Automatic Nextcloud Installation on Raspberry Pi

Nextcloud is an open source software package providing remote file sharing services. It is similar to Dropbox. But with Nextcloud, you retain ownership, security and control of the shared data. This procedure describes how to build a working Nextcloud service using just 3 commands.  It was tested successfully on a Raspberry Pi 4 running Raspberry Pi OS 10 (Buster) and Raspberry Pi OS 11 (Bullseye).  Article updated 26/3/22.

Note: If you would rather do the installation manually, step-by-step, without the help of a script, please see my previous article Simple Nextcloud Installation on Raspberry Pi. It explains how to do the installation in detail, and provides more background information on Nextcloud. Both procedures achieve the same overall result, however.

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Simple Nextcloud Installation on Raspberry Pi

This article explains how to install Nextcloud on the Raspberry Pi. It has been tested with the latest version of Nextcloud (20.1 at the time of writing), but should work for future versions too.  It has also been successfully tested on the latest Pi hardware, the Raspberry Pi 4, and on earlier Pi versions, and on the latest OS, Raspbian/Raspberry Pi OS 10 “Buster”.  Article last updated 21/6/2021.

Nextcloud is an open source software package providing remote file sharing services, similar to Dropbox. But with Nextcloud, you retain ownership, security and control of the shared data. Nextcloud works well on a Pi 2, Pi 3 and especially a Pi 4 but will run very slowly on a Pi 1.

Note: This is a manual, step-by-step procedure. If you would rather do the installation automatically, please see my recent article Automatic Nextcloud Installation on Raspberry Pi, which explains how to install Nextcloud with 3 commands. It is the quickest and easiest way to get Nextcloud running. Both procedures achieve the same overall result, however.
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How to Rename the Default Raspberry Pi User

The Raspberry Pi comes with a default user called “pi”, whose initial password is also set to a well known default. While this makes it easy to use the system, it is not very secure. Anyone with physical access to your Pi could login with these widely known credentials. Furthermore, if you have enabled the SSH server, users on the local network could do the same.

Even if you have changed the “pi” user password, just having a user name that is universally known is still a security risk. The following article explains how to safely rename the “pi” user to something more secure.  This article was last updated on 31st May 2020 and tested with Raspbian (Raspios) Buster release 27/5/2020. Continue reading

Enable Outgoing Mail on Raspberry Pi

This article explains how to send email from the Raspberry Pi. It is a generic procedure and also works on other Debian distributions. This is not for receiving mail, only for sending it. (Receiving email on the Pi is a much more involved process, requiring your Pi to perform the role of a full mail server).

The ability to send mail across the Internet is useful. It enables scripts and applications to send you email about system events or the sending data such as pictures from a webcam.

This article was updated in December 2019 and has been successfully tested on Raspbian Stretch, Jessie and Buster/Debian 10.

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