| Nextcloud | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Nextcloud file manager | |
| Developers | Nextcloud GmbH.,[1] Community |
| Stable release | |
| Written in | PHP,JavaScript |
| Operating system | Server:Linux Clients:Windows,macOS,Linux,FreeBSD,Android,iOS |
| Available in | 60 languages |
| Type | Online storage,data synchronization,Collaboration,video conferencing,Groupware |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0-only |
| Website | nextcloud |
| Repository | |
Nextcloud is a suite ofclient-server software for creating and usingfile hosting services. It can integrate with theCollabora Online andOnlyOffice office suites. It can be hosted in thecloud oron premise and can scale up to millions of users.[6][7][8] It has been translated into over 100 languages.[9]
Nextcloud files are stored in conventional directory structures, accessible viaWebDAV if necessary. ASQLite,MySQL/MariaDB orPostgreSQLdatabase is required to provide additional functionality like permissions, shares, and comments.[10]
Nextcloud can synchronize with localclients runningWindows (Windows 8.1 and above),[11]macOS (10.14 or later),Linux andFreeBSD. Nextcloud permits user and group administration locally or via differentbackends likeOpenID[12][13] orLDAP.[14] Content can be shared inside the system by defining granular read/write permissions between users and groups. Nextcloud users can create publicURLs when sharing files.[15][citation needed]
Logging of file-related actions, as well as disallowing access based on file access rules is also available.[16]
Security options likebrute-force protection andmulti-factor authentication usingTOTP,WebAuthn,Oauth2,[17] andOpenID Connect[12][18][19] are available.
Nextcloud has planned new features such asmonitoring capabilities,full-text search andKerberos authentication, as well as audio/video conferencing, expandedfederation and smalleruser interface improvements.[20]
In April 2016Frank Karlitschek and most core contributors[21] leftownCloud Inc.[22] These included some of ownCloud's staff according to sources near to theownCloud community.[23] Karlitschek and many of these contributors went on to fork ownCloud, creating Nextcloud.[23]
The fork was preceded by a blog post of Karlitschek announcing his departure and raising questions about the management of the ownCloud, its community, and priorities between growth, money, and sustainability.[22] There have been no official statements about the reason for the fork. However, Karlitschek mentioned the fork several times in a talk at the 2018FOSDEM conference and in two appearances on theFLOSS Weekly podcast,[24][25] emphasizing cultural mismatch between open source developers and business oriented people not used to the open source community.[26]
On June 2, within 12 hours of the announcement of the fork, the American entity "ownCloud Inc." announced that it is shutting down with immediate effect, stating that "[...] main lenders in the US have cancelled our credit. Following American law, we are forced to close the doors of ownCloud, Inc. with immediate effect and terminate the contracts of 8 employees." ownCloud Inc. accused Karlitschek of poaching developers, while Nextcloud developers such as Arthur Schiwon stated that he "decided to quit because not everything in the ownCloud Inc. company world evolved as I imagined".[27] ownCloud GmbH continued operations, secured financing from new investors and took over the business of ownCloud Inc.[28]
In April 2018Informationstechnikzentrum Bund (ITZBund) reported Nextcloud wins the tender for "Bundescloud" (Germany government cloud) project.[29][30]
In August 2019 it was announced that the governments ofFrance,Sweden and theNetherlands will use Nextcloud for file transfer.[31]
In January 2020 Nextcloud 18 "Nextcloud Hub" was released. The major change was direct integration of anOffice suite (OnlyOffice) and Nextcloud claimed the goal to compete withOffice 365 andGoogle Docs.[32] Partnership withIonos was revealed – its hosting location in Germany and compliance withGDPR should support the goal of data sovereignty.[33]
In spring 2020 remote work andweb conferencing usage raised due toCOVID-19 pandemic and Nextcloud released version 19 with chat and videoconferencingTalk app integrated into the application core. Talk with an optional "high performance back-end"[34] allowsself-hosting of web conferences with more than 10 participants.Collabora Online was introduced as another integrated office suite.
In August 2021 Nextcloud was chosen as collaboration platform for European cloud softwareGAIA-X.[35][36][37][38]
In a September 2021European Commission report it was mentioned as "the most widely deployed Open Source content collaboration platform"[39]
Following the2025 United States tariffs against the European Union, fear of overreliance on US cloud providers such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace increased, with Nextcloud being one of the foremost contenders to replace them.[40] Some governmental organisations including theEuropean Data Protection Supervisor and the German state ofSchleswig-Holstein have since switched from Microsoft'sSharepoint to Nextcloud.[41] According to Nextcloud, during the first 5 months of 2025, customer interest in the software had tripled.[42]
...fully pre-configured and automatically updated in time so you won't have to do any manual maintenance on it
