A little background first: I’m selfhosting our (wife and mine) files for over 12 years now, started with a simple FreeNAS folder, switched to Owncloud and moved on to Nextcloud after the split. We only really need the files part, and while it works fine in general, setting it up took more tinkering than it should’ve.

I’m also not a fan of NC’s direction, moving from file cloud hosting to a “full-stack” enterprise one-for-all solution. While that wouldn’t be an issue in general, it seems that other parts are prioritized without getting the older parts to work correctly first.

Which seems to match with the recent-ish code analysis https://www.bsi.bund.de/DE/Service-Navi/Presse/Alle-Meldungen-News/Meldungen/Projekt-CAOS-30_Nextcloud_250205.html (in German, although CVE entries have an English description) which found nearly 40 vulnerabilities, amongst them modules like 2FA/MFA.

So I’ve tested through most of the other options, but maybe I missed something obvious.

Requirements:

  • selfhostable in a docker environment
  • file storage/syncing from a central server, preferably selective sync (so Syncthing is out)
  • either structured storage (folders etc) or at least structured export/backup from flat storage for application-indepentent file backup
  • desktop client for Windows, mobile client for Android
  • Web UI for simple browser access
  • virtual file support a definite plus

Things I’ve tried:

Nextcloud

  • well-working setup, definitely my “fallback” option
  • no fan of the general direction development is going

Syncthing

  • While working absolutely fine for sync between different devices (have it in use in a different scenario), the peer-to-peer nature is unsuitable for what I’m looking for

Pydio Cells

  • server and web UI work fine, desktop and app sync didn’t really work (might be an error on my part though)
  • backup fiddly due to needing cells-fuse tool for structured files, although I haven’t tested structured storage yet

Seafile

  • will have to test this again, when I did years earlier the storage situation was a little tricky

Owncloud Infinite Scale

  • Similar to Pydio Cells, but haven’t really tested yet due to dev exodus

Opencloud.eu

  • several devs from Owncloud moved to Opencloud and forked their “own” OCIS server
  • first release scheduled March '25, so no testing yet
  • I have hopes this might be a useful alternative, but time will tell

So: did I miss something? Any obvious software solution?

  • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    3 months ago

    Check out MinIO. It’s S3 compatible, so generally any tool which works with S3 will work with your instance. You can pair it with other FOSS applications like rclone. It’s a great combo.

    • markstos@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      The requirements asked for a web UI. You are right though, except for that, other kind of shared folder solutions might work.

  • verstra@programming.devEnglish
    3·
    3 months ago

    Seafile is ok. It has a weird docker container setup (multiple processes running in a single container) but works okayish

  • N0x0n@lemmy.mlEnglish
    3·
    3 months ago

    I was in the same boat… I just wanted a simple god damn self-hosted cloudStorage without any nitty gritty or all the bloat that comes with most local/self-hosted cloud solution…

    Syncthing is good, but not really a cloud storage solution (I love syncthing and I use It to sync all my backups !!).

    Give SFTPGo a try :) It also has a WebDAV functionality if you wan’t to use it that way ! It just plain file storage with security features. However, not sure there are any application available, I mostly used it as web application :).

  • beerclue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    I did not know about opencloud.eu, and now I’m intrigued. I was always looking for a simple Google Drive alternative, but Nextcloud was too much. Will definitely keep an eye on it.

    • JASN_DE@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      If you don’t want to wait, Owncloud Infinite Scale is basically ready right now, and Opencloud is unlikely to be more than a rebranded fork in the beginning anyway. So should be good for testing the principle right now.

  • Father_Redbeard@lemmy.mlEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    Seafile is great…with caveats that seem to bother people away from it:

    1. Files are stored as git-like chunks on the server

    2. Features behind a paywall for more than 3 users (Pro vs Comminity versions)

    3. Documentation can be very confusing at times

    Item 1 can be mitigated by utilizing tools like Rclone to mount the files on the server, reassembling the chunks, then back up and unmount when done. Item 2 isn’t a deal breaker for me.

    It is super fast and reliable in my experience. I specify wanted the selective sync because my stupid MacBook has a tiny SSD, but I still wanted access to files from other device libraries.