Nextcloud Docker

Self-hosted Nextcloud instance using Docker Compose with MariaDB and Adminer, deployed on a Synology NAS.

---

📋 Table of Contents

	Section	Description
⚙️	PREREQUISITES	Software requirements
📁	REQUIRED DIRECTORIES	Host directories to create
🚀	STACK OVERVIEW	Services, ports and network
🔐	ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES	stack.env configuration
🚢	PORTAINER DEPLOYMENT	Deploy via Portainer
🗄️	BACKUP	Volumes to back up
📄	LICENSE	MIT License

---

⚙️ Prerequisites

• 🐳 Docker installed on your host machine
• 🚢 Portainer (recommended for deployment via Git)
• 📁 Access to your host machine to create directories (via SSH or file manager)

---

📁 Required Directories

Create the following directories on your host before deploying:

mkdir -p /volume1/docker/nextcloud/custom_apps
mkdir -p /volume1/docker/nextcloud/config
mkdir -p /volume1/docker/nextcloud/data
mkdir -p /volume1/docker/nextcloud/themes

Note

Paths above are configured for Synology NAS. Adjust the NEXTCLOUD_HOST_* variables in Portainer to match your host environment.

---

🚀 Stack Overview

Three services orchestrated via Docker Compose, communicating through a shared bridge network.

Service	Image	Container	Container Port	Host Port	Network	Depends On	Description
mariadb	mariadb:latest	nextcloud-mariadb	3306	—	backend-nextcloud	—	Database server
adminer	adminer:latest	nextcloud-adminer	8080	8081	backend-nextcloud	mariadb	Database administration interface
nextcloud	nextcloud:latest	nextcloud	80	8443	backend-nextcloud	mariadb	File hosting and collaboration platform

Note

The Nextcloud image includes an Apache web server — no separate web server container is needed.

---

🔐 Environment Variables

All variables must be provided via stack.env or manually in the Portainer stack environment section.

Variable	Description	Required
MYSQL_DATABASE	Database name	✅
MYSQL_USER	Database username	✅
MYSQL_PASSWORD	Database password	✅
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD	Database root password	✅
NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER	Nextcloud admin username — configuration still being evaluated	❌
NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD	Nextcloud admin password — configuration still being evaluated	❌
NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS	Allowed domains (space-separated) — configuration still being evaluated	❌
NEXTCLOUD_THEME_DIR_NAME	Nextcloud theme directory name	❌
ADMINER_DESIGN	Adminer UI theme (e.g. dracula)	❌
NEXTCLOUD_HOST_CUSTOM_APPS_DIR	Host path for custom apps	✅
NEXTCLOUD_HOST_CONFIG_DIR	Host path for config	✅
NEXTCLOUD_HOST_DATA_DIR	Host path for user data	✅
NEXTCLOUD_HOST_THEMES_DIR	Host path for themes	✅

Tip

If NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER and NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD are not set, the admin account will be created manually on first login.

---

🚢 Portainer Deployment

Deploy this stack via Portainer using the Git repository integration.

Step 1 — Create the stack

• Open Portainer → Stacks → Add stack
• Select Repository
• Set the following fields:

Field	Value
Repository URL	https://github.com/xamayca/Nextcloud-docker
Compose path	compose.yaml

Step 2 — Enable automatic updates (optional)

Enable GitOps updates to automatically redeploy when changes are detected in the Git repository.

Warning

GitOps updates may override any manual configuration changes.

Step 3 — Configure environment variables

Option A — Import file Download stack.env from the repository and import it directly into Portainer.

Option B — Manual setup Copy the variables into the Advanced environment variables section.

Step 4 — Pre-deploy checklist

Important

Verify the following before deploying.

Database — required, MariaDB will not start without these

• MYSQL_DATABASE, MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASSWORD, MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD are all set

Bind mount paths — directories must exist on the host before deploying

• NEXTCLOUD_HOST_CUSTOM_APPS_DIR — e.g. /path/to/nextcloud/custom_apps
• NEXTCLOUD_HOST_CONFIG_DIR — e.g. /path/to/nextcloud/config
• NEXTCLOUD_HOST_DATA_DIR — e.g. /path/to/nextcloud/data
• NEXTCLOUD_HOST_THEMES_DIR — e.g. /path/to/nextcloud/themes

Optional — review or leave empty

• NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER / NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD — if not set, admin account must be created manually on first login
• NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS — defaults to localhost, set your host IP or domain to allow external access
• NEXTCLOUD_THEME_DIR_NAME — if not set, no custom theme is mounted
• ADMINER_DESIGN — if not set, defaults to the standard Adminer theme

Step 5 — Deploy

Click Deploy the stack.

---

🗄️ Backup

This stack uses Docker volumes for persistent storage.

Volume	Type	Host path	Container path
mariadb_data	Docker volume	—	/var/lib/mysql
html	Docker volume	—	/var/www/html
apps	Bind mount	/volume1/docker/nextcloud/custom_apps	/var/www/html/custom_apps
config	Bind mount	/volume1/docker/nextcloud/config	/var/www/html/config
data	Bind mount	/volume1/docker/nextcloud/data	/var/www/html/data
theme	Bind mount	/volume1/docker/nextcloud/themes/<optional_theme_name>	/var/www/html/themes/<optional_theme_name>

Warning

This section is currently under review. Backup strategy may change in future updates.

---

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.