Nextclouds docker setup is an absolute disaster, I don’t blame you for giving up. It’s also slow as molasses to sync anything.

A couple things to look at, I would probably say look at KaraDAV first.

• KaraDAV, this is a simple webdav server that’s compatible with the Nextcloud sync clients. Uses SQLite for a DB so setup is super simple. Has a basic web based file browser too.

• Owncloud Infinite Scale, still a bit of a setup, but it’s better than what Nextcloud offers.

• Syncthing, this is my current setup, just a robust and solid file sync program. You can pair it up on your server with something like SFTPGo or KaraDAV to provide a web file manager and WebDAV server if you need that. Downside is there’s no selective sync or virtual folder support.

There’s a lot of stuff going on here, so let me break down your post for each issue:

1. You need to understand the difference between a docker run command, and detaching to run a container in the background. Just running it with ‘run’ keeps it in the foreground.

2. For the passphrase issue: https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/1786

3. Lastly, if you’re not familiar with containers, and this is a single purpose machine, you’d be better off just running the bare project on the host. If there’s no need for containerization, just skip it.

I’ve never used the AIO image. I’ve heard it’s weird. This is my compose file for the community image:

volumes:
  db:

services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:10.6
    restart: always
    command: --transaction-isolation=READ-COMMITTED --log-bin=binlog --binlog-format=ROW
    volumes:
      - db:/var/lib/mysql
    secrets:
      - mysql_root_password
      - mysql_nextcloud_password
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/mysql_root_password
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/mysql_nextcloud_password
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_USER=nextcloud

  nextcloud:
    image: nextcloud
    restart: always
    ports:
      - 8080:80
    depends_on:
      - db
    links:
      - db
    volumes:
      - /var/www/html:/var/www/html
      - /srv/data:/srv/data
    secrets:
      - mysql_nextcloud_password
    environment:
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/mysql_nextcloud_password
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_USER=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_HOST=db

secrets:
  mysql_root_password:
    file: ./secrets/mysql_root_password.txt
  mysql_nextcloud_password:
    file: ./secrets/mysql_nextcloud_password.txt

You can access it on port 8080 and perform the initial setup manually. For the database server address, use the db hostname. You’ll have to use a reverse proxy for HTTPS.

You could also try OpenCloud, which is a Go rewrite of ownCloud.

So, use something else, like Seafile.

I think you Just need nginx with one module: https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_dav_module.html That is filestorage only. WebDAV client exists for all platforms.

UPD: if you need web client you can use something like https://github.com/mgoltzsche/file-service/

If you only need onedrive replacement. You might want to try seafile.

I like nextcloud tbh even it tries to do everything and not being really good at it. When i set it up the first time. I scoured the internet like you wouldnt believe. Took me couple of days optimizing it.

Now, it runs okay. Has been a few months since it set it up. No complain except a couple of weeks ago android app wont auto upload for some reason, had to logout and login back.

My main use is cloud storage, photos, note, task, contacts and calendar. Works fine on my android, linux and my wife’s iphone.

For files I just use WebDAV that’s built in to Apache. It’s really not fancy, but does all I need.

Nextcloud AIO has an option to skip domain check. the github README hasinstructions. And i love nextcloud because it integrates many features in one, file sharing, office collaboration, chat, rss reader, mailbox, photos, calendar, address-book, etc.

I have two instances running, one public and one completely local. And having a domain is just convenient but not necessary.

I would suggest looking at Syncthing. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but it works peer to peer, without any kind of central host, ip or domain name requirements. You simply install it on the client machines, and they work out how to talk to each other over any available networks.

Beware changing the casing on your files or directories though, Syncthing was made entirely case sensitive, which does not play nice with Windows.

One very nice feature is that it does have an android client (https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.catfriend1.syncthingandroid/), and it supports full background syncing to your local storage on the phone. Great for syncing your photos, but also music. You add some mp3’s on your desktop computer, and by the time you’ve put on your jacket they’re on your phone ready to listen to without any ‘service’ getting in your way.

A more advanced tip; Get a VPS somewhere in the cloud with cheap storage, and have Syncthing on it listening on port 443. That will allow syncing in more restrictive corporate settings, which often don’t allow connections to port 22000. And it gives you a ‘cloud backup’ of your important files in one go.

For just files I’d use Syncthing or Resilio (I keep hundreds of gigs synced with ST). Resilio has a feature that’s very useful - Selective Sync. This allows you to setup a sync job that syncs the index of files, but doesn’t sync the actual files until you select a file(s) to sync on the remote device. I use this to access my media files from anywhere (3TB) which I obviously don’t want to try to sync the entire folder to my phone, etc.

But since you effectively are on the same LAN, you can use any file copy tool the respective OS’s support.

Though for WAN connections, I prefer tools with some redundancy/resilience, since those connections can be slow or experience drops, and regular copy tools aren’t designed to contend with that (in Windows the only tool I can think of off hand is Robocopy, but I think Teracopy will at least show you if a file copy fails).

It really depends on your use-case, what you’re trying to solve for.

Agreed, Nextcloud has gone from a lean little personal cloud to a hulking enterprise hub.

If you’re after something that’ll just sync your files between devices, try Syncthing. If you need files available online, maybe something like filestash or, like somebody else suggested, SFTPgo.

There are also tiny, lean calendar and contact server apps out there if you decide you need those. After self hosting NC for years I’m really happy spreading out the tasks over dedicated services rather than having all my eggs in one basket.

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

Nextcloud does not need a domain. Ip is fine.

Nextcloud it just too heavy I totally agree, and everything feels slow and sluggish.

For just files I use Syncthing and couldn’t be happier, it just works in the background without a central server just syncs the files between phones, PCs and laptops by itself. I set it up like 5 years ago when I had enough of Nextcloud and to be honest most of the time I forget that I have it, but I use it every day to sync my password database for KeePassXC, my music, my private and work documents between all my devices.

Nextcloud file sync is a convenient centralized solution but it’s not designed for performance. Nothing about Nextcloud is designed for performance. It’s an “everything and the kitchen sink” multi-user cloud solution. That is nice for a lot of reasons. Nextcloud Sync is essentially a drop-in replacement for Google Drive or OneDrive or Dropbox that multiple people can use and that’s awesome. It works the same way as those tools, which is a blessing and a curse.

Nextcloud is for the same role you SAY you want, “All I want is a simple file sync setup like onedrive but without the microsoft.” That’s what it is. But I don’t think it’s what you’re actually asking for, and it’s not supposed to be. It has its role, and it’s good at that role. But I don’t think you actually want what you say you want, because in the details you’re describing something totally different.

If you want performance sync for just files, SyncThing is made for this. It has better conflict resolution. It has better decentralized connectivity, it doesn’t need the public IP server. It uses a very different approach to configuration. Its configuration is front-loaded, it takes a fair bit of work to get things talking to each other. It’s not suitable for the same things Nextcloud Sync is. But once you have it set up it’s rock solid reliable and blazing fast.

Personally I use both SyncThing and NextCloud Sync. I use them for different purposes, in different situations. NextCloud Sync takes care of my Windows documents and pictures, I use it to share photos with my family. I use it to sync one of the factors for my password vault. It works fine for this.

I also use SyncThing for large data sets that require higher performance. I have almost 400 GB of shared program data, (and game data/saved games), some of which I sync with SyncThing to multiple workstations in different parts of the country. It can deal with complex simultaneous usage that sometimes causes conflicts. It supports fine tuning sync strategies and files to ignore using configuration dotfiles. It’s a great tool. I couldn’t live without it. But I use both. They both have their place.

My biased opinion is that most people run Nextcloud on an underpowered platform, and/or they install and enable every possible addon. Many also skip some important configurations.

If you run NC on a bit more powerful machine, like a used USFF PC, with a good link to it, the experience is better than e.g. OneDrive.

Another thing is, people say “Nextcloud does too much”, but a default installation really doesn’t do much more than files. If you add every imaginable app, sure it slows down and gets buggy. Disable everything you don’t need, and the experience gets much better. You can disable even the built-in Photos app if you don’t need it.

Not saying NC is a speed daemon, but it really is OK. The desktop and mobile clients don’t get enough love, that’s true.

I’m talking about the “bare metal” installation or the community Apache/FPM container images. AIO seems to be a hot mess, and does just about everything a container shouldn’t be doing, but that’s just my opinion.