11mo ago

How to drop files from Android to home server?

I'm looking for an easy way to upload files from my Android smartphone to my home server. is there a - ideally dockerized - solution for that? Some simple web GUI where I can click on "Upload" and the files will be saved to a certain directory on my home server?

EDIT: I should've added that I want to do this remotely and not in my local network. I want to be able to send files from my Android smartphone from anywhere via the internet to my home server. That's why I thought about a services hosted on my server, which frontend I could access through my smartphone. But I might've answered my question already with the following: https://github.com/zer0tonin/Mikochi

EDIT #2: Thanks guys, I ended up creating my own Docker container running nextcloudcmd inspired by this: https://github.com/juanitomint/nextcloud-client-docker But I built the container from scratch and it's very minimalistic. I can publish it on my Gitlab when it's somewhat ready. Here's a little preview.

Dockerfile

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FROM alpine:latest
RUN apk update && apk add nextcloud-client
COPY nc.sh .
RUN chmod +x ./nc.sh
VOLUME /data
CMD ./nc.sh

nc. sh (How can I prevent automatic hyperlinking?)

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#!/bin/sh
while true
do
        nextcloudcmd /data https://${username}:${passwort}@${nextcloud-domain}
        sleep 300
done

36 comments

Syncthing
- It's amazing how often this program can be used to solve a problem someone has with their file sharing. And in my opinion it's an elegant solution and does it's job very well
- Same, I have a bunch of "inbox" folders and drop files into my server or desktop from my phone with 3 clicks.

Material Files support both SMB and SFTP - https://f-droid.org/en/packages/me.zhanghai.android.files/
- +1 for Material Files, really great App
- For remote connection, you can use Tailscale along with Material Files and SMB/SFTP.
  
  I honestly prefer selfhosting my home vpn using Wireguard or OpenVPN.
- Material Files + SFTP is a winning combination. You probably already have SSH configured and it is quite secure.
- I highly recommend this one.
  If all you're looking for is a way to send files from your phone to your server, this is the simplest way to do it.
  Share your server volume as a SMB, mount to phone via Material Files.
- And SSH key authentication
- There is also FX which can do this too, additionally you can browse/download/upload files to/from the phone locally from PC through browser (the app opens up a web server).

You could technically do this with Nextcloud, but that is definitely overkill just for a file drop.
The next best thing I can think of for this would be localsend with auto accept enabled.
- You can’t really. Nextcloud requires a specific file structure. It’s not meant to serve ad-hoc directories.
  
  You can add in local directory paths or file shares within your Nextcloud home directory.
  I use that to access a local SMB share externally.

I use syncthing. Share from any app, land on that directory on your server.
- Being p2p is a huge bonus, it exceeds (and predates) the self-host category! If I recall correctly, I had an intro post to the system somewhere.. can't look it up ATM.

Try LocalSend https://github.com/localsend/localsend

SMB + Mixplorer

I just so happened to have made a solution for this:
https://hub.docker.com/r/sciactive/nephele
I recommend the Owlfiles app as a client if the browser client is not good enough. But the browser client should be good for your use case.
This is what the web interface looks like:

It’s meant to be able to run on any browser. Like, even the PS3 browser. It can also stream files like videos and music.
You can put it behind a reverse proxy without any worry.
That screenshot ^ is from my Jellyfin library, that I manage through Nephele.

I use CX file server. It can create an SFTP connection. I also have a VPN through my router.
Syncthing may be easier if you don't have a VPN.

If I were you, I would use some file manager app that allows ssh connection to the server, and do file transfer over ssh.
For remote use, I might use Tailscale to create a private network over the public internet and use it when outside of the home network.

My go-to solution for this is the Android FolderSync app with an SFTP connection.

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters

CGNAT Carrier-Grade NAT
IP Internet Protocol
NAT Network Address Translation
SSH Secure Shell for remote terminal access
VPN Virtual Private Network
5 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 4 acronyms.
[Thread #596 for this sub, first seen 12th Mar 2024, 14:05] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
- Why does this bot set the text color? And why it does that and not set the background at the same time?

Fewer Letters	More Letters
CGNAT	Carrier-Grade NAT
IP	Internet Protocol
NAT	Network Address Translation
SSH	Secure Shell for remote terminal access
VPN	Virtual Private Network

Syncthing works over local LAN and public internet relays, and is very good at traversing NAT

https://github.com/RobinLinus/snapdrop

LocalSend

So, at least on Samsung, the MyFiles app, the default file browser, allows for network connections via smb.
In my case, I use a vpn to tunnel into my network, and then just use the smb share.
It also allows for FTP and SFTP.

Mount a folder to Filestash and you can access it via web ui ☺️
It is a filemanager in the browser, you can click upload there 😁

Nextcloud
- Nextcloud has to have a specific file structure in its data directory. It sounds like OP wants to serve a particular, already existing directory, so in that case, Nextcloud wouldn’t work.

I had a similar question: https://lemmy.ml/post/12919434

36 comments