Simple self-hosted file cloud

This is a very simple self-hosted file server for personal home use. It is designed to be run on a Raspberry Pi or similar home server. It is not designed to be a full-featured file server, but rather a simple self-hosted file cloud you can access from anywhere in the world.

⚠️ Warning: This software is still highly experimental and it has not been extensively tested yet. Please proceed with caution and use at your own risk.

Features

• Single directory file sharing
• Tailscale integration out-of-the-box for secure remote access
• Tailscale Magic DNS support and default port usage (i.e. No need to remember weird port numbers when connecting)
• Dockerized for easy deployment
• No username and password setup (Tailscale is used for authentication. Anyone with access to the Tailscale network can access the file server)
• Ports are not exposed to your local network or the internet for extra safety (only accessible via Tailscale)
• Configurable directory to choose where to save files (e.g. on an external hard drive)
• TLS encryption and automated certificate setup on top of Tailscale (Tailscale uses WireGuard, which is already encrypted, but this adds an extra layer of encryption for the Samba server)

How it works

It uses a Samba server inside Docker containers which are connected directly to a Tailscale VPN. The Samba server is configured to share a single directory, and the Tailscale VPN is used to connect to the server from anywhere in the world.

Installation

1. Install Docker
2. Get an auth key from your Tailscale account here
3. Enable Magic DNS in Tailscale settings and get your Tailscale tailnet name here
4. Create an .env file in this directory with the following content:

TS_AUTHKEY="<YOUR_TAILSCALE_AUTHKEY>"
TS_DOMAIN="files.<YOUR_TAILNET_NAME>.ts.net"
DATA_VOLUME_PATH="<PATH_TO_THE_DIRECTORY_YOU_WANT_TO_SHARE>"

Tip: If you do not specify DATA_VOLUME_PATH, the default path will be ./data in this directory.

4. Run docker-compose up -d to start the server
5. Wait for about 1 minute for the server to start configure itself
6. Access the server via smb://files.<YOUR_TAILNET_NAME>.ts.net in your file explorer!

Usage

Mac

1. Open Finder
2. Press Cmd + K
3. Enter smb://files.<YOUR_TAILNET_NAME>.ts.net
4. Press Connect
5. You will be prompted to enter user information. Just choose "Guest" and press Connect
6. You should now see the shared directory mounted on your computer

Windows

Here is an article on how to connect to a Samba server on Windows: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-connect-to-linux-samba-shares-from-windows-10/

Linux

Varies depending on the distribution, but you can use the smbclient command to connect to the server.

Contributing

Feel free to open an issue, a pull request, or send a patch via email to daniel@daquino.me. I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions!

Acknowledgements

• https://mrpowergamerbr.com/us/blog/2023-03-20-untangling-your-network-tailscale-in-docker-compose/ for the inspiration in setting up Tailscale for Docker containers
• Tailscale, Samba, and Docker for the amazing software they provide