Nextcloud
Your own file sync and share, on hardware you control.
What it is
Nextcloud does what Dropbox and Google Drive do — files that sync between your devices, shared folders, calendars and contacts — except it runs on your server, so the files are yours and the storage limit is your disk.
There are desktop clients for Windows, Mac and Linux, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Good for
- Replacing Dropbox or Google Drive
- Keeping client files in Canada
- Shared calendars and contacts for a small team
Getting in
- Open the link on your console page.
- Sign in with the username and password shown there.
- Install the desktop client and point it at the same address.
Your own address, port and any credentials are on your server's console page, reached from your dashboard. They are specific to your server, so they are not repeated here.
Things that catch people out
Storage is your disk, and it fills up
Nextcloud will happily sync until the server runs out of space. Keep an eye on it, and remember the deleted files bin counts against your quota until it is emptied.
The first sync is the slow one
Uploading an existing collection takes as long as your home connection takes. After that only changes move.
Where your data lives
Files and the database live in Docker volumes under /opt/nextcloud.
Take a snapshot before anything risky — see Snapshots and backups.
Updating
Ubuntu patches itself, but the app does not. SSH in and run:
Take a snapshot first.