this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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I tried Nextcloud a while back and was not impressed - I had issues withe the speed of the Windows sync that were determined to be "normal" with no roadmap to getting fixed. I'm now planning to move off Windows desktop so that won't be an issue - so I thought I'd try again.

I went to nextcloud.com, clicked on Download-> Nextcloud server -> All-in-one -> Docker image - Setup AIO. This took me to the github README at Docker section. I'm already running docker for other things so I read the instructions, setup a new filesystem for my data directory and ran the suggested docker command with an appropriate "--env NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR=". I'm then left with a terminal running docker in the foreground - not a great way to run a background server but ok, I've been around for a while and can figure out how to make it autostart in the background ongoing. So I move on to the next step - open my browser at the appropriate URL and I'm presented with a simple page asking me to "Log in using your Nextcloud AIO passphrase:". I don't have a Nextcloud AIO passphrase and nothing I've read so far has mentioned it. When I search for it I get some results on how to reset it, but not much help. I could probably figure that out too, but after reading some more I found that Nextcloud requires a public hostname and can't work with a local name or IP address. I'm already running my home LAN with OpenVPN and access it from anywhere as "local" - I don't really want to create a new path into my home network just for Nextcloud.

I'm sorry - I know this sounds like a disgruntled rant and I guess it is. I just want to check that I'm not missing obvious things before I give up again. All I want is a simple file sync setup like onedrive but without the microsoft.

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[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 19 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

Use docker or podman compose https://hub.docker.com/_/nextcloud/

Nextcloud does not need a domain. Ip is fine.

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemm.ee 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Does it need to be an external IP? I was going to look into setting it up soon but if that's the case I think I'll just stick with SMB shares or maybe try syncthing

[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

No

No internal domain could connect to anything if it wasn't resolved for an ip.

Local IPv4 work. Global ipv4 work. Ipv6 works. Mesh vpn ips work. Any ip works.

You may have to adjust the config.php (iirc) to add the ip/domain to trusted domains

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemm.ee 1 points 44 minutes ago

Thanks, in that case I'll look into it at some point!

[–] GreatBlueHeron@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Use docker or podman compose https://hub.docker.com/_/nextcloud/

I could do that - I guess I was just pointing out that someone coming to Nextcloud and following the install instructions does not have a great experience.

Nextcloud does not need a domain. Ip is fine.

So, their documentation is wrong?

https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one?tab=readme-ov-file#can-i-use-an-ip-address-for-nextcloud-instead-of-a-domain

Again - not a great experience for a first time user.

[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 10 points 4 hours ago

Nextcloud wants you to buy their stuff.

If you want to selfhost you have to read "everything" and know what you do.

I have no idea about that all in one setup. But yes, the sentence "nextcloud can not be reached via IP" is wrong