fi33.buzz/articles/dufs.md

quick and easy cloud storage with dufs and nixos

dufs - the distinctive file utility server - is a decent cloud storage replacement for those looking to move away from third-party services like google drive or proton drive. it supports webdav and https file transfer protocols.

it's very easy to set up and get going in nixos using a docker container.

set up dufs

first, enable docker in your configuration.nix:

virtualisation.docker.enable = true;

then define a docker container, either in your configuration.nix or in a custom module:

virtualisation.oci-containers = {
    backend = "docker";

    containers.dufs = {
        autoStart = true; # automatically restart server after reboot

        image = "sigoden/dufs";

        ports = [
            "5000:5000"
        ];

        volumes = [
            "/srv/dufs:/data" # the files i want to serve are in /srv/dufs
        ];

        # tells dufs to serve the files in the docker volume /data
        cmd = [
            "-A"
            "/data"
        ];
    };
};

rebuild your configuration using nixos-rebuild switch and head on over to http://localhost:5000 to behold your lovely files.

set up tailscale

you can use tailscale to access the files on other devices inside (and outside) of your home network. tailscale is like a crazy-fast vpn with a bunch of other comfort features like magic dns, keyless ssh and easy https.

to enable it in nixos, add the following to your configuration.nix:

services.tailscale.enable = true;
networking.firewall.trustedInterfaces = [ "tailscale0" ]; # lets tailscale use whichever ports it likes

once again, rebuild your configuration using nixos-rebuild switch and run tailscale up to start tailscale.

i reccomend enabling magic dns in admin console > dns > magic dns, but if you prefer not to, your server's ip address will be visible by running tailscale ip -4.

now for the fun part, putting everything together!

head over to http://<hostname or ip>:5000 on one of your other machines to upload, download, and view your self-hosted files.

clients

as for client recommendations, round sync on android is good, and file browser go on ios isn't terrible. i'm yet to find something better.

thanks for stopping by ^.^

;tags: self hosting, cloud storage, nixos, tailscale