I currently have Nextcloud running, and it’s stable, performant…no issues whatsoever. But it’s also a LOT more than what I need, and stores files in an “unusable” state if I want to look at them outside of Nextcloud. The real kicker is that the linux client wants to download the entire cloud drive, which simply doesn’t work for me.

For most cases, I think a samba share is all I need, but I do have times when I don’t have internet access, so the ability to save specific files locally to sync back when I’m home would be great. Nextcloud and OneDrive have a “always keep on this device” option which has been perfect in the past.

I use Syncthing for some specific cases, but it adds extra steps I don’t want to deal with all the time.

Specifically, I’m looking for something with these requirements:

  • provide a virtual drive for Linux and Windows
  • can keep specific files/folders from that drive offline
  • point the server to a folder (or folders), and that’s what it shares

And “would be nice, but not required”

  • web interface to view/download files
  • user-level access
  • web and virtual drive can be accessed via reverse proxy

I’ve tried poking around, and can’t find anything that seems to fit. I’m surprised there isn’t a webdav client or samba config option that would do what I want, but I may also be in a mental rut and missing a key term.

  • stratself@lemdro.idEnglish
    1·
    3 days ago

    Why are files unusable outside of Nextcloud? Consider using the External Storage plugin.

    Imo there are two types of file servers: smart clouds with offline and smart selective on-demand sync on brand-specific clients, groupware support, conflict resolution, and enterprisy plugins (Nextcloud, Opencloud, Seafile, etc); and dumb clouds with protocol-based file transfers and filesystem-tree/userperms instant compliance (copyparty, sftpgo, etc)

    Of the first one, only Opencloud has a native-looking filesystem (PosixFS) and does it without dependency on a db. It supports smart sync for Windows (via the same API OneDrive uses). Linux smart sync is sadly nonexistent due to lack of protocols, and whatever other software do (e.g. using an .owncloud placeholder file) is highly experimental.

    Of the second type, you’d get all the standardizations and speed but no bidirectional sync nor offlineness - again this is honestly an advanced undertaking requiring academic understanding of distributed systems and whatnot. On Linux you may try emulating some aspects of it via a half-smart client like rclone with VFS, but the UX to store files offline is still not there.

    Knowing these constraints I’d tier my storage into 2 parts: the daily files like notes and recent photos stored in one of the smart sync solution, ready for download and later offline use; and anything unnecessary (Jellyfin media, archives, ) to be in a dumb SMB share/SFTP mount.

  • Fantabread@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    4 days ago

    If all you really need is SMB, then try Tailscale so you can access your computers as if you were local, from anywhere.

  • melroy@kbin.melroy.org
    6·
    5 days ago

    It’s actually funny and sad at the same time. Nextcloud used to be just simple and only focused around file hosting…

    • Synestine@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      5 days ago

      I think you’re remembering Owncloud, not Nextcloud. Owncloud was all about file sync and would often break/remove other modules on upgrade. Nextcloud forked off and included calendar/contacts/etc. by default.

  • OccasionallyFeralya@lemmy.mlEnglish
    6·
    5 days ago

    There’s opencloud which seems to be exactly what you’re looking for – a files-only lightweight alternative for nextcloud. When I was looking for the post on hacker news I also ran across karadav which seems like it might be a nice hybrid between the DAVs suggested by other users and your existing nextcloud install.

    • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nlEnglish
      4·
      5 days ago

      Opencloud is a fork from Owncloud Infinite Scale just as nextcloud was a fork from the old Owncloud version.

      Apparently much much simpler and more performant than nextcloud in almost every way. It also has a secure file sharing link feature.

      They are also based in Germany.

      I am about to spin up opencloud behind traefik and authelia hopefully this week or weekend.

    • grittycat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      5 days ago

      i was also going to suggest opencloud as an option - i’m looking to move my setup from nextcloud to opencloud when i have the time to migrate

  • oranki@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    I’m curious what you mean by files being unusable outside Nextcloud? Are you using server-side encryption?

    Edit: to sync only selected folders, there should be a Choose what to sync button. Or you can skip the initial sync config and set per-folder sync afterwards from settings.

    • ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      4 days ago

      This confused me at first with Nextcloud also. What I think OP means is that by default the Nextcloud stores the files shared in a database, not the server’s local filesystem. My first question when I setup Nextcloud was literally, "Ok, now that I’ve set things up and got the mobile app accessing it, how the heck to I access those files when I ssh into the server running Nextcloud. You can share directories from the server’s filesystem with Nextcloud. But it’s not obvious at first how to do that, especially if you’re running Nextcloud from a docker container. If you’re used to the way Dropbox works and (almost) the way OneDrive works, this distinction can be confusing and frustrating. It still frustrates me, because it complicates access control over those files and I practically never have a need for the files stored in Nextcloud’s default places. I’m not sharing the Nextcloud instance or the server with anyone else and I want to access files from the CLI always, so I don’t have any use for Nextcloud’s defaults.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    5 days ago

    Pretty sure you should have the ability to choose what to sync, either from the server, or the client. Seems kind of dumb for it to automatically assume you have the space on the client device to sync EVERYTHING.

    • naate@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      1·
      5 days ago

      I thought the same thing, but I’ve spent a good chunk of time looking at every button in the linux client, and it’s just options of “sync: y/n”, with an initial choice of “do not sync if folder size is 500MB+”. And the files/folders not synced do not show up locally. The windows client lets you see everything, but only download when you open or pick “save locally”. But not on Linux.

  • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    I use Syncthing and Resilio Sync for this stuff.

    Both of them sync according to rules you define.

    I sync my mobile devices to home this way, and access the folders on the server via SMB shares (which are unrelated to ST or Resilio).

    No web interface required, as you just use whatever network sharing you want at home.

    What “extra steps” are you running into with SyncThing? Its really flexible (especially Syncthing-Fork for Android). Maybe it or Resilio can be configured to do what you need.

    For example, I use the Selective Sync feature in Resilio so that I can access any file at home whenever I want without using a VPN.

    • bandwidthcrisis@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      5 days ago

      I found that the resilio mobile app would use up a lot of battery at night (sometimes about 10% an hour).

      Syncthing was better for that, but would sometimes just stop updating on a phone. I would check and it would have not been syncing for weeks and be signed out of the web UI.

  • madjo@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    5 days ago

    I’ve replaced my nextcloud install with copyparty… Nextcloud went tits up for me after a reboot, the database kept complaining about illegal characters. I have no idea how to solve it, after restoring a backup proved fruitless. So I dropped it. I already had a test instance of copyparty running, I just incorporated the nextcloud data folder to it.

    The only thing I miss is the cookbook. But I have the json files, I think I’ll cobble together a json interpreter for the files so that I can copy the recipes into some other application.

    The only thing from your list that copyparty can’t do is keep files offline. It doesn’t use a sync-ing client.

  • zorflieg@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    5 days ago

    It’s not free but it’s awesome and cheap. Setup a WebDAV share and join it using “Mountainduck.io”. It connects to everything like SMB but I find WebDAV’s multichannel is more performant in the long run. Checks notes Win/Mac only sorry.

    • naate@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      3·
      5 days ago

      Seafile apparently obfuscates the files, which is not great. If it dies, or they pull some weird shutdown shenanigans, what happens to my files? Nexcloud, at least, is readable and organized, if (in my opinion) weird.