on the XWiki SAS Network and in the Admin Tools Application (Pro), allowing them to manage their instance more easily.
Pro Applications
#1 Batch import and better UI for Confluence Migrator App (Pro)
Migrating from Confluence to XWiki just got easier. We’ve enhanced the Confluence Migrator (Pro) to support batch imports and a more user-friendly interface, making large and complex migrations smoother than ever. Before, you could either upload each Confluence space into XWiki and migrate it one by one, or you could use a backup export and run multiple migrations, selecting the spaces you wish to import on each run. Now, you can organize your exports in batches, specify the directory path, and let the migrator process everything automatically.
Beyond this, in order to address large migrations and increasingly complex use cases, we’ve expanded data support (Templates, references, and attachment history are now included.) while improving performance and stability. These updates give administrators and advanced users more control, flexibility, and efficiency when transferring their content to XWiki.
💡 To try out our migration tools, simply install the Confluence Migration Toolkit in your XWiki instance and generate a free trial from the License section.
#2 Smoother editing for Pro Macros
Following recent feedback, we've made 35 improvements and bug fixes to enhance the editing experience for Pro Macros! This includes new pickers, a cleaner UI, better usability, and the removal of obsolete parameters, making it easier than ever to present, structure and link information in your wiki. Whether you're organizing content or creating dynamic pages, these updates ensure a more intuitive and efficient workflow.
💡 Try out the Pro Macros package by installing it in your XWiki instance and activate your free trial from the License section.
#3 More reliable and user-friendly Diagram App (Pro)
We've delivered 18 fixes and improvements for the Diagram Application (Pro), focusing on PDF export, links, and UI enhancements. Diagrams are a powerful tool for knowledge management, whether you're documenting processes, drafting architectures, or creating technical visuals. These updates make the app even more reliable and user-friendly, ensuring smoother diagram creation and sharing.
💡 Install Diagram Application (Pro) in your XWiki instance and activate your free trial from the License section.
#4 Azure Active Directory becomes Entra ID with OIDC
Following the changes introduced by Microsoft in their user management solution, we revamped our application to make it compatible with the new administration and configuration options. Moreover, by switching to the OIDC protocol, you can now map groups and more user attributes. If you are already a user of XWiki and are upgrading from Azure AD to Entra ID, please make sure you follow the steps described in our documentation to properly adapt the configuration.
💡 To try out the Microsoft authentication application, simply install the Entra ID Extension in your XWiki instance and generate a free trial from the License section.
What's next
The next roadmap will bring, as usual, improvements on fixes on many applications, but the star of the show will be the integration between XWiki and OpenProject.
Cristal, a new wiki UI
#1 Store and manage wiki docs on GitHub
We added support for GitHub as a backend for Cristal, allowing you to store your documents in a dedicated GitHub repository. This integration is ideal for developers who want to keep their documentation together with their code, all while benefiting from Cristal’s sleek and efficient interface. Plus, we're planning to offer even more backends options soon.
👉 Check the release notes.
💡 For setup details, check out the GitHub backend documentation and get Cristal working with your GitHub account.
#2 Nextcloud integration for document storage
Cristal now supports Nextcloud authentication, letting you store your documents directly in your Nextcloud instance. This is a game-changer for Nextcloud users who want to keep their wiki content in one place, with the flexibility to choose where they store their documents. And we're expanding storage options further, with more integrations like Cryptpad and XWiki coming soon.
👉 Check the release notes.
💡 To get started, check the Nextcloud backend documentation for the full setup guide and configure Cristal with your Nextcloud account.
#3 Better onboarding and navigation in Cristal
This update brings a set of usability improvements that make Cristal easier and more intuitive for everyone.
✅ Your onboarding process just got smoother as we've added a welcome page for new users on both the desktop app and Nextcloud.
✅ You can now move and rename pages on the desktop app.
✅ We've made style improvements for external links.
✅ We've also added a warning when you're about to leave the editor with unsaved content.
✅ The overall performance has also been improved.
👉 Improvements have been rolled out in Release notes 0.14, 0.15, and 0.16.
💡 Test all these improvements on cristal.demo.xwiki.com. If you have feedback, don't hesitate to create an issue, and we'll look into it.
#4 Easier installation with Flatpak for Ubuntu users
We’ve made it easier for Ubuntu users to install Cristal by offering a Flatpak packaging. This is especially helpful if you've experienced issues with Electron applications not starting on Ubuntu 24.04+ using the default configuration. With this new option, you can quickly get Cristal up and running.
👉 Check the release notes and try out Cristal on Ubuntu.
#5 New Blocknote editor integration for a smoother experience
We've upgraded Cristal's editor to Blocknote, an open-source, block-based rich text editor that offers a more intuitive and flexible editing experience. This new editor makes it easier to organize and format your content, giving you more control over how your documents look and feel. Whether you're creating complex documents or simple notes, the Blocknote editor improves both efficiency and usability.
👉 Check the release notes.
What's next
We'll further work on a user-friendly search interface, new macros integrations in the editor, and many more developments.
CryptPad
#1 Document and Presentation now open on cryptpad.fr
Many of you have asked for Office-compatible document (DOCX/ODT) and presentation (PPTX/ODP) support. Thanks to the relentless work of Wolfgang Ginolas from the CryptPad team, in Q1 of 2025 we have rolled out the applications in beta mode for all users, including free accounts. After improving and stabilizing the integrations, these editors now make it even easier to collaborate while keeping your data fully private and encrypted. With these new applications, CryptPad is the most complete suite of collaborative tools with end-to-end encryption at its core.
📧 If you're an enterprise looking for a secure office suite, reach out to us.
👉 Check the blog post about this.
💡Create your own Document or Presentation on cryptpad.fr (no account needed).
#2 Faster loading and smoother mobile experience
If you use CryptPad heavily or access it on mobile, and you have a large drive, you’ll notice a big difference when you visit a pad for reading it or when you reopen CryptPad. Now, instead of loading everything at once (your drive, team drives, shared folders, etc.), after refactoring, we are now more efficient in what we load first. This means faster access to documents, especially for large accounts, and quicker time to first action when opening a pad or browsing your drive because shared folders and team drives are loading in the background. Plus, this refactoring lays the groundwork for future improvements, like a JavaScript API for interacting with CryptPad servers so that clients other than our web app will be able to use.
👉 Check the release notes.
💡Try out the mobile improvements for yourself on cryptpad.fr or on CryptPad Cloud.
#3 Touch screen improvements to Kanban and Forms
We've received feedback about the need for mobile improvements of our app, and we've set this as a priority for the following months. In this release, we've fixed issues in Kanban and Forms for an improved user experience.
💡Try out the improvements and let us know if you have any feedback.
What's next
We planned to upgrade OnlyOffice (Sheets, Documents, Presentations) to version 8 in this release, but we're still fixing some critical integration bugs. Since document upgrades can't be reversed, we'll hold off for now and release version 2025.3.1 with OnlyOffice 8 once it's ready.
We'll also continue working on performance, features, and quality of the product for the Summer release to support more and more of the features available in online proprietary suites. We persevere with this direction in mind because we want to provide a true digital sovereign alternative to the Big Tech which are tracking users and not protecting data properly.
The work on CryptPad's performance, quality, and features is partially sponsored by BPI France.
AI assistant
#1 Work in progress for an integrated AI offering
In the last few months, we’ve been working on creating an integrated AI offering for our clients. Our goal is to make the LLM Application a ready-to-use solution with practical, real-world benefits. That’s why we’ve been engaging with clients to understand their needs and refine the features accordingly.
#2 Work in progress for partnerships with European AI providers
Also, to ensure reliability and compliance, we plan to partner with European AI providers to run the models, maintaining data security and regional compliance. We’re also committed to transparency, offering a straightforward pricing model with no hidden costs.
With an AI solution on top of XWiki, you’ll be able to find relevant information faster, rewrite and update content efficiently, and better organize your wiki’s knowledge base, saving time and improving collaboration.
👉 Interested in how AI can help your organization? Get in touch with us through the form at the end of the page, and we will schedule a call right away.
Before you go...
If topics like knowledge management, privacy, open-source tools, human-centered support, accessibility, or remote work pique your interest, why not become part of our community? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and stay in the loop with insights, tips, and updates! We’d love to have you with us. 🤗
