Nextcloud

Install Nextcloud from the App Store, create the admin account behind the setup lock, set up cron, email and clients, and back up and update your own cloud drive.

Updated Oct 9, 2026 · 9 min read

Nextcloud is a self-hosted cloud drive: file sync and sharing with desktop and mobile apps, plus calendar, contacts, notes and many optional apps. The App Store version runs the official Nextcloud image with SQLite, which suits one person, a family or a small team. Choose it to move files off Google Drive or Dropbox and keep them on your own server.

Requirements

Files are stored on the server's disk under /var/lib/zopanel-apps, not in the hosting account, so they do not count toward the account's disk quota. Administrators should watch the server's free disk space. The website counts toward the account's website limit; customers need a package with Docker apps and 1024 MB of RAM (MB) free.

Note: Nextcloud recommends MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL for larger installations. Containers cannot reach the server's own database servers (see Network limits), so plan a dedicated setup if a whole company will sync many files.

Install Nextcloud

1. Point the domain's A record (for example cloud.example.com) to the server.
2. Open App Store and click Install on the Nextcloud card. Customers find App Store in their menu; the card at the top shows the app and memory quota of the package.
3. Fill in the fields and click Install. The image download takes a few minutes the first time.

ZoPanel sets these container variables for you:

ZoPanel also sets the website's upload size to 10 GB (the website's Tools tab → Upload size card, field Maximum upload (MB)). A Nextcloud installed with an older ZoPanel version keeps the former 256 MB until you raise it there.

Important: Because Nextcloud always builds https:// links, wait until the certificate is issued (SSL tab) before you open the app. On plain http:// the login page redirects to an address that does not work yet.

Run the installer behind the setup lock

Nextcloud's installer creates the administrator, so whoever opens it first would own the server. ZoPanel locks the app until you finish.

1. On the Docker tab, click Open the app (only for me). Your browser gets a setup cookie (valid 30 days) and opens Nextcloud.
2. In the installer, enter an administration account name and password. Use a strong password: this account can see every user's settings.
3. Leave the data folder (/var/www/html/data) and the database (SQLite) as they are. Nextcloud shows a warning that SQLite is meant for small installations; this is expected.
4. Click Install. Installation takes up to a minute.
5. Nextcloud offers recommended apps (calendar, contacts, mail, Talk and others). Install them or skip; you can add apps later from the Apps page.
6. Back on the Docker tab, click Setup finished — open to everyone.

Until step 6, other browsers see "This app is being set up" and the desktop and mobile apps cannot connect.

Essential settings

Run Nextcloud's command-line tool occ as root on the server. The container is named zp-app-<instance>, where <instance> is the domain with dots replaced by hyphens (cloud.example.com becomes cloud-example-com):

docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php occ status

Background jobs (cron)

Nextcloud starts in AJAX mode, which runs jobs only while someone has a page open. Use system cron instead, from root's crontab on the server:

crontab -e

Add this line:

*/5 * * * * docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php -f /var/www/html/cron.php

Then switch Nextcloud to cron mode:

docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php occ background:cron

The container keeps its name when you update it, so the cron line keeps working.

Warnings on the overview page

Administration settings → Overview lists security and setup warnings. The usual ones on a new install:

# Default country for phone numbers (VN, US, DE…)
docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php occ config:system:set default_phone_region --value="VN"
# Start of the 4-hour window for heavy maintenance jobs, in UTC (1 = 01:00–05:00 UTC; 18 = 01:00–05:00 in Vietnam)
docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php occ config:system:set maintenance_window_start --type=integer --value=1
# Add database indices after updates
docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php occ db:add-missing-indices

Warnings about SQLite and a missing Redis cache are expected with this setup.

Email

Nextcloud sends password resets, share notifications and activity emails. In Administration settings → Basic settings → Email server, choose SMTP and enter your mail server: for a mailbox on this server, use the mail server's host name, port 587 with STARTTLS (or 465 with SSL/TLS), and the mailbox address and password. Click Send email to test; the administrator account needs an email address in its personal settings first.

Desktop and mobile apps

Install the Nextcloud desktop app or the iOS/Android app, enter https://<domain> as the server address and sign in. Calendars and contacts sync over CalDAV and CardDAV to the same address.

Another domain

To make Nextcloud answer on a second domain (added as an alias of the website), add it to the trusted domains:

docker exec -u www-data zp-app-cloud-example-com php occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value=files.example.org

Data and backups

ZoPanel's account backups do not include this folder. Full account backups and incremental snapshots cover the account's website folders under /home, databases and mail. Nextcloud's files and database are in /var/lib/zopanel-apps, outside the account, and are backed up by the Backups card on the website's Docker tab instead. The configuration backup (.zpb) restores only the app's entry in the panel.

Click Back up now on the Backups card. Administrators can also set a Schedule (Off, Every day or Every week; off by default) and how many copies to Keep (1–60, default 7), then click Save. Each backup archives the whole /var/lib/zopanel-apps/<instance>/ folder (files, database and .env) into /var/backups/zopanel-apps/<instance>/YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.tar.gz, a folder only root can read that does not count toward the account's disk quota. The container is paused (not stopped) during the copy, so the copy is consistent; a large drive takes longer to archive and needs as much free disk again. Older copies beyond Keep are removed, and a failed scheduled backup sends administrators the Backup failed alert.

To restore, an administrator clicks Restore next to a backup. Nextcloud is stopped and its folder replaced with the archive; the current data is kept aside until the restored app starts, and put back if it does not. Changes made since the backup are lost. Each backup also has a delete button (administrators only), and deleting the app together with its files deletes its backups too. Customers can click Back up now and see the list; the schedule and restores are done by the provider. Customers can also keep a copy of important files with the desktop app.

The archives stay on the same server: copy important ones off it (for example with scp or rclone from /var/backups/zopanel-apps/<instance>/) and store them encrypted, since they contain your files and Nextcloud's secrets. For very large drives, copying the folder with rsync -aH --numeric-ids to another machine, or a restic job on it, remains an option.

To restore on another server, install Nextcloud on the same domain there, copy the archive into /var/backups/zopanel-apps/<instance>/ on the new server and click Restore on its Backups card. This only works when both servers use the same dockremap range for Docker's user namespaces (compare grep dockremap /etc/subuid).

Update Nextcloud

Administrators click Update to latest on the Docker tab. ZoPanel pulls nextcloud:35-apache again and recreates the container; the folder is kept. When the image is newer than the installed version, the image upgrades Nextcloud by itself on start (watch Application output). Then run occ db:add-missing-indices again.

• Updates stay within the 35 line. A newer major version arrives when a ZoPanel update moves the catalog to it. Nextcloud can only go up one major version at a time.
• Make a backup (Back up now) before every update.
• Update Nextcloud apps from the Apps page in Nextcloud.

Customers do not see Update to latest; ask your provider.

Network limits

App containers are cut off from the server's internal network. For Nextcloud this means:

• No local database or Redis. The server's MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL and Redis cannot be reached, so Nextcloud uses SQLite and its built-in cache.
• External storage (SMB, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, S3) works only with public addresses. Shares on a private network (192.168.x, 10.x) and SFTP to this same server are refused. A ZoPanel S3 bucket works when S3 storage is published on a domain (HTTPS on port 443).
• Mail works to this server on ports 25, 465 and 587, and to any mail provider on the internet.
• The Nextcloud app store, federation and link previews reach public addresses normally.

Troubleshooting

Related

• App Store and S3 storage
• What each app does
• Website tools
• Backups
• Nextcloud Administration Manual
• Official Nextcloud Docker image