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Quick start

zim download simple-wiki
zim index simple-wiki
zim search "programming" simple-wiki
zim serve simple-wiki

This workflow stores the archive in your configured library, creates its SQLite search index, searches it, and starts the local web UI.

Step 1: Download

Use one of the four maintained aliases:

zim download simple-wiki

The aliases are simple-wiki, wiktionary, stackoverflow, and ted. ZIM resolves each alias through the Kiwix catalog, chooses the newest matching artifact, and writes it to the configured library. A direct .zim URL is also accepted:

zim download https://download.kiwix.org/zim/wikipedia/example.zim

Use the catalog to discover other archives:

zim catalog search wikipedia

Step 2: Index

Semantic indexing is enabled by default:

zim index simple-wiki

For a smaller full-text-only index that does not initialize the embedding model:

zim index --no-semantic simple-wiki

Use --force to rebuild an existing index without the confirmation prompt.

Step 3: Inspect

zim library
zim info simple-wiki
zim list simple-wiki

Library names, exact filenames, library numbers, direct paths, and unambiguous filename fragments can identify an archive.

Step 4: Basic Search

Search one archive:

zim search "programming" simple-wiki

Search every indexed archive by omitting the file:

zim search "Linux"

Useful search options are --semantic (or -s), --json, and --non-interactive:

zim search --semantic "machine learning" simple-wiki
zim search --json "biology" simple-wiki

The configured search.max_results controls the result limit.

Step 5: Read or serve

Read an article in the terminal:

zim read simple-wiki "Linux"

Or start the local web UI using the configured host and port:

zim serve simple-wiki

The default address is http://localhost:8080. Change it in the configuration file or with supported ZIM_SERVER_* environment overrides; serve has no host or port flags. Press Ctrl+C to stop the server.

Next Steps

See Search Documentation for search modes and automation options.