Nextcloud Self-Hosted Setup Guide 2026: Docker Compose on an N100 Mini PC

Introduction

Google Drive raised prices again in late 2025. Google One's 2TB plan now runs $9.99/month — that is $120/year for storage you don't control, on hardware you don't own, subject to account terminations you can't appeal. For anyone with more than 1TB of data, the costs compound quickly.

Nextcloud is the most mature self-hosted cloud storage platform available. It replaces Google Drive, Google Docs collaboration, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts in a single deployment. As one community member put it on r/selfhosted:

"Self-hosting is not a hobby anymore, it's a legitimate alternative to Big Tech subscriptions. Nextcloud handles my 4TB of files, contacts, and calendar sync across 5 devices without issue." — r/selfhosted

And when someone asks what the best Google Drive alternative is:

"I already know the answer is NextCloud but I thought I'd ask anyway" — r/selfhosted

This guide covers a production-ready Nextcloud 30+ deployment using Docker Compose on an Intel N100 mini PC. You get a complete stack — Nextcloud, MariaDB, and Redis — with proper volume mounts, environment configuration, and performance tuning. No Apache, no manual PHP installs, no dependency hell.

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Google Drive vs Self-Hosted Cost Comparison

The break-even point for self-hosting is faster than most people expect. An Intel N100 mini PC costs $150–200 new, draws 6–10W at idle, and can run Nextcloud plus a dozen other services simultaneously.

Power cost assumes 8W average draw at $0.12/kWh. Hardware costs include an N100 mini PC and sufficient storage drives. By year two, self-hosting is 85–95% cheaper at every tier above 1TB.

This doesn't account for the additional services running on the same hardware: Immich for photos (see Immich Self-Hosted Photos Guide), media servers, home automation, and network tools all share the same idle power budget.

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Hardware Requirements

A nextcloud self hosted deployment on an N100 mini PC is a well-proven configuration in the homelab community as of 2026.

Recommended: Intel N100 Mini PC

The N100 handles Nextcloud's PHP-FPM workers, Redis, and MariaDB without thermal throttling. You will not saturate it with a typical family or small-team deployment (under 10 active users).

For detailed hardware comparison and purchasing advice, see Best Low-Power Mini PCs 2026.

Minimum Requirements

• CPU: Any x86-64 with 2+ cores (ARM64 works with minor image adjustments)
• RAM: 4GB (8GB recommended for Redis + MariaDB + PHP workers)
• Storage: SSD for the database volume, spinning disk acceptable for data
• OS: Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, or any systemd Linux distribution

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Docker Compose Setup

This is the core of the guide. The following docker-compose.yml deploys a complete nextcloud docker compose stack: Nextcloud 30, MariaDB 11, and Redis 7.

Prerequisites

Install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin:

# Debian/Ubuntu
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Verify
docker compose version

Directory Structure

mkdir -p /opt/nextcloud/{data,db,redis}
cd /opt/nextcloud

docker-compose.yml

services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:11
    container_name: nextcloud-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: --transaction-isolation=READ-COMMITTED --log-bin=binlog --binlog-format=ROW
    volumes:
      - ./db:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_USER=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    networks:
      - nextcloud-net

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: nextcloud-redis
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./redis:/data
    networks:
      - nextcloud-net

  app:
    image: nextcloud:30
    container_name: nextcloud-app
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/www/html
    environment:
      - MYSQL_HOST=db
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_USER=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER=${NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER}
      - NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD}
      - NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS=${NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS}
      - PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT=512M
      - PHP_UPLOAD_LIMIT=2G
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    networks:
      - nextcloud-net

networks:
  nextcloud-net:
    driver: bridge

Environment File

Create /opt/nextcloud/.env:

# Database
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=change-this-root-password
MYSQL_PASSWORD=change-this-db-password

# Nextcloud admin
NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_USER=admin
NEXTCLOUD_ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-this-admin-password

# Trusted domains (comma-separated, no spaces)
# Add your LAN IP, hostname, or domain
NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS=192.168.1.100 nextcloud.yourdomain.com

Set restrictive permissions on .env:

chmod 600 /opt/nextcloud/.env

Start the Stack

cd /opt/nextcloud
docker compose up -d

# Watch logs during first boot (database initialization takes 30-60 seconds)
docker compose logs -f app

Once you see Apache configured in the app logs, Nextcloud is accessible at http://<your-server-ip>:8080.

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Configuration

Initial Setup

The first browser visit to port 8080 completes the installation wizard automatically using the environment variables you set. No manual database configuration is required.

After login, run the mandatory post-install steps via occ (Nextcloud's CLI):

# Add missing indices (speeds up queries after first run)
docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php occ db:add-missing-indices

# Convert columns to bigint (required for large file counts)
docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php occ db:convert-filecache-bigint --no-interaction

# Verify no configuration warnings remain
docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php occ status

Cron Job

Nextcloud requires a background job runner. The default AJAX cron is unreliable. Set up a system cron instead:

# Add to host crontab
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "*/5 * * * * docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php -f /var/www/html/cron.php") | crontab -

# Switch Nextcloud to use system cron
docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php occ background:cron

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Performance Tuning

Redis Caching (Already Configured)

The Docker Compose stack connects Nextcloud to Redis automatically via the REDIS_HOST environment variable. Verify Redis is active:

docker exec -u www-data nextcloud-app php occ config:system:get memcache.local
# Should return: \OC\Memcache\Redis

docker exec nextcloud-redis redis-cli info stats | grep keyspace

Redis handles file locking and local memory caching. Community reports consistently show 40% reduction in database load after enabling Redis, which translates directly to faster file listing and login times.

PHP-OPcache

The nextcloud:30 image includes OPcache. Verify it's active and tune the limits for better performance:

# Check OPcache status
docker exec nextcloud-app php -r "print_r(opcache_get_status(false));" | grep -E "enabled|memory_used|hit_rate"

To increase OPcache memory, add this to your docker-compose.yml under the app service environment:

environment:
  - PHP_OPCACHE_MEMORY_CONSUMPTION=128
  - PHP_OPCACHE_INTERNED_STRINGS_BUFFER=16
  - PHP_OPCACHE_MAX_ACCELERATED_FILES=10000

Large File Uploads

The PHP_UPLOAD_LIMIT=2G environment variable is already set in the Compose file. For files larger than 2GB, use the Nextcloud desktop sync client or WebDAV chunked uploads, which bypass the PHP upload limit entirely.

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Remote Access

Running Nextcloud on your LAN is useful. Running it from anywhere without exposing ports to the internet is essential for most setups.

Two options are well-supported and covered in detail at Tailscale vs Cloudflare Tunnels:

Tailscale (recommended for personal use)

# Install on your server
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up

# Nextcloud will be at http://<tailscale-ip>:8080
# Add the Tailscale IP to NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_DOMAINS in .env, then restart
docker compose restart app

Reverse proxy with HTTPS (recommended for shared/team use)

If you want a proper domain with TLS, add a Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager container to the Compose stack and configure a domain. Caddy handles Let's Encrypt certificate renewal automatically:

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2-alpine
    container_name: nextcloud-caddy
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_certs:/config
    networks:
      - nextcloud-net

volumes:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_certs:

Caddyfile:

nextcloud.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy nextcloud-app:80
    header {
        Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000;"
    }
}

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Backup Strategy

Docker volumes are not automatically backed up. The ./data and ./db directories in /opt/nextcloud contain everything. Losing these means losing all files and user data.

At minimum, implement the following:

# Stop Nextcloud for a consistent database snapshot
docker compose stop app

# Dump the database
docker exec nextcloud-db mysqldump -u nextcloud -p${MYSQL_PASSWORD} nextcloud > /backup/nextcloud-db-$(date +%F).sql

# Archive the data volume (exclude cache)
tar --exclude='./data/nextcloud/data/*/cache' \
    --exclude='./data/nextcloud/data/*/thumbnails' \
    -czf /backup/nextcloud-data-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

# Restart
docker compose start app

For a complete, automated, offsite backup system covering this and all your other Docker services, see 3-2-1 Backup Strategy. That guide covers BorgBackup with encrypted offsite copies, automated systemd timers, and restore testing procedures.

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Community Reports

The selfhosted community has years of Nextcloud experience across hardware ranging from Raspberry Pi to dedicated servers.

A user on r/selfhosted running Nextcloud on an N100 mini PC:

"Nextcloud on N100 with 16GB RAM idles at about 8W. I've got 2TB of family files syncing across 6 devices. The desktop client just works. Zero issues in 8 months." — r/selfhosted

On moving from Google Drive:

"Migrated 1.2TB from Google Drive to Nextcloud last year. The rclone migration took overnight but it worked perfectly. Haven't paid Google a cent since." — r/selfhosted

On the Docker approach specifically:

"The AIO (All-In-One) image is fine but I prefer the manual Docker Compose approach. More control, easier to debug, easier to back up individual volumes." — r/selfhosted

Nextcloud's file sync is also frequently compared to Syncthing. The consensus: Syncthing is simpler but peer-to-peer only; Nextcloud gives you a server with web access, sharing, calendar, contacts, and app plugins at the cost of more moving parts to maintain.

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Troubleshooting

Common issues in a Docker Compose nextcloud setup guide 2026 context:

For permission errors on the data volume, the Nextcloud container runs as www-data (UID 33). If you pre-populate the data directory, set ownership:

sudo chown -R 33:33 /opt/nextcloud/data

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Conclusion

The nextcloud docker compose approach in 2026 is substantially more maintainable than the older Apache-based installation methods. Updates reduce to docker compose pull && docker compose up -d. Rollbacks are straightforward with volume snapshots. The entire stack is described in two files.

On an N100 mini PC, Nextcloud sits at 6–10W idle, handles multi-user sync without complaint, and costs under $20/year to run after the initial hardware purchase. At the 2TB tier, that is a 90%+ reduction in storage costs compared to Google One.

If you are replacing Google Photos as well as Google Drive, deploy Immich alongside Nextcloud — see Immich Self-Hosted Photos Guide. Both services run comfortably on the same N100 hardware.

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Resources

• Nextcloud Docker Hub — Official image, version tags, environment variable reference
• Nextcloud Admin Documentation — Official configuration reference
• r/selfhosted — Community support and real-world deployment reports
• r/NextCloud — Nextcloud-specific community
• Best Low-Power Mini PCs 2026 — Hardware buying guide
• Tailscale vs Cloudflare Tunnels — Remote access options
• 3-2-1 Backup Strategy — Backup implementation guide
• Immich Self-Hosted Photos Guide — Google Photos replacement