OpenCloud

Self-hosted file sharing.

Website | Source | Documentation: User, Admin, Developer

Getting Started

Docker

Create Required Directories for Bind Mounts

    mkdir -p $HOME/opencloud/opencloud-config
    mkdir -p $HOME/opencloud/opencloud-data

Pull OpenCloud Image

    docker pull opencloudeu/opencloud-rolling:latest

Initialize OpenCloud (First-time Setup) - You can set your own password using IDM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_password. If not set, a password will be auto-generated

    docker run --rm -it \
        -v $HOME/opencloud/opencloud-config:/etc/opencloud \
        -v $HOME/opencloud/opencloud-data:/var/lib/opencloud \
        -e IDM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin \
        opencloudeu/opencloud-rolling:latest init

Start OpenCloud

    docker run \
        --name opencloud \
        --rm \
        -d \
        -p 9200:9200 \
        -v $HOME/opencloud/opencloud-config:/etc/opencloud \
        -v $HOME/opencloud/opencloud-data:/var/lib/opencloud \
        -e OC_INSECURE=true \
        -e PROXY_HTTP_ADDR=0.0.0.0:9200 \
        -e OC_URL=https://localhost:9200 \
        opencloudeu/opencloud-rolling:latest

Login with your browser:

    https://localhost:9200
    user: admin
    password: admin

Docker Compose

Goal: Install a internet facing OpenCloud with SSL certification with Docker Compose. This installation documentation is for Ubuntu and Debian systems. The software can also be installed on other Linux distributions, but the commands and package managers may differ.

Prerequisites

Four domains pointing to your server:

Alternatively, you can use a wildcard domain (*.YOUR.DOMAIN)

A hosted server (e.g., Hetzner, AWS, or your own VPS) with Linux and SSH access

Log into your server via SSH: ssh root@YOUR.SERVER.IP

First, perform an update and upgrade: apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install Docker following the official Docker guide. Once Docker is installed, enable and start the service: systemctl enable docker && systemctl start docker

Download the necessary configuration files: git clone https://github.com/opencloud-eu/opencloud-compose.git

Configure the .env File for Staging Certificates

Before requesting real SSL certificates, test the setup with Let's Encrypt’s staging environment.

Navigate to the OpenCloud configuration folder: cd opencloud-compose

Create environment file: cp .env.example .env

NOTE: The repository includes .env.example as a template with default settings and documentation. Your actual .env file is excluded from version control (via .gitignore) to prevent accidentally committing sensitive information like passwords and domain-specific settings.

Edit the .env file with the editor of your choice.

Save and exit.

Production Setup Consideration

Production Setup Recommended: By default, OpenCloud stores configuration and data inside internal Docker volumes. This works fine for local development or quick evaluations — but is not suitable for production environments.

In production, you should mount persistent local directories for configuration and data to ensure:

Update your .env file with custom paths:

    OC_CONFIG_DIR=/your/local/path/opencloud/config
    OC_DATA_DIR=/your/local/path/opencloud/data

Folder Permissions: Ensure these folders exist and are owned by user and group 1000:1000, which the Docker containers use by default:

    sudo mkdir -p /your/local/path/opencloud/{config,data}
    sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /your/local/path/opencloud

If these variables are left unset, Docker will use internal volumes, which do not persist if the containers are removed — not recommended for real-world use.

Security Warning: The user with UID 1000 on your host system will have full access to these mounted directories. This means that any local user account with this ID can read, modify, or delete OpenCloud config and data files. This can pose a security risk in shared or multi-user environments. Make sure to implement proper user and permission management and consider isolating access to these directories.

Use production release container: To avoid accidentally updating to a version with breaking changes, you should specify the production container version to be used in your .env file:

    OC_DOCKER_IMAGE=opencloudeu/opencloud
    OC_DOCKER_TAG=2

Start OpenCloud

Launch OpenCloud using Docker Compose: docker compose up -d This will start all required services in the background.

Verify SSL Certification

In your web browser, visit:

https://cloud.YOUR.DOMAIN

You should see a security warning because the staging certificate is not fully trusted. Same should appear with the other domains you are using.

Certificate Details: Check the certificate details to confirm it’s from Let's Encrypt Staging.

Apply a Real SSL Certificate

Once the staging certificate works, switch to a production certificate.

Stop Docker Compose: docker compose down

Remove old staging certificates: rm -r certs

Disable staging mode in .env: Edit .env

Comment the staging server:

    # TRAEFIK_ACME_CASERVER=https://acme-staging-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory

Restart OpenCloud with a real SSL certificate

    docker compose up -d

Now, visiting https://cloud.YOUR.DOMAIN should show a secure connection with a valid SSL certificate.

Log into OpenCloud

Open a browser and visit:

    https://cloud.YOUR.DOMAIN

Login with:

    Username: admin
    Password: (your password)

Tags: tool   cloud   storage   file management  

Last modified 17 February 2026