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Complete Guide to Installing and Hosting Nextcloud on Ubuntu 20.04+

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Introduction: What is Nextcloud and Why Self-Host?

Nextcloud is a powerful open-source file sharing and collaboration platform that gives you complete control over your data. Unlike third-party cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive, Nextcloud allows you to host your own private cloud on your server, ensuring data privacy and security while offering similar functionality including file storage, sharing, calendars, contacts, and more through its extensible app system.

Self-hosting Nextcloud provides several key benefits:

  • Complete data privacy and control
  • No subscription fees (beyond hosting costs)
  • Customizable features through the app ecosystem
  • Scalable storage based on your hardware
  • Freedom from vendor lock-in

This guide walks you through two installation methods with minimal manual intervention required.

Prerequisites

Before beginning, ensure you have:

# System requirements
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer
Root or sudo access to the server

Hardware requirements:

  • 2GB RAM (4GB+ recommended for production use)
  • 2 CPU cores (more for multi-user environments)
  • At least 10GB storage space (plus additional space for your data)

Network requirements:

  • A domain name pointed to your server (for secure HTTPS access)
  • Open ports in your firewall: 80/TCP (HTTP)443/TCP (HTTPS)

Installation Methods

Choose between two installation approaches:

  1. Traditional LAMP Stack Installation – More customizable, better for production environments
  2. Snap Package Installation – Simpler, faster setup with automatic updates

Method 1: Traditional LAMP Stack Installation

Step 1: Update Your System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

This updates package lists and upgrades all installed packages to their latest versions.

Step 2: Install LAMP Stack

sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php php-gd php-json php-mysql php-curl php-mbstring php-intl php-imagick php-xml php-zip php-mysql php-bcmath php-gmp -y

This installs the web server, database server, and all required PHP extensions for Nextcloud.

Step 3: Configure MariaDB

Secure your MariaDB installation:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to set a root password and secure your database. When asked, answer ‘Y’ to all security questions.

Create a database and user for Nextcloud:

sudo mysql -u root -p

When the MySQL prompt appears, run:

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;
CREATE USER 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your-strong-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextclouduser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace ‘your-strong-password’ with a secure password. This creates a dedicated database and user for Nextcloud.

Step 4: Configure PHP

sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini

For Ubuntu 22.04, use 8.1 instead of 7.4 in the path.

Find and modify these values:

memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 200M
max_execution_time = 360
post_max_size = 200M
date.timezone = Your/Timezone

Replace Your/Timezone with your actual timezone (e.g., America/New_York). These settings optimize PHP for file uploads and Nextcloud operations.

Step 5: Download and Extract Nextcloud

cd /tmp
wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest.tar.bz2

This downloads the latest stable Nextcloud version.

Extract and move to web directory:

sudo tar -xjf latest.tar.bz2
sudo mv nextcloud /var/www/html/

This extracts Nextcloud and places it in the Apache web root directory.

Step 6: Set Correct Permissions

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/nextcloud/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/nextcloud/

This ensures the web server can access and modify Nextcloud files. Incorrect permissions will cause installation or operation failures.

Step 7: Configure Apache for Nextcloud

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/nextcloud.conf

Add this configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/nextcloud/

    <Directory /var/www/html/nextcloud/>
        Options +FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
        <IfModule mod_dav.c>
            Dav off
        </IfModule>
        SetEnv HOME /var/www/html/nextcloud
        SetEnv HTTP_HOME /var/www/html/nextcloud
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/nextcloud_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/nextcloud_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Replace your-domain.com with your actual domain name.

Enable the site and required Apache modules:

sudo a2ensite nextcloud.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite headers env dir mime setenvif ssl
sudo systemctl restart apache2

This activates the Nextcloud site and enables necessary Apache modules.

Step 8: Set Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
sudo certbot --apache -d your-domain.com

Replace your-domain.com with your actual domain. This obtains and installs a free SSL certificate.

Step 9: Complete the Web-Based Installation

Open your web browser and navigate to https://your-domain.com. You’ll see the Nextcloud setup page where you’ll enter:

  • Admin username and password
  • Data folder: Keep the default /var/www/html/nextcloud/data
  • Database user: nextclouduser
  • Database password: The password you set in Step 3
  • Database name: nextcloud
  • Database host: localhost

Click “Finish setup” to complete the installation.

Method 2: Snap Package Installation (Simplified Approach)

Step 1: Install Snapd

sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd -y

This installs the snap package manager.

Step 2: Install Nextcloud via Snap

sudo snap install nextcloud

This downloads and installs Nextcloud with all dependencies.

Step 3: Create Admin Account

sudo nextcloud.manual-install admin "your-strong-password"

Replace your-strong-password with a secure password. This creates the admin account.

Step 4: Configure Domain

sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value=your-domain.com

Replace your-domain.com with your actual domain.

Step 5: Enable HTTPS

sudo nextcloud.enable-https lets-encrypt

Enter your email address and agree to the terms when prompted. This obtains and installs a free SSL certificate.

Security Hardening

Configure Basic Firewall

sudo apt install ufw -y
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable

This installs and configures UFW firewall, allowing only SSH and web traffic.

Protect Against Brute Force Attacks with Fail2ban

sudo apt install fail2ban -y
sudo cp /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
sudo nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

Add to the end of the file:

[nextcloud]
enabled = true
port = 80,443
filter = nextcloud
logpath = /var/log/apache2/nextcloud_access.log
maxretry = 3
bantime = 86400

For snap installations, use /var/snap/nextcloud/current/logs/nextcloud.log as the logpath.

Create a filter:

sudo nano /etc/fail2ban/filter.d/nextcloud.conf

Add:

[Definition]
failregex = ^.*Login failed: '.*' \(Remote IP: ''.*$
ignoreregex =

Restart Fail2ban:

sudo systemctl restart fail2ban

This protects your login page from repeated password attempts.

Data Management and Backups

Configure External Storage (Traditional Installation)

sudo mkdir -p /var/nextcloud-data
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/nextcloud-data
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/nextcloud-data

Edit Nextcloud config:

sudo nano /var/www/html/nextcloud/config/config.php

Update the datadirectory parameter:

'datadirectory' => '/var/nextcloud-data',

Automated Backup Script (Traditional Installation)

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/nextcloud-backup.sh

Add this script:

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DATE=$(date +"%Y%m%d")
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/nextcloud"

# Create backup directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Enable maintenance mode
cd /var/www/html/nextcloud
sudo -u www-data php occ maintenance:mode --on

# Backup database
mysqldump --single-transaction -u nextclouduser -p'your-strong-password' nextcloud > $BACKUP_DIR/nextcloud-db-$BACKUP_DATE.sql

# Backup data directory
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/nextcloud-data-$BACKUP_DATE.tar.gz -C /var /var/nextcloud-data

# Backup config directory
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/nextcloud-config-$BACKUP_DATE.tar.gz -C /var/www/html/nextcloud config

# Disable maintenance mode
sudo -u www-data php occ maintenance:mode --off

# Remove backups older than 30 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "nextcloud-*" -type f -mtime +30 -delete

Make it executable and schedule:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/nextcloud-backup.sh
sudo crontab -e

Add this line for daily 2AM backups:

0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/nextcloud-backup.sh

Snap Installation Backup

sudo nextcloud.export

This creates a complete backup in /var/snap/nextcloud/common/backups/.

Schedule automated backups:

sudo crontab -e

Add:

0 2 * * * /snap/bin/nextcloud.export

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Fix Permission Denied Errors

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/nextcloud/
sudo find /var/www/html/nextcloud/ -type d -exec chmod 750 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html/nextcloud/ -type f -exec chmod 640 {} \;

This resets ownership and permissions to correct values.

Resolve Database Connection Issues

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then run:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextclouduser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

This ensures the database user has proper permissions.

Fix PHP Memory Limit Errors

sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini

For Ubuntu 22.04, use 8.1 instead of 7.4.

Change the memory limit:

memory_limit = 1G

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

This increases PHP memory to handle larger operations.

Improve Performance with Redis Caching

sudo apt install redis-server php-redis -y
sudo systemctl enable redis-server
sudo systemctl start redis-server

Edit Nextcloud config:

sudo nano /var/www/html/nextcloud/config/config.php

Add inside the configuration array:

'memcache.local' => '\\OC\\Memcache\\Redis',
'memcache.locking' => '\\OC\\Memcache\\Redis',
'redis' => [
     'host' => 'localhost',
     'port' => 6379,
],

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

This significantly improves performance through caching.

Maintenance Tasks

Update Nextcloud (Traditional Installation)

cd /var/www/html/nextcloud
sudo -u www-data php occ maintenance:mode --on

Backup first:

sudo mysqldump --single-transaction -u nextclouduser -p'your-strong-password' nextcloud > /var/backups/nextcloud-db-before-update.sql
sudo tar -czf /var/backups/nextcloud-before-update.tar.gz -C /var/www/html nextcloud

Download and update:

cd /tmp
wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest.tar.bz2
sudo tar -xjf latest.tar.bz2
sudo cp -r nextcloud/. /var/www/html/nextcloud/
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/nextcloud/

Complete the upgrade:

cd /var/www/html/nextcloud
sudo -u www-data php occ upgrade
sudo -u www-data php occ maintenance:mode --off

Update Snap Installation

sudo snap refresh nextcloud

This updates Nextcloud to the latest version.

Monitor Your Installation

Check status:

# For traditional installation
cd /var/www/html/nextcloud
sudo -u www-data php occ status

# For snap installation
sudo nextcloud.occ status

View logs:

# For traditional installation
sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/nextcloud_error.log

# For snap installation
sudo snap logs nextcloud

These commands help diagnose issues.

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional, secure Nextcloud installation on your Ubuntu server. Your self-hosted cloud provides a private alternative to commercial services with similar features.

Remember to:

  • Keep your system updated regularly
  • Back up your data frequently
  • Monitor logs for unusual activity
  • Follow security best practices

For basic usage, you can stop after completing either installation method and securing with SSL. For production environments, consider implementing the security hardening and performance optimization steps.

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