Apps for file management/sharing/syncing

[timconsidine]

For me 2026 is a year to sort out the total mess which is my digital filing.

Almost everyone, individuals, solopreneur, small business, corporate, enterprise, needs good apps for file management/sharing/syncing.

Cloudron has had Nextcloud for a long time, but some just don't like it, and others ( ) think it is too fat and bloated.

Cloudron has also had Syncthing for a long time, and it works well but is more of a personal tool. Personally I think it should only be used with the partner app, Syncthing Discovery Server, but that is now done as a custom app.

Cubby is also long standing, but doesn't have desktop apps.

Nothing is perfect for everyone, which underlines the need for choices.

I know (@)staff are perpetually busy, but I would like to suggest some attention to extending the available options for Cloudron users.

Fat Nextcloud vs. "personal" Syncthing vs web-only Cubby is not a good choice for this critical near-universal need for functionality.

I am a long-time user of Seafile, but (a) I think it is impossible to package for Cloudron, and (b) I worry about extracting / backing up files from its "cloaked" environment. Owncloud and OpenCloud don't seem the direction to go. MinIO is now effectively not an option.

Seeking a solution for own needs, I have packaged :

• Sync-in : young but possibly my favourite, intuitive, good desktop sync
• Pydio Cells : very established, needs a little configuration for max power, Mac desktop sync app cludgy but works
• Garage S3 (also packaged by @jadudm) as a back-end for other front-end S3 clients

I'd really like the AppStore to adopt these, one at least.
I'm sure my packages can be improved, and I'm not precious about that, but they are a starting point.

Are there other solutions on this field which should be considered ?

Personally I might be sorted now with my custom apps, but that's not a good answer for others, and I feel a stronger offering in this field would enhance Cloudron as a platform.

Thank you for patiently reading and considering.

[joseph]

I was just reading https://old.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1q3n2rl/i_failed_selfhosting/ and discovered something called Copyparty - https://github.com/9001/copyparty .

[joseph]

I guess SFTPGo also may be loosely considered an alternative

[timconsidine]

@Joseph I didn't think of SFTPGo in that way, but yes, it could loosely be

[crazybrad]

@timconsidine I was thinking much the same. Currently using Box.com (good, expensive, excellent mobile app, NO LINUX CLIENT) and was wondering about whether Seafile could be packaged for Cloudron. I think you answered that neatly already.

Because of Cloudron's architecture, I think the ability to back up metadata about files from a database (built-in) and using an S3-compatible back-end store for files would be an ideal solution.

For me, a strong mobile app is a necessity. There have been countless times when someone asked for a file, and with the Box iOS app, I was able to get it to the recipient instantly.

I will keep looking. Was hoping that Pydio could be the one, but sounds like it's not quite ready.

[timconsidine]

@crazybrad there is a Pydio mobile app for iOS
Not explored it much yet but seems ok

Android : would need to check.

[crazybrad]

@timconsidine So I had a few minutes and "tasked" my right-hand assistant with the job of evaluating options. Here was her assignment:

Research all open source apps that can be used for file storage similar to Box.com and Dropbox. App must:

• Use S3-compatible storage as backend for files (object) storage.
• Support infinite versions.
• Have good iOS and Android mobile apps for sharing, moving and copying files.
• Docker installation option.

In addition, for those meeting all the above criteria, analyze the tech stack and determine whether packaging the app for Cloudron would require small, medium or large amount of work.

Also assess the frequency of updates and whether that would become a large burden for Cloudron maintainers to keep up.

Here were the results:

Executive Summary

S3 Storage Analysis

Cloudron Packaging

She missed that NextCloud was already packaged, but no one is perfect:)

Bottom line: Pydio Cells looks very viable:)

@joseph What are your thoughts from Team Cloudron's perspective?

[timconsidine]

@crazybrad interesting

Maybe I should take another look at viability of packaging Seafile.

Just realised that I am testing Pydio based on flat file structure (files exist natively on storage) not S3.
Need to look into S3.

[crazybrad]

@tim What I like about S3 (and compatibles) is the "five 9s" reliability of object storage and unlimited expansion capability. I guess I grew tired of managing local storage...

Seafile ongoing maintenance effort seemed concerning (assuming it's realistic). Curious about what Cloudron team thinks about maintaining either.

Also, Pydio seemed to earn some kudos for a lightweight, high-performing tech stack. The analysis seemed to suggest it really leverages the S3 API - which is solid at this point.

[timconsidine]

Hmmm, my AI say my earlier comment that Seafile "is impossible to package for Cloudron" is wrong.
So I will take a fresh look at packaging Seafile.

S3 backend needs the PRO edition of Seafile, but I seem to recall they offered a free PRO licence for small deployments (not sure if they still do).

[crazybrad]

@timconsidine I remember reading about a PRO license for small business (up to 9 seats) for $100 per year (self-hosted). So not free technically, but essentially free given the value provided.

[timconsidine]

Partial update : despite my previous view that Seafile was not viable (currently eating humble pie), I am close to having it packaged as a custom app.
If successful, this would be a game changer.
The only things I don't like about Seafile are :

• slightly dated UI, but hey ho, you get used to it and it is compensated for by working well
• 'cloaked' file names on the underlying storage, but will work on a export/backup facility after the base package is working satisfactorily.

[timconsidine]

@crazybrad yes, I checked, they are still offering PRO for small deployments - still needs a licence but zero-cost for up to 3

[crazybrad]

@timconsidine You are impressive my friend. Can't believe you were able to package this so quickly. Just curious: where do you think the AI estimates are inflated? Perhaps Tim is 4x faster than others:)

And you are 100% correct about the <= 3 scenario. I missed that.