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diff --git a/content/blog/2022-03-23-nextcloud-on-ubuntu.md b/content/blog/2022-03-23-nextcloud-on-ubuntu.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5bb395f --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022-03-23-nextcloud-on-ubuntu.md @@ -0,0 +1,169 @@ ++++ +date = 2022-03-23 +title = "Installing Nextcloud on Ubuntu" +description = "A guide to self-hosting the NextCloud application on your own server." ++++ + +## What is Nextcloud? + +[Nextcloud](https://nextcloud.com/) is a self-hosted solution for +storage, communications, editing, calendar, contacts, and more. + +This tutorial assumes that you have an Ubuntu server and a domain name +configured to point toward the server. + +## Install Dependencies + +To start, you will need to install the packages that Nextcloud requires: + +```sh +sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php7.4 +sudo apt install php7.4-gd php7.4-mysql php7.4-curl php7.4-mbstring php7.4-intl +sudo apt install php7.4-gmp php7.4-bcmath php-imagick php7.4-xml php7.4-zip +``` + +## Set Up MySQL + +Next, you will need to log in to MySQL as the `root` user of +the machine. + +```sh +sudo mysql -uroot -p +``` + +Once you've logged in, you must create a new user so that Nextcloud can +manage the database. You will also create a `nextcloud` +database and assign privileges: + +```sql +CREATE USER 'username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password'; +CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS nextcloud CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci; +GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'username'@'localhost'; +FLUSH PRIVILEGES; +quit; +``` + +## Download & Install Nextcloud + +To download Nextcloud, go the [Nextcloud downloads +page](https://nextcloud.com/install/#instructions-server), click on +`Archive File` and right-click the big blue button to copy +the link. + +Then, go to your server and enter the following commands to download, +unzip, and move the files to your destination directory. This example +uses `example.com` as the destination, but you can put it +wherever you want to server your files from. + +```sh +wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-23.0.3.zip +sudo apt install unzip +unzip nextcloud-23.0.3.zip +sudo cp -r nextcloud /var/www/example.com +``` + +## Configure the Apache Web Server + +Now that the database is set up and Nextcloud is installed, you need to +set up the Apache configuration files to tell the server how to handle +requests for `example.com/nextcloud`. + +First, open the following file in the editor: + +```sh +sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/nextcloud.conf +``` + +Once the editor is open, paste the following information in. Then, save +and close the file. + +```config +<VirtualHost *:80> + DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com + ServerName example.com + ServerAlias www.example.com + ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log + CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined + + <Directory /var/www/example.com/nextcloud/> + Require all granted + AllowOverride All + Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews + Satisfy Any + + <IfModule mod_dav.c> + Dav off + </IfModule> + </Directory> +</VirtualHost> +``` + +Once the file is saved, enable it with Apache: + +```sh +sudo a2ensite nextcloud.conf +``` + +Next, enable the Apache mods required by Nextcloud: + +```sh +sudo a2enmod rewrite headers env dir mime +``` + +Finally, restart Apache. If any errors arise, you must solve those +before continuing. + +```sh +sudo systemctl restart apache2 +``` + +For the app to work, you must have the correct file permissions on your +`nextcloud` directory. Set the owner to be +`www-data`: + +```sh +sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/example.com/nextcloud/ +``` + +## DNS + +If you do not have a static IP address, you will need to update your DNS +settings (at your DNS provider) whenever your dynamic IP address +changes. + +For an example on how I do that with Cloudflare, see my other post: +[Updating Dynamic DNS with Cloudflare +API](/blog/updating-dynamic-dns-with-cloudflare-api/) + +## Certbot + +If you want to serve Nextcloud from HTTPS rather than plain HTTP, use +the following commands to issue Let's Encrypt SSL certificates: + +```sh +sudo apt install snapd +sudo snap install core +sudo snap refresh core +sudo snap install --classic certbot +sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot +sudo certbot --apache +``` + +## Results + +Voilà! You're all done and should be able to access Nextcloud from your +domain or IP address. + +See the screenshots below for the dashboard and a settings page on my +instance of Nextcloud, using the `Breeze Dark` theme I +installed from the Apps page. + + + +*Figure 01: Nextcloud Dashboard* + + + +*Figure 02: Nextcloud Security Settings* |