How to set up Nextcloud on Debian

Edited 8 months ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

DebianNextcloudCloud StorageServer SetupLinuxOpen SourceSystem AdministrationCLIFile SharingIT

Nextcloud is a popular and powerful open-source software for creating your own cloud. It is useful if you want a personal cloud server to store, share, and sync data between your devices. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of setting up Nextcloud on a Debian server. This lesson will guide you step by step, from installing the necessary software to securely configuring your Nextcloud environment.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• Debian-based server with sudo access.
• A domain name points to the IP address of your server.
• Basic understanding of command-line usage.

Step 1: Set up your server

First, make sure your system is up-to-date. You can do this by doing this:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

This command updates the list of available packages and their versions and installs the latest versions of all currently installed packages.

Step 2: Install the required packages

Nextcloud requires a web server, PHP, and a database server. We will be using Apache, PHP, and MariaDB. Install these packages using the command:

sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php7.4

Next, we need to install the required PHP modules for Nextcloud:

sudo apt install php7.4-common php7.4-gmp php7.4-bcmath php7.4-curl php7.4-gd php7.4-mysql php7.4-intl php7.4-mbstring php7.4-xmlrpc php7.4-xml php7.4-zip php7.4-dom php7.4-imagick php7.4-soap php7.4-json php7.4-cli

Once the installation is complete, make sure Apache and MariaDB are running and set to run at startup:

sudo systemctl start apache2 sudo systemctl enable apache2 sudo systemctl start mariadb sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Step 3: Secure MariaDB

It is very important to keep your MariaDB installation secure. You can do this by running:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

This command will take you through a series of prompts to configure your database security settings such as setting the root password, removing anonymous users, disallowing root logins remotely, deleting the test database, and reloading privilege tables. Answer the prompts according to your needs.

Step 4: Create the database for Nextcloud

Now, you need to create a database for Nextcloud. Log in to your MariaDB server:

sudo mysql -u root -p

After entering your password, create a new database and user by running the following:

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

Replace 'securepassword' with a strong password of your choice.

Step 5: Download Nextcloud

We are ready to download the latest version of Nextcloud. Go to the /tmp directory and download Nextcloud:

cd /tmp wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-23.0.0.zip

Unzip the file and move it to the Apache web root:

unzip nextcloud-23.0.0.zip sudo mv nextcloud /var/www/html/

Step 6: Configure Apache

Set ownership of the Nextcloud directory to the Apache user:

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

Now, create an Apache configuration file for Nextcloud:

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

Paste the following configuration into the file:

<VirtualHost *:80> ServerAdmin admin@example.com DocumentRoot /var/www/html/nextcloud/ ServerName example.com ServerAlias www.example.com <Directory /var/www/html/nextcloud/> Options +FollowSymlinks AllowOverride All <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}/error.log CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined </VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit the editor. Enable the site and any required Apache modules by running:

sudo a2ensite nextcloud.conf sudo a2enmod rewrite headers env dir mime

Finally, restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 7: Configure your firewall

Make sure your firewall settings allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic. If you are using UFW, you can run the following:

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp sudo ufw allow 443/tcp sudo ufw reload

Step 8: Finalize the installation

Now, open your web browser and visit the IP address or domain name of your Nextcloud server. You will be presented with a web page to finalize the setup:

• Create an administrator account by setting a username and password.
• In the Database section, enter the database details you created earlier.
• After entering the required data, click on 'Finish Setup'.

Step 9: Secure Nextcloud with SSL/TLS

To encrypt your Nextcloud installation, you can set up a free SSL certificate using Certbot and Let's Encrypt. Install Certbot by running the following:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

Obtain and install an SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --apache

Follow the prompts to authorize Certbot to issue certificates for your domain. Certbot will automatically configure your Apache with the new certificate.

Conclusion

You have successfully set up Nextcloud on your Debian server and configured it with a secure SSL connection. Once your cloud server is ready, you can start uploading files, sharing them, and syncing them securely across your devices. Remember to update your Nextcloud installation and system packages periodically for new features and security enhancements.

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