Nextcloud

{{Short description|Free and open-source file hosting software suite}}

{{Infobox software

| name = Nextcloud

| logo = Nextcloud Logo.svg

| logo size = 160px

| caption = Nextcloud file manager

| screenshot = File-Nextcloud File Manager Screenshot.png

| screenshot alt = Nextcloud (Browser view)

| developer = Nextcloud GmbH.,{{cite web|url=https://nextcloud.com|title=Official Company Website}} Community

| latest release version = {{multiple releases

| branch1 = Server

| version1 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q115772036|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| date1 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q115772036|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

| branch2 = Android

| version2 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q115772038|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| date2 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q115772038|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

| branch3 = iOS

| version3 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q115772039|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| date3 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q115772039|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

| branch4 = Desktop

| version4 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q115772040|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| date4 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q115772040|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

}}

| programming language = PHP, JavaScript

| operating system = Server: Linux
Clients: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android, iOS

| language count = 60

| genre = Online storage, data synchronization, Collaboration, video conferencing, Groupware

| licence = AGPL-3.0-only

| website = {{URL|//nextcloud.com}}

}}

Nextcloud is a suite of client-server software for creating and using file hosting services. It can integrate with the Collabora Online and OnlyOffice office suites. It can be hosted in the cloud or on premise and can scale up to millions of users.{{Cite web |title=System requirements – Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/admin_manual/installation/system_requirements.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=docs.nextcloud.com}}{{Cite news|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2021-03-25|title=Canonical, Collabora, and Nextcloud Deliver Work From Home Solution to Raspberry Pi Users|work=9to5Linux|url=https://9to5linux.com/canonical-collabora-and-nextcloud-deliver-work-from-home-solution-to-raspberry-pi-users|access-date=2021-04-15|quote=...fully pre-configured and automatically updated in time so you won’t have to do any manual maintenance on it}}{{Citation |title=Nextcloud Global Scale explained |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5wcLS9xxMw |language=en |access-date=2022-12-03}} It is translated to 60 languages.{{Cite web |title=The Nextcloud translation project on Transifex |url=https://explore.transifex.com/nextcloud/nextcloud/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=explore.transifex.com |language=en}}

Features

Nextcloud files are stored in conventional directory structures, accessible via WebDAV if necessary. A SQLite, MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL database is required to provide additional functionality like permissions, shares, and comments.{{Cite web |title=Database configuration – Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/configuration_database/linux_database_configuration.html |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=docs.nextcloud.com}}

Nextcloud can synchronize with local clients running Windows (Windows 8.1 and above),{{Cite web |title=Desktop Client System Requirements |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/desktop/latest/installing.html#system-requirements }} macOS (10.14 or later), Linux and FreeBSD. Nextcloud permits user and group administration locally or via different Backends like OpenID{{Cite web |last=Schießle |first=Björn |title=Nextcloud and OpenID-Connect |url=https://www.schiessle.org/articles/2020/07/26/nextcloud-and-openid-connect/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=www.schiessle.org |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Social Login – Apps – App Store – Nextcloud |url=https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/sociallogin |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=apps.nextcloud.com}} or LDAP.{{Cite web |title=User authentication with LDAP – Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/configuration_user/user_auth_ldap.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=docs.nextcloud.com}} Content can be shared inside the system by defining granular read/write permissions between users and groups. Nextcloud users can create public URLs when sharing files.{{Cite web |title=File Sharing – Nextcloud latest User Manual latest documentation |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/user_manual/en/files/sharing.html |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=docs.nextcloud.com}}{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Logging of file-related actions, as well as disallowing access based on file access rules is also available.{{cite web|url=https://nextcloud.com/blog/file-access-control-a-firewall-for-your-private-files-in-nextcloud/|title=File Access Control – A firewall for your private files in Nextcloud|access-date=22 September 2016|date=25 August 2016}}

Security options like multi-factor authentication using TOTP, WebAuthn, Oauth2,{{Cite web |title=OAuth2 – Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/configuration_server/oauth2.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=docs.nextcloud.com}} OpenID Connect,{{Citation |title=user_oidc |date=2022-11-30 |url=https://github.com/nextcloud/user_oidc |publisher=Nextcloud |access-date=2022-12-03}} Brute-force protection{{Cite web |title=Brute force protection – Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation |url=https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/configuration_server/bruteforce_configuration.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=docs.nextcloud.com}} exist.

Nextcloud has planned new features such as monitoring capabilities, full-text search and Kerberos authentication, as well as audio/video conferencing, expanded federation and smaller user interface improvements.{{cite news |title = Nextcloud adds security and scalability to its private cloud offering |url = https://www.zdnet.com/article/nextcloud-adds-security-and-scalability-to-its-private-cloud-offering/ | author = Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | agency = ZDNet | date = 14 December 2016 | access-date = 19 January 2017}}

History

In April 2016 Frank Karlitschek and most core contributors {{cite news

|title = Contribution overview to Nextcloud Server

|url = https://github.com/nextcloud/server/graphs/contributors?from=2010-03-07&to=2016-06-01&type=c

| author = GitHub

| date = 1 June 2016

| access-date = 2 April 2019}} left ownCloud Inc.{{cite news

|title = big changes: I am leaving ownCloud, Inc. today

|url = http://karlitschek.de/2016/04/big-changes-i-am-leaving-owncloud-inc-today/

| author = Frank Karlitschek

| agency = blog

| date = 27 April 2016

| access-date = 22 September 2016}} These included some of ownCloud's staff according to sources near to the ownCloud community.{{cite news

|title = OwnCloud founder forks popular open-source cloud

|url = https://www.zdnet.com/article/owncloud-founder-forks-popular-open-source-cloud/

| author = Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

| agency = ZDNET

| date = 2 June 2016

| access-date = 22 September 2016}} Karlitschek and many of these contributors went on to fork the ownCloud, creating NextCloud.

The fork was preceded by a blog post of Karlitschek announcing his departure and raising questions about the management of the ownCloud, its community, and priorities between growth, money, and sustainability. There have been no official statements about the reason for the fork. However, Karlitschek mentioned the fork several times in a talk at the 2018 FOSDEM conference and in two appearances on the FLOSS Weekly podcast,{{Cite web |title=TWiT – FLOSS Weekly 755 – Nextcloud |url=https://twit.tv/shows/floss-weekly/episodes/755?autostart=false}}{{Cite web |title=TWiT – FLOSS Weekly Episode 513 – Nextcloud Update |url=https://twit.tv/shows/floss-weekly/episodes/513?autostart=false}} emphasizing cultural mismatch between open source developers and business oriented people not used to the open source community.{{cite web

| url = https://archive.fosdem.org/2018/schedule/event/nextcloud/

| title = Why I forked my own project and my own company

| author = Frank Karlitschek

| date = 4 February 2018

}}

On June 2, within 12 hours of the announcement of the fork, the American entity "ownCloud Inc." announced that it is shutting down with immediate effect, stating that "[...] main lenders in the US have cancelled our credit. Following American law, we are forced to close the doors of ownCloud, Inc. with immediate effect and terminate the contracts of 8 employees." ownCloud Inc. accused Karlitschek of poaching developers, while Nextcloud developers such as Arthur Schiwon stated that he "decided to quit because not everything in the ownCloud Inc. company world evolved as I imagined".{{cite web|url=http://www.cio.com/article/3079866/open-source-tools/what-we-can-learn-from-ownclouds-collapse.html|title=What we can learn from ownCloud's collapse|author=Swapnil Bhartiya|publisher=CIO.com|date=6 June 2016|access-date=22 September 2016|archive-date=23 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923115533/http://www.cio.com/article/3079866/open-source-tools/what-we-can-learn-from-ownclouds-collapse.html|url-status=dead}} ownCloud GmbH continued operations, secured financing from new investors and took over the business of ownCloud Inc.{{cite web|url=https://owncloud.com/owncloud-secures-financing-expands-management-team/|title=ownCloud Secures Financing and Expands its Management Team – ownCloud|date=14 July 2016}}

In April 2018 {{Lang|de|Informationstechnikzentrum Bund}} (ITZBund) reported Nextcloud wins the tender for "Bundescloud" (Germany government cloud) project.{{Cite web |last=online |first=heise |title=Bundescloud: Open-Source mit Nextcloud statt Dropbox oder Google Drive |url=https://www.heise.de/ix/meldung/Bundescloud-Open-Source-mit-Nextcloud-statt-Dropbox-oder-Google-Drive-4026111.html |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=iX Magazin |date=17 April 2018 |language=de}}{{Cite news |last=Beuth |first=Patrick |date=2018-04-17 |title=Open-Source-Software: Nextcloud baut die Bundescloud |language=de |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/open-source-software-nextcloud-baut-die-bundescloud-a-1203261.html |access-date=2022-12-19 |issn=2195-1349}}

In August 2019 it was announced that the governments of France, Sweden and the Netherlands will use Nextcloud for file transfer.{{Cite web |title=Cloud-Dienste: EU-Staaten setzen auf deutsches Start-up Nextcloud |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/cloud-dienste-eu-staaten-setzen-auf-deutsches-start-up-nextcloud/24942352.html |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=www.handelsblatt.com |language=de}}

In January 2020 Nextcloud 18 "Nextcloud Hub" was released. The major change was direct integration of an Office suite (OnlyOffice) and Nextcloud claimed the goal to compete with Office 365 and Google Docs.{{Cite web |last=Poortvliet |first=Jos |date=2020-01-17 |title=The new standard in on-premises team collaboration: Nextcloud Hub |url=https://nextcloud.com/blog/the-new-standard-in-on-premises-team-collaboration-nextcloud-hub/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Nextcloud |language=en-US}} Partnership with Ionos was revealed – its hosting location in Germany and compliance with GDPR should support the goal of data sovereignty.{{Cite web |last=Poortvliet |first=Jos |date=2020-01-17 |title=IONOS and Nextcloud together for more data sovereignty |url=https://nextcloud.com/blog/ionos-and-nextcloud-together-for-more-data-sovereignty/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Nextcloud |language=en-US}}

In spring 2020 remote work and web conferencing usage raised due to COVID-19 pandemic and Nextcloud released version 19 with chat and videoconferencing Talk app integrated into the application core. Talk with an optional "high performance back-end" {{Cite web |last=Poortvliet |first=Jos |date=2020-05-19 |title=Talk 9 brings grid view, file editing, open sources Talk back-end |url=https://nextcloud.com/blog/open-sourcing-talk-back-end-rc-of-talk-9-brings-lots-of-improvements/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Nextcloud |language=en-US}} allows self-hosting of web conferences with more than 10 participants. Collabora Online was introduced as another integrated office suite.

In August 2021 Nextcloud was chosen as collaboration platform for European cloud software GAIA-X.{{Cite web |title=Gaia-X setzt auf Nextcloud |url=https://gnulinux.ch/gaia-x-setzt-auf-nextcloud |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=GNU/Linux.ch |language=de-CH}}{{Cite web |last=Puselja |first=Marija |date=2021-08-26 |title=Nextcloud beat US hyperscalers as collaboration platform for EU digital sovereignty project Gaia-X |url=https://nextcloud.com/blog/nextcloud-beat-us-hyperscalers-as-collaboration-platform-for-eu-digital-sovereignty-project-gaia-x/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Nextcloud |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=S |first=Jan |date=2022-07-13 |title=Gaia-X: Europas Kampf um digitale Souveränität |url=https://www.optimal-systems.de/blog/gaia-x-europas-kampf-um-digitale-souveraenitaet |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=OPTIMAL SYSTEMS |language=de-DE}}{{Cite web |date=2021-08-26 |title=Gaia-X beweist Unabhängigkeit von großen US-Tech-Anbietern und entscheidet sich für EU-basierte Kollaborationsplattform |url=https://osb-alliance.de/news/gaia-x-entscheidet-sich-fuer-eu-basierte-kollaborationsplattform |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=OSBA – Open Source Business Alliance |language=de-DE}}

In a September 2021 European Commission report it was mentioned as "the most widely deployed Open Source content collaboration platform"{{Cite web |title=Study about the impact of open source software and hardware on technological independence, competitiveness and innovation in the EU economy {{!}} Shaping Europe's digital future |url=https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/study-about-impact-open-source-software-and-hardware-technological-independence-competitiveness-and |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu |date=6 September 2021 |language=en}}