NextCloud is a free and open-source software to enable collaboration and sharing. It allows one access and save files across multiple devices such as PCs and phones. NextCloud works similarly to DropBox because it allows seamless collaboration of various projects, manage your calendar, send and receive emails and also make video calls. In this article we will be walking you through the steps to install and Configure Nextcloud on Rocky Linux 8 / AlmaLinux 8.

The biggest improvements Nextcloud Hub II (Nextcloud 24) introduces are:

• Nextcloud Files: 10x syncing performance improvements, delegate limited administration from admins to users; automatic user status setting
• Nextcloud Groupware: external appointment booking, advanced room and resource search in Calendar and Mail improvements
• Nextcloud Talk: background blur, device check screen and advanced permission management
• Nextcloud Office: developed in collaboration with Collabora Productivity
• Docker-All-In-One: easy installation and update
• Nextcloud Backup: a peer-to-peer backup solution designed for private users
• Nextcloud Clients: updates available for Desktop, Android and iOS clients

Since we will be accessing NextCloud using a web interface, there are a few dependencies we need to install and configure.

Step 1: Install LAMP Stack

You need to have LAMP stack installed. LAMP stands for Linux, Apache,MySQL/MariaDB and PHP. Follow the article in the link below:

• Install LAMP Stack on Rocky Linux 8

Step 2: Create a Nextcloud Database

With LAMP stack installed successfully, we will create a Nextcloud’s data by logging in to the MariaDB database as below.

mysql -u root -p

Log in with MariaDB credentials created above in LAMP stack. Then create a database as below

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud_db;
CREATE USER 'nextcloud'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'P@ssw0rd';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextcloud'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 3: Install NextCloud

We are required to download NextCloud file from the official release site. In this article, we will download NextCloud probably not the latest version available. By visiting the official page, you will choose the latest version.

sudo yum install wget
wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest.zip

Extract the file in the directory /var/www/html/ with the command

sudo yum -y install unzip
sudo unzip latest.zip -d /var/www/html/

Create a directory to store the nextcloud user data

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/nextcloud/data

To the created directory, assign permissions to apache web server

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/nextcloud/

Step 4: Configure Apache, SELinux and Firewall

Allow SELinux to handle Nextcloud as below

sudo chcon -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t /var/www/html/nextcloud/ -R

Open port 80 on the web server

sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=80/tcp --zone=public --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Edit the Apache httpd configuration file:

sudo vim /etc/httpd/conf.d/yourdomain.com.conf

Edit the file to look like below snippet:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/nextcloud
    ErrorLog /var/www/html/nextcloud/error.log
    CustomLog /var/www/html/nextcloud/requests.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Give permissions of the file /var/www/yourdomain.com/ to apache and restart the service

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/nextcloud/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www
sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 5: Finish Nextcloud Installation on Web

Finalize NextCloud installation over the web by opening the following address on the browser http://server-IP. You will see this landing page.

Input the credentials created in MariaDB and login and select your database as MariaDB under storage and database above.

While here, scroll till the end going through the tips. On the below page, you can customize your background and what you want to appear on the start up page.

Now while here, you can now make settings and configurations to nextcloud. To back up, sync and share files on Nextcloud navigate to the Files tab as below:

To share files, click on the + and you will see a whiteboard entry as below:

Set Email notification on Nextcloud

If NextCloud is to be used by more than one peron, it is important to set transactional mails. Go to settings> basic settings

As shown above, we have two modes: sendmail and SMTP. Add the required information either using send mail mode or SMTP

You wil be required to allow this on SELinux as below

setsebool -P httpd_can_sendmail on

User creation in Nextcloud

Adding users is quite easy. It is achieved by navigating to settings >>users. While on this page you will see the available users and their permissions. To add a user click on the +New user.

Apps management in Nextcloud

With NextCloud, you can enhance, customize and restrict features. After installing Nextcloud, you might want to enable and disable a few features and apps depending on your needs. To see default apps, naavigate to the Apps page.

This brings us to the conclusion of this guide. There are a variety of activities you can perform on NextCloud. Thanks for viewing this article. I hope this article was useful.

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