Kiwix and Zimit? What the heck are those? Well, I have discovered these to be very useful tools first brought to my attention by Martin at The Waving Flag blog back in December 2025.
What are they, really?
Kiwix is the application used to read web content offline while Zimit is a tool used to create offline archives of websites for Kiwix to read. Together, they provide a package for preserving and accessing useful online information without a need for having a live internet connection. I use these tools as a way to archive the Palouse Wargaming Journal.
ZimitZimit is an automated website scraper and archiving tool. Given a starting URL, it uses a browser-based crawler to visit pages, capture their HTML, stylesheets, scripts, images, fonts, and other resources, and follow additional links according to specified exploration rules.
After crawling, Zimit converts the captured material into a single ZIM file archive. That archive can then be opened in Kiwix and browsed offline in a way that attempts to preserve the structure and appearance of the original site. The process does more than simply save a page. It preserves the links embedded within the "seed" URL to drill down into the structure of the actual website. For me, Zimit is especially useful for creating a snapshot of reference sites. I am likely not alone to discover a useful reference site only later to find that the website and all of its content have vanished.
Kiwix
Kiwix is free, open-source software for browsing downloaded collections of websites offline. This is especially associated with offline versions of Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Project Gutenberg, TED content, medical references, educational materials, and other resources. The Kiwix reader opens content packaged in ZIM files created by Zimit. These archives can then be searched and browsed locally.
Kiwix is free, open-source software for browsing downloaded collections of websites offline. This is especially associated with offline versions of Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Project Gutenberg, TED content, medical references, educational materials, and other resources. The Kiwix reader opens content packaged in ZIM files created by Zimit. These archives can then be searched and browsed locally.
Briefly, Zimit is the archiver or publisher, the ZIM file is the offline package, and Kiwix is the reader.
The basic workflow is:
I recommend it!
The basic workflow is:
- Choose a website.
- Use Zimit to crawl and package it into a ZIM file.
- Transfer or download the ZIM file.
- Open it in Kiwix.
- Browse the archived content without requiring internet access.
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| Reading ZIM file in Kiwix |
I recommend it!
Maybe I will Zimit Kronoskaf's Project Seven Years War just for safe keeping?
I must look into it as I would hate to lose my blog like my old website.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Matt
My thoughts exactly!
DeleteIf I owned a computer I would definitely download these. They sound so useful!
ReplyDeleteThis will work for phones and tablets too.
DeleteDefinitely worth looking at. The vagaries of Blogger often make me wonder when the day will come when we will either be charged for it, r it will simply drop its bundle and disappear.
ReplyDeleteWhile Blogger has yet to come and go, many interesting websites have. This is a precautionary step that we can take.
DeleteOoh! That’s useful Jon. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteChris/Nundanket
You are welcome!
DeleteInteresting info there and something to ponder for sure, given how often over the years a bookmarked Blog etc has simply disappeared.
ReplyDeleteSomething to ponder, for sure. There are some websites that I wish I could bring back. The wayback machine does not capture them all.
DeleteInteresting. I suspect my old laptop may struggle as it seems to be on its last legs!
ReplyDeleteNeil
If your old laptop has the disk space to store the file, you should be good.
DeleteThank you very much Jonathan. I will definitely look into these as a way of saving my blog and others that I find inspirational.
ReplyDeleteI think this is especially timely as AI reduces the need to click through to underlying sources of information I imagine a number of them will no longer see the value of maintaining a presence, especially for those paying for websites.
You’re welcome! Let me know if you give this a try and how it works out for you. This might proof a useful tool for preserving important content.
DeleteThank you, Jon. Will probably be very useful. (The names do sound very much like something from an animated film for children!) :-)
ReplyDeleteThe names are odd ones, aren’t they?
DeleteThank you,that is indeed very useful. As blogger gets increasingly flaky I've been wondering how best to back it all up.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Martin!
DeleteHi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteWhat a cracking recommendation! Archiving Kronoskaf's Project Seven Years War with Zimit is a proper brilliant idea—so many indispensable research and uniform sites have vanished overnight over the years, taking years of scholarly work with them.
All the best, Andy
Thanks, Andy! If you give this a try, report back on your results.
DeleteGreat advice and recommendations, Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Richard!
DeleteJonathan, thank you for the walk through. I can can see rhe utility. Still without a computer, but the offline storage of the searched site with all blogs still hyperlinked. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Joe! Hopefully this walkthrough will be useful to others. Certainly has been useful for me.
DeleteHmm? They both sound interesting and useful.
ReplyDeleteThey are!
DeleteWith the current Blogger situation at least raising the question as to Google's intentions or capability of the necessary level of support, this combo of software is a good option to know about.
ReplyDeleteDoes Zimit compress the files at all in a zip kind of way?
There is a feature on Google for those who would like to wipe their internet footprint clean upon death. You can pick a date, my brother-in-law chose 3 months and if you have not done a keystroke in that time, your Google account assumes death and is deleted, of course taking everything down in the process such as blogs etc. Zimit would at least provide a haven for selected data loss.
The "ZIM" file that Zimit creates is, indeed, in a compressed format.
DeleteVery timely. I'm currently giving a lot of thought to how I back up and preserve both my blog and my youtube content. I think I found a solution for youtube, now you've provided one for my blog 👍👍
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I figured a few of us might be interested in this tech.
DeleteI had never heard of these, may have to give them a try as sound very useful
ReplyDeleteGive it a try! Very easy to submit a request.
Delete