this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2025
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Self hosted Onedrive alternative (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 day ago by Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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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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[–] Saltarello@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

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.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 4 points 13 hours ago

Rclone WebDav is what I use

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 3 points 14 hours ago

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

[–] lefixxx@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago

syncthing for peers like PCs NAS and backup server. copyparty for online browsing/cherrypicking files

[–] mhzawadi@lemmy.horwood.cloud 16 points 1 day ago

I run nextcloud, but I do use other apps. Like contacts and calendar, the news app and even the whiteboard.

But I run it like the work servers I manage, I still don't understand how so many find running nextcloud so difficult.

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

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.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Isn't it a Russian company?

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 11 hours ago

chinese (prc) afaik

[–] paequ2@lemmy.today 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

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... 😢

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

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.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 21 points 1 day ago (2 children)

OwnCloud Infinite Scale might be the option you missed?

Nextcloud was forked from the PHP Owncloud some years back, and they added all the apps and things. But Owncloud is like Nextcloud but focused only on the files.

I am a bit concerned that you're talking about not wanting HTTPS and see it as a bad thing that something requires it. Given you can get free certificates these days, why would you not want a secure connection? Even if you're accessing via a VPN to server tunnel, I see no reason not to have it.

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I hadn't considered OwnCloud because I thought it was pretty much the same as NextCloud but mainly aimed at enterprise. Does it have any advantages over Nextcloud?

I haven't got round to setting up https yet since I only access my server via my LAN or Tailscale. When I do get round to setting it up I might use a reverse proxy rather than configuring it for every service. I also need to work out how to do automatic certificate renewal and if that's even worth doing, so I don't want to be forced into half-assing it for Nextcloud before I'm ready to do it properly. With Nextcloud specifically I also don't like the fact that you can't change the domain after the initial setup, using the community edition via http seems to get round that problem as well

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I also need to work out how to do automatic certificate renewal and if that's even worth doing

This is what certbot is for. For example, with nginx, you just set up the webserver to be reachable via your domain.

You then install and run certbot, and it will aquire, install and configure, and then set itself up to auto-renew, a certificate. All with just one command.

With Nextcloud specifically I also don't like the fact that you can't change the domain after the initial setup

Yes you can?

I've done it thrice now.

Is this some limitation of the docker AIO stack?

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

How do you change the domain? That was one of the biggest things putting me off

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Locate and edit the config/config.php. There is a line that starts with 'trusted_domains' Add your new domain thusly:

'trusted_domains' =>
  array (
    0 => 'old-domain.com',
    1 => 'new-domain.com',
  ),

You'll have to update your web server configuration, your DNS records, and you may have to clear any server cache you may have.

ETA: Ooops! Forgot to add citation: https://help.nextcloud.com/t/howto-add-a-new-trusted-domain/26

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's the one.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago

Thanks for the backup. LOL I get nervous sharing code. Sure it worked for me, but in the back of my head I see some poor guy deploying any code I've used and smoke starts coming out of his server, the front cover falls off, and his Ethernet cable is belched out the back. LOL

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Owncloud Infinite Scale was a rewrite of the codebase to get away from PHP. In theory this should be better able to run on lower end hardware. People tend to say they use it if they are only wanting the file part and not all the apps. Personally I use Nextcloud because I want the apps.

Automatic certificate renewal is built into many reverse proxies, and can be done for free, so I don't see a reason not to do it.

Nextcloud has federation of some features so I'd guess that would be a key reason you can't change the domain (you also can't change a Lemmy domain once set up). However, you're using it for file sync for yourself, right? Regardless of what you pick (even Nextcloud), you could surely just set up a new instance under the new domain then move all your files over.

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Do you have any recommendations for a reverse proxy to use or resources on how to set one up? It's not something I've properly looked into yet

[–] motruck@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

Check out caddy. Very straight forward syntax for a reverse proxy.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 3 points 1 day ago

Others might have suggestions. I run everyhting in docker. I then use Traefik as the reverse proxy in docker, where you add labels to the containers you want it to handle and it works things out on it's own. I have also configured it to do certificates automatically, including automatic domain validation using a Cloudflare API.

Caddy and Nginx Proxy Manager are other popular ones that can configure HTTPS certificates for you.

You don't have to overthink it. Choose a reverse proxy you like. If it does automatic certificates, that's great. If not, Let's Encypt (which most of these services use for the free certificates) have a certbot program you install and run on a cronjob to renew certificates.

[–] dangling_cat@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The easiest way to set up reverse proxy + auto HTTPS for a homelab is https://nginxproxymanager.com/ There is also https://pangolin.net/ which I think is too overkill for you atm :3

[–] artyom@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exposing https requires a lot more configuration and also carries with it security risks.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don't think it's really true these days that it needs a lot of config. Maybe reverse proxies will do it for you automatically without much setup.

I am curious what the security risks are for HTTPS for a service that will already be accessible remotely?

[–] artyom@piefed.social 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe reverse proxies will do it for you

Reverse proxies require configuration.

what the security risks are for HTTPS for a service that will already be accessible remotely?

Already accessible via VPN. Meaning it's only accessible to those explicitly allowed to access it.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

What is the security risk of adding HTTPS to a site going via VPN?

[–] artyom@piefed.social 1 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

It exposes the server to the entire internet...

[–] MolochAlter@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

No? Https is just the connection protocol? You can do it over LAN only just fine?

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 1 points 10 hours ago

How so? I have HTTPS on internal sites, I just use DNS validation to get the certificate.

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Isn't a self-hosted onedrive literally just a networked hard drive?

[–] url@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think people generally look for a phone app / ease of use type of thing

[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] url@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 1 points 5 hours ago

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.

[–] exu@feditown.com 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Many of the people who worked at OwnCloud Infinite Scale are now at OpenCloud due to disagreements between them and the company which purchased OwnCloud.

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yes that was another thing I came across earlier, there seems to be more controversies around Owncloud than Nextcloud which kind of put me off considering how similar they seem to be anyway. And Opencloud is still a work in progress unless I was reading outdated information?

[–] exu@feditown.com 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Funny you should mention that, Nextcloud originally forked off OwnCloud due to drama.

I think the server is working, it's basically OwnCloud Infinite Scale but rebranded. Not sure about the client apps, those might be work in progress still. I haven't really kept up with it either though

[–] stratself@lemdro.id 1 points 1 day ago

Nextcloud forked from the old PHP-based ownCloud stack, while Opencloud forked from the Infinite Scale Go-based stack. It also by default preserves the filesystem hierarchy on your server without needing a database, using a storage driver called PosixFS.

The Windows clients currently do support selective syncing so it is on-par with OneDrive. Android client looks to be forked from old Owncloud, and has offline availability too.

[–] tuff_wizard@aussie.zone 6 points 1 day ago

Just adding my own experience, Nextcloud AIO runs plenty fast for just me (family is slow adopters) but its simple user interface is slowly working for them.

I run it in an LXC with access to two cores of an i7-9700 and 4gb of ram.

All the files are stored on an old usb2 external hdd.

Obviously that set up won’t scale well and the hdd will be the first bottleneck but I notice no performance issues and as a shameful windows user the way it ties in like OneDrive is great.

I can also just mount it as a network share for my Linux computer.

I do use the calendars and other features though.

[–] oyzmo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I am very happy with sftpgo

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 1 points 13 hours ago

I started to use it but ended just going with rclone

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

I run nextcloud on a Raspberry Pi and I don't use the other apps, just the file stuff. It seems like the best supported option to me.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

OwnCloud

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] artyom@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It's a lot more simple. If anything Nextcloud is better for Enterprise customers.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Owncloud? It does have an ios and android app

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 day ago

webdav? https://github.com/fstanis/awesome-webdav?tab=readme-ov-file

apparently, macOS and Windows still support this protocol