Nextcloud

I've been using Nextcloud for years. In this post, I wanted to share what I use it for and how it forms an important role in removing my dependency on big tech. Let's dive in.

What is Nextcloud?

Think of it as a self hosted cloud alternative to Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, Google Drive or Dropbox. But it's not just for File Storage, it also does Notes, Contacts, Calendar, Photos and much more.

Why use Nextcloud?

Many of these Big Tech giants do not respect your data. They'll sell it, use it for unintended purposes, profit off it and in extreme cases they have the ability to hold your data hostage.

Nextcloud is about taking ownership of your data. You are the one in the control of who sees the data, what it's used for and it can't be taken away from you. You no longer rely on a trusted third party to host your data for you. You do it yourself.

However, with great power comes great responsibility. You are responsible for backups, redundancy, physical hardware, up-time and upfront costs.

My Nextcloud setup

I run NextcloudPi in a Proxmox container. NextcloudPi is a fork of Nextcloud that makes it easier to install, configure, upgrade and maintain a Nextcloud instance. I used the Proxmox Helper Script to set this up as a container on my Proxmox server. I've learned many lessons over the years and I wanted to share some of these lessons.

File Storage

I don't store my personal files directly on the Nextcloud instance. I have a separate TrueNAS machine that hosts a samba share with all my personal files. All of my data is held within the TrueNAS machine. I add the samba share into Nextcloud as an External Storage. You can find this in the settings. Why do this?

• If the Nextcloud upgrade fails, I still have access to my files.
• If I need to upgrade the base linux distro or the dependencies to run Nextcloud (such as PHP), I still have access to my files.
• If the Proxmox container is down for whatever reason, I still have access to my files.

It's all about making sure at any point in time I have access to my files. Keeping my files separate in a TrueNAS storage solution gives me segregation and peace of mind.

Here's what you're probably wondering. If you're using TrueNAS, why not just mount it to your computer and use that directly? Why even use Nextcloud?

I like working on a local copy and synchronising it to the Nextcloud server using Nextcloud-Desktop. Having a local copy of the data ensures I have a copy on my laptop, my desktop and the TrueNAS server. This gives me multiple copies of the data rather than just the one copy on the TrueNAS server.

Calendar & Contacts

Whilst none of my files are stored within the Nextcloud instance, what is stored directly are my calendar and contacts. There is a calendar and contacts app that comes installed on Nextcloud.

I use the DAVx5 app on my phone to synchronise contacts and calendar between my phone and my Nextcloud server. On a monthly basis, I will save the .vcf contacts file as a backup.

This means that if I was to ever lose my phone, I could restore my contacts using my Nextcloud server. I don't have to rely on Google or Apple to keep a copy of all my contacts.

GNOME and KDE both integrate well with Nextcloud to synchronise calendar information to the desktop, giving me a live view across my devices of calendar appointments with alerts.

Notes

My Notes are stored on the TrueNAS server with the rest of my personal files. Nextcloud Notes (in the web interface) is set up to point to the TrueNAS samba share folder, similar to file storage. Notes are created and edited using Qownnotes (desktop) and Notes (mobile). The Nextcloud app on mobile and desktop handles the synchronisation.

Final thoughts

Nextcloud is a great option for a storage solution. You control the data, who accesses it and what it is used for. I will continue to use it and recommend you give it a try. It is ideal to self host the data yourself, rather than leaving giving it to a trusted third party who may rug you. I use it mostly for calendar, contacts and integration into my file storage.