I’m looking to finally ditch Onedrive with a self hosted alternative, but I’m not sure what to go with. I want something with all of the files on a central server, with an Android client with the option to sync individual files for offline access as needed. Preferably the files should also be stored in plain format on the server to make backups easier and as a fallback if the service completely fails and I don’t have time to fix it. Linux and Windows clients are a bonus but I’m happy just using a web gui if that’s all that’s available. These are the options I’ve considered so far:
Seafile - This was the one that I thought fit my needs the best until earlier but apparently it has a weird disk layout which means the files are basically inaccessible by anything else?
Nextcloud - I had originally ruled this out because I don’t care about any of the additional features which people claim also slow it down and make it a bit of a resource hog, and I also don’t want to deal with forced https. However I think the community image may actually be what I want as it seems to be just the file server and works with just http? I am a bit confused about the different options for the database though. https://hub.docker.com/_/nextcloud/
Syncthing - Not quite what I’m looking for as you need to sync the entire thing, and I don’t like whatever weirdness is going on with the Android app at the moment
SAMBA share - Also not really what I’m looking for as there’s no offline syncing, but very easy to set up and basically nothing to go wrong
Are there any other options I should be looking into?
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You are invited to join the CopyParty! This has a web UI accessible from the browser, also from mobile, files are stored directly on the filesystem (not encrypted or on a database) and you can mount it as a network drive on Windows and Linux. But it doesn’t let you sync files for offline use, at least not without the help of some auxiliary tools.
You won’t find anything simpler to install and configure than this.
Copyparty is very cool, but it also confuses me a bit. It keeps giving me 403 forbidden errors when I try to rename or move files on certain folders.
I’m pretty sure it’s a permission problem, because the root folder is read only but the folders inside have permissions per user, but I never figured it out.
I still use it daily, 5/7 perfect software.
FolderSync pairs nicely if you want some sync features on android.
On a desktop or laptop I’d just mount it as a drive.
If you really want automatic sync with offline availability, the Nextcloud desktop client has been solid for years now.
Does copy party do s3 buckets?
No, only the local FS. But they have recommendations in their README for integrating with S3 with the help of other tools.
Isn’t a self-hosted onedrive literally just a networked hard drive?
I think people generally look for a phone app / ease of use type of thing
The odd part of that is what files do I have on my computer that would be useful on my phone?
And when it’s on my phone there is likely already ab app for that, eg. Music, calendar, notes, etc.
Immich for pictures seems like a good answer to your question. What’s files: Mostly pictures I think. Why not just keep it on phone? people love their pictures. I have more than a phones worth.
But that is exactly what I am saying. Everything I have on my phone has an app. Immich for photos for example.
Each app that stores things on my server already manages the data to get there.
So is there a need for a file server that works on my phone like this person is asking about?
I mean I do have SMB access from my phone as well, but I hardly need it since individual apps are already pushing and pulling data from my server.
Non app storage needs then… My best guess then is messaging app attachments? maybe OP needs to save docs/pdfs he gets from Whatsapp/telegram. But you’re right, that seems more of a laptop/PC activity.
I’ve found Nextcloud to be fantastic, its why I started self hosting.
Ive run Nextcloud on a Pi4B with 4GB ram & external HDD with just one user. I also sync Joplin notes, which I use constantly. Additionally used Collabora Office on the phone for syncing office docs. i was happy with this set up for a long time, had no issues really, synced between a couple of desktops & a phone.
Eventually treated myself to a Pi5 8GB ram with NVMe & an Argon fanless case. Main reason for upgrade was an additional Nextcloud need - to share holiday/trip/event photos with multiple non tech savvy older family members via the Memories plug in. This set up has been absolutely rock solid, absolutely no issues & for my needs has been blazing fast. Memories is great too for quick & easy sharing whilst away. The family members love it (Nextcloud is exposed behind Nginx Proxy Manager, I send them a read only public link for Memories)
As they are quite intensive I recently migrated Immich & Paperless from Pi4B 4GB to a Beelink EQ14 but I see no reason at all to migrate Nextcloud from the Pi5.
Nextcloud is my nemesis.
It took me ages to even get it running at all. Maybe it’s more complicated as a Docker container, I don’t know, but it needs to run alongside manyther selfhosted services.
And once I finally got it working, it was slow as molasses even on LAN, nevermind access from outside. I never started using it.
I love seafile. And if you need access on the main server there is a server-side FUSE filesystem which exposes all libraries at a mount point as a regular directory hierarchy.
How the heck did you install Seafile!? I spent a whole day trying to get it to work, but there are so many moving parts and proxies behind proxies behind proxies. I managed to get the UI to load, but other parts of the app didn’t work. I want to like it, but it seems pretty complicated to install… 😢
Docker, I think. I haven’t touched it in a while since it’s not broke so I’m not 100% sure. I can probably send you the compose file I used.
Isn’t it a Russian company?
chinese (prc) afaik
Even though I don’t use the extra stuff in nextcloud, it runs perfectly fine on my hardware and is great as a replacement for onedrive functionality
I am very happy with sftpgo
I started to use it but ended just going with rclone
Rclone WebDav is what I use
I heard OpenCloud is basically only the file server part of Nextcloud. Never tried it, though.
OwnCloud
Does it have any advantages over Nextcloud? I did briefly look into it but it just seemed to be Nextcloud but primarily aimed at enterprise customers
It’s a lot more simple. If anything Nextcloud is better for Enterprise customers.
syncthing for peers like PCs NAS and backup server. copyparty for online browsing/cherrypicking files
Owncloud? It does have an ios and android app
Does it have any advantages over Nextcloud? I did briefly look into it but it just seemed to be Nextcloud but primarily aimed at enterprise customers
Well, for one, it’s not quite as bloated as NextCloud imho. Just you and your files. It does have add ons, but they are not required.
Off the shelf NAS like Synology or qnap both have this feature.
QNAP still seems OK, but avoid synology. They are always working on some enshittification scheme.
I’ve owned them for a while but agree. I’m also going to pick up 1 or 2 rack chassis models soon for free, which I would recommend over paying for a qnap.
Lol hard to beat free
I’ve set up filebrowser quantum and am pretty happy with it. I also have skipped over nextcloud due to the reasons you mentioned, as I really don’t want all of the extra stuff, plus, I’ve heard it’s a pain to maintain. Seafile wouldn’t work for me for the same reasons as you.
The main thing it’s missing is offline automatic syncing of files, though I’m not sure any self hosted file app supports that unfortunately.
