Nextcloud - on shared hosting/budget?
bikegremlin
ModeratorOG
I have decided to give Nextcloud a try.
My reasoning was to keep my address book and calendar portable (so I can sync any changes accross several computers and phones), but not rely on Google, Apple or other huge corporation.
For files and photos I suppose the likes of good old offline storage combined with Hetzner and even Pcloud (and Filen.io) are probably a more reasonable choice - correct me if I'm wrong.
Of course, I wanted to keep the costs low, so I tried an installation in a shared hosting environment (well, technically it's under a reseller hosting account, but the principle and access rights are the same).
So far so good.
A few error logs, some warnings, but it does work. LOL.
The details (with a list of warnings and errors I came across):
https://io.bikegremlin.com/38385/nextcloud-selfhosted-install-on-shared-hosting/
Corrections, ideas and tips are more than welcome. 
Comments
I've been running a couple of Nextcloud installations for a number of years now, but I run them on VPSes
As your report suggests, it can be tricky to run Nextcloud on shared hosting, but this also depends on how much "freedom" one's shared hosting account gives one. Your shared hosting or reseller account seems good in this respect
A couple of times in the past, I tried to install Nextcloud on a shared hosting account, but I felt frustrated by the restrictions that a typical shared hosting account typically imposes, so I gave up. Nextcloud has become complex/intricate enough that I simply find it more straightforward to install and to maintain on a VPS
I'm familiar with virtually all of the errors/warnings that you mention.
I recall that earlier in the past, I had the goal of eliminating every error/warning, but at some point, I gave up on this and focused simply on eliminating the major/serious errors/warnings 
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Hetzner's managed Nextcloud looks like a good option in terms of both money and time:
https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-share/
One of the reasons for posting here was to hear if there are wiser and perhaps simpler alternatives that are still good.
Having said that, so far, Nextcloud is doing what I need it to:
I'm using other services for file and picture storage/offload (Hetzner storage box, Filen.io and Pcloud), and for note taking and syncing (Obsidian).
This!
Over the years, despite my perfectionism (and mild OCD - which are both flaws despite people using them to humblebrag), I have learned to just leave stuff imperfect when that is the more reasonable thing to do.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
Currently (and for many years), I run Nextcloud on a small slice/slab ( @Francisco ) and the cheapest Online/Scaleway dedicated server. I use them as backup repositories rather than anything 'fancy', so just ignore the irrelevant warnings. ;-)
I have run it before in a shared hosting environment on one of my VPSes but having full control of the setup helps a lot (especially for command line commands).
I wouldn't trust Hetzner with ANY of my data, given how much they harbour hackers, crackers, port scanners etc. They just don't give a crap about what originates from their infrastructure.
How about a Oneprovider 1TB HDD dedi?
In stasis until the shitposting stops/abates.
Than=compare;then=sequence:brought=bring;bought=buy:staffs=pile of sticks:informations/infos=no plural.
It wisnae me! A big boy done it and ran away. || NVMe2G for life! until death (the end is nigh).
Nextcloud is quite nice, if properly maintained and configured and tuned. I'm running a few "managed" installations for clients. This will in the near future also turn into a public service.
Already got a brand name selected, just waiting for the logo to be finished and getting the design done shortly after.
Regarding running on shared hosting: This can be done and i have some scripts that are running on my shared hosting platforms from sitetide.com . The initial install is no problem, auto-updates,... can be a bit of a nuisance. So once the new cloud storage service launches, i'll likely stop including the nextcloud installer/updater on shared hosting.
@AlwaysSkint and @SGraf - it is fair to note that the reseller/shared hosting providers I use offer SSH, and that is very helpful at times (not just for Nextcloud).
Without SSH, I am not sure how my install would have fared.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
The normal/shared hosting plans on SiteTide have auto-installers. Where required users may request a cron job (via ticket).
For The Cloud Hosting Plans, you get ssh access, plus Cron Job setup via the Web-UI.
For the upcoming product line of managed cloud storage products, the aim is a quite different ofc. So there you get cloud storage as a product without any installation/maintainance required. Just ready to use.
For context: my reply was related to the option of one of installing Nextcloud on their own, in a shared hosting environment (in general).
If a provider offers Softaculous with shared hosting plans, one could also try the Softaculous' Nextcloud auto-installer (picking the "Custom" install option even lets you set a data directory outside of public_html, which is nice) - but I haven't gone on to finish and install using this automated approach, wanted to do it "manually".
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
In the past, I considered Hetzner's managed Nextcloud a couple of times, but in the end, I decided to manage my own installations. That said, Hetzner's prices seem good for what you get
Around a month ago, mainly because I was curious, I signed up for a free 2GB Nextcloud account at The Good Cloud ( https://thegood.cloud/ ), who are an "official preferred partner" of Nextcloud. One signs up for this free account via the page https://nextcloud.com/sign-up/#the_good_cloud at the Nextcloud site. My impression after a month is very positive: the synchronization is always very quick and I haven't yet noticed any downtime. The Good Cloud claim to be privacy-centric ( https://thegood.cloud/about-us/ ). Not surprisingly, their pricing ( https://buy.thegood.cloud/en/individuals ) is much higher than Hetzner's managed Nextcloud pricing, but I think that I'd be more inclined to choose The Good Cloud over Hetzner for managed Nextcloud
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
The Good Cloud website has links that lead to just their "blog page" instead of to where they are expected to.
That doesn't look very promising.
To see and compare prices also seems to require a bit more clicking on the site.
Another thing I dislike.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
I'd agree that the "structure" of the site leaves something to be desired, but I guess that I'm willing to overlook this (unless they're really trying to hide something crucial)
Since their only product is managed Nextcloud, they seem to be more focused on selling managed Nextcloud to businesses (than on selling to individuals), but I give them a pass on this.
(In general, businesses are a more promising source of income than individuals are)
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
I would add that as far as I can tell, The Good Cloud web site isn't trying to dazzle anyone with a slick design, but I tend to see this as a positive feature
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
NC install on Myw.pt reseller worked quite well 2020-2023 for me. Had a nice 50-55 GB (don't remember exact)…
DE, so Hetzner I think.
once my icloud subscription runs out of prepaid credit, I might take a look at NC again… though Koofr presents a rock solid case.
blog archives
there are also some good free nextcloud instances to use like disroot.org or thegood.cloud which is more than enough for caldav.
here are more free offers
https://help.nextcloud.com/c/hosting/14
The latest Nextcloud patch (32.0.5) broke CardDAV on IOS and Floccus bookmark sync on all systems.
One bug gets fixed, new bug gets introduced.
This looks like more hassle than is worth it.
I’m switching to alternative solutions.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
It did always look a bit fragile to me.
Don't really see any alternative that seems particularly viable though
Firefox sync or export for bookmarks.
MXroute’s CardDAV support for contacts and calendar.
RSS client will be missed though.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
By default, Nextcloud keeps a copy of previous files,so that you can rollback changes. Just in case you didn't realise that.
[Edit] Perhaps only on older versions: I took a quick look and couldn't see signs of a system files copy. There are methods to rollback though not without risk.
In stasis until the shitposting stops/abates.
Than=compare;then=sequence:brought=bring;bought=buy:staffs=pile of sticks:informations/infos=no plural.
It wisnae me! A big boy done it and ran away. || NVMe2G for life! until death (the end is nigh).
It does - though I was "wise" enough to remove that - sigh.
It does feel too much like a zip-tie and WD40 solution ("on glass legs" as is a local saying).
Maybe Hetzner's managed solution is more solid, but that would still be the same software basically (and an extra monthly payment to stack up), so for now I'm rolling without it and see how it fares.
I think if Nextcloud tried to do less it may have been better, not sure. Many people do use it though, so maybe it's just me, but this is my impression based on my experience. Really gave it a chance.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
LOL x2 - Yes, I can be a bit 'judicious' in my quest to save space too.
In stasis until the shitposting stops/abates.
Than=compare;then=sequence:brought=bring;bought=buy:staffs=pile of sticks:informations/infos=no plural.
It wisnae me! A big boy done it and ran away. || NVMe2G for life! until death (the end is nigh).
I usually wait before updating, but I did this to troubleshoot eM Client address book bug.
Hasn't helped - but that's probably eM Client related, since with MXroute CardDAV Betterbird and Iphone work fine, only eM Client can't read most of the contacts (only about 80 out of about 800). Sigh.
On that note, I'm not excited with how the "pro email software" is dealing with an imporant thing as contacts. Spirit of the times I guess.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
A friend of mine is really happy with Nextcloud hosted by Hetzner
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
get a small (hybrid) storage VPS from greencloud , layer7 or hosthatch. works pretty well for a few hundred GBs here ;-)
MXroute hosts Nextcloud via Crossbox webmail.
That instance works well.
In fact, it helped me fix my CardDAV issues so I got eM Client contacts to work and sync normally (import to MXroute's Nextcloud, then export, then import to MXroute CardDAV - and all good).
I suppose my local Nextcloud instance got corrupt somewhere along the way, even before the latest update that totally broke it.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
I'm hosting mine on an old Hetzner dedi and I always stay a version behind just patching minor versions.
The only reason I don't go for Hetzner shared boxes is their backup / restore process. I can't do my own backup and their restore process is based on ZFS snapshots and doesn't allow file restore. You need to rollback the whole snapshot.
Webdav is resources hungry when you have lots of files that your shared might not happy with that.
My Nextcloud instance is hosted on a HostHatch compute+storage combo instance and runs an n8n container, as the instance has ample resources. Its primary purpose is to collect backup data from family members.
All data is subsequently synced to my local NAS. Since the local network resides behind NAT, Nextcloud provides a more convenient access method for family members.
Action and Reaction in history
Get a USB stick 🌝
Amadex • Hosting Forums • root.hr
After some problems with eM Client contacts sync, I've concluded that Nextcloud is probably the safest bet for contacts after all. But, properly managed one, ideally not the latest & greatest version.
MXroute offers Nextcloud via Crossbox and that's working great for now (I'm using only CardDAV and CalDAV) - even though it's "only" version 24 Nextcloud (discussed on Reddit).
I also decided to give The Good Cloud a try. Works fine, but the free account is no longer really free:
https://thegood.cloud/a-quest-for-sustainable-altruism/
For my personal use, the personal plan price of 3.5 € per month would still be cheaper than Hetzner, though if more than one person wanted to use it, I can see Hetzner becoming cheaper very quickly (1 TB, unlimited users for under 4.5 € per month):
https://thegood.cloud/personal-storage-pricing/
https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-share/#pricing
The Good Cloud does seem to take their backups seriously, according to this:
https://thegood.cloud/backups/
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
what about dis
https://proton.me/drive
Amadex • Hosting Forums • root.hr
Does it host CardDAV?
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
I think no, because they encrypt everything and you need to use their native apps
Also check this https://www.infomaniak.com/en/ksuite/ksuite-pro/prices
Amadex • Hosting Forums • root.hr
I didn't know about this change because I don't look at their website often. As far as I can tell, they haven't yet sent an email about this change to users (like me) that have a "legacy" free account (that wasn't time-limited)
I must say that my free account at The Good Cloud has worked very well. I see that they've introduced a new entry-level account of 10GB for €1,99 / month -- I say "new" because this account wasn't available the last time that I looked. I would consider getting this account
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Yup, that's €2 if you pay for a year in advance, and €3.5 if you pay monthly.
That should work for me.
Worth keeping in mind.
Sticking with MXroute's Crossbox Nextcloud platform for the time being - it works perfectly fine for what I need.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
I now see that that blog post is from 03 July of last year, which would mean that my free account, which is from 27 September, is also time-limited (or should be, according to the blog post). But what puzzles me is that I've never been told that my free account is free for at most six months. If I enter my Nextcloud account, the only message that I see (since having first received the account) is:
This is merely the condition that one needs to use the free account (which I do)
So I wonder whether my free account is time-limited or not ...
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Do you think that it's well-maintained?
I recall reading that someone said (either here or on OGF) that they use an old (outdated?) version of Nextcloud
How much space do they provide?
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Yeah - I put a link to a Reddit discussion about that.
And to my own ordeal with latest Nextcloud version.
So, based on that - it's helped me sort my contacts out and make them work with Em Client too.
It seems like it's running just fine (at least for the CardDAV/CalDAV stuff).
If that ever changes, I will see about the Good Cloud or Hetzner (the latter will be cheaper if even one friend/relative/client decides to host their contacts there - though I suppose Good Cloud support should be better).
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
What if jar dies
Amadex • Hosting Forums • root.hr
Plan stays the same regardless: we first attack Bulgaria, to gain access to the sea!
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
Right, sorry, you did indeed:
If it works for you, then great, but at the same time, Nextcloud 24 has been EOL since 2023
(Personally, I wouldn't want to rely on CrossBox for Nextcloud)
I see: so using Nextcloud 24 offers a solution to the ordeal
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
check out our vms on order.noackhosting.se use LESJAN26 as code for 30% off and you can then buy 1tb extra drive 700 sek. And with that you can easy follow guides to install owncloud or nextcloud. Remember its using alot of resouces.
Mikael Krantz
email: [email protected] [email protected] No Ack Infrastruktur AB aka No Ack Hosting
I think the main point is that it's a stable version - if a bit old.
Having said that, The Good Cloud also seems to work very well - though I'm not 100% sure which Nextcloud version they are running (I expect it is one that is stable, maybe one or two versions behind, but not EOL - though the free tier doesn't clearly show the version info).
Edit: also fair to note that I'm using only what I believe are very light and basic Nextcloud functions - otherwise I would probably be looking for a more up-to-date version.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
By the way, just to say that TAB.DIGITAL offer free 8GB Nextcloud accounts:
https://tab.digital/en/nextcloud-one
I haven't tried them. They say that the free accounts have ads, which doesn't really tempt me
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
The Nextcloud server of The Good Cloud that my free account is on is version 30, which is EOL since the end of October
Still much more recent than Nextcloud 24, which is EOL since the end of April 2023
(See https://github.com/nextcloud/server/wiki/Maintenance-and-Release-Schedule )
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Rat race - like PHP versions.
IMO - stable beats new.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
But the new versions 31 and 32 are (technically) stable!
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Maybe it was just me - but from what I can see, many (most?) Nextcloud providers don't rush the updates.
I did not have luck with a patch update (which should generally not be a problematic thing - and yes, no Nextcloud expert so my setup may have not been very good from the start).
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
Indeed, updating Nextcloud isn't always straightforward!
On the two Nextcloud servers that manage, I aim to stay one major version (currently: 31) behind the latest major version (currently: 32)
I wouldn't want to run an EOL version -- especially an EOL version from a couple of years ago -- for very long
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Makes sense.
Here is what I've noticed (only one man, one CardDAV, so not a statistically valid finding):
In terms of performance, when uploading and especially updating and deleting contacts:
Uploads (imports) work well with all the three providers.
I understand that The Good Cloud free tier is run on shared, cheaper hardware, but I can't say this looks promising (The Good Cloud and TAB.DIGITAL are a lot more expensive than Hetzner - which I haven't tested yet for having no free tier... and MXroute working perfectly fine).
Another thing I noticed when I tried to re-check the prices was this on TAB.DIGITAL site - that does not look promising:
(reported as unsafe - I haven't found any malicious stuff - may be some trolling, but not looking ideal either way)
In my experience over the years (and I have no ilusions that this is the right way to look at things, just my 2c as the Americans say), companies that don't fix the first impression (website, pre-sales communication, even user control panel) are companies I end up not being happy with even for the service (again - that's me, your preferences may differ). It should not matter as that's a separate thing from running a service, but it still often ends up that way (I'm not perfect either, there are different providers for different customers, of course).
But of course that testing the service is the most accurate way of finding out if it fits.
So far, despite the old NC, MXroute seems like a clear winner for my use case.
That is not the result I expected.
I understand that the dedicated Nextcloud providers would not put high-end infrastructure on the free tier, but it would probably have been better for them to remove the free tier completely - this just gives a bad impression that I would have to "step over" if I wanted to give them any money - and then see for real if the service is any good.
Does this make sense?
Import/export peculiarities
Export from Nextcloud version 24 doesn't work perfectly 100% when imported to say 30 or 31 (at least for my testing with the noted Nextcloud providers).
Also, Nextcloud 24 has some problems with re-formatting contacts upon importing its own previous export (export contacts, delete all on Nextcloud, import them again).
So, old versions aren't perfect either after all. Sigh.
Relja
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
This is still not article-ready (I have a lot more questions than answers), but I'm writing it down on my Q&A platform (helps me think, figure things out, write articles once it's sorted out, and it may help others even as it is).
Possible problem cause for my initial contacts mess:
https://www.bikegremlin.net/threads/em-client-deduplication-carddav-bug.660/#post-2804
Managed Nextcloud provider peculiarities and prices compared (what I've tested so far):
https://www.bikegremlin.net/threads/nextcloud-providers-compared.663/
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
A couple of reactions:
Indeed
Again, for me at least, given that CrossBox are still using/offering Nextcloud 24, I simply don't have much confidence in their managing of Nextcloud. For CrossBox, Nextcloud is a free add-on -- it's not their main product or focus
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
I gave Hetzner a try - so far it's the best experience (but I've compared it to the free offers of other companies, so that should be taken with a bucket of salt).
Fair to note that TAB.DIGITAL 8 GB free tier works very well for Contacts, Calendars, Tasks, and even file sharing.
Updated my notes with more providers, prices etc:
https://www.bikegremlin.net/threads/nextcloud-providers-compared.663/
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources