Headless client as a daemon

[narcisgarcia]

There are more scenacios where it's needed but this is mine: I have a LAN with a CLI-only server and multiple Desktop computers. Client computers have a sshfs mounted point to a common directory on server (this is SFTP/SSH). All in sync and it just works as a shared folder.

I also use a notebook to connect to that shared folder from Internet, but Internet connection sometimes is poor and I can't wait all the time for folder refreshes and files load/save in sync. Solution seems to be Nextcloud (server at files server to sync with a real folder, and desktop client at roaming notebook).

I'm looking to nextcloud-desktop-cmd (to replicate in server as a bridge between real folder and Nextcloud server storage) and it does not satisfy all my needs because it should:

• Start as a SystemV/Systemd daemon without user session.
• Do not depend on desktop software, to be lightwheight same as OpenSSH is for a light server.
• Allow to specify local user:group and umask for new files and directories.
• Allow to setup more than one WebDAV client account with all data (local path, remote URL, username, password, local owner:group, local umask, etc.)

[Luticus]

This would be amazing for several reasons!

1) you could end your user sessions and go to a tty but still get sync to happen.

2) most importantly and specifically my use case, steam deck integration! With a headless back end that can run independent of the GUI you could hop on desktop mode and configure the desktop client, but then switch to gamescope and play a game without losing sync. I actually tend to use my Nextcloud to sync saves for non-steam games across all my systems, so having this would be amazing as I wouldn't have to boot into desktop mode to do a sync!

[marbx]

To add another idea:

• a headless client client, though authenticated as a specific user, could allow a subsequent process to create a backup.

Such a NextCloud client-controlled backup could reflect the moving of files and folder, or their renaming, without duplicating content.

[Jamie-]

I have also been looking for a solution to this. I discovered this request has actually been around since at least 2014! this bug was raised in the Owncloud client repo June '14 https://github.com/owncloud/client/issues/2002

Almost 10 years later I don't think we're any closer ;P

[NL-TCH]

this would also be amazing for the steamdeck! you can run nextcloud as a systemd service, but everytime nextcloud starts you need to login again :(

[Nebucatnetzer]

Another use case is editing notes via SSH. I store my notes in Nextcloud and use Emacs to edit them. My management server (a simple Pi4 which runs 24/7) could easily have my notes as well so that I could access and edit them from everywhere. I tried rclone but it wasn’t robust enough so for the moment I use a notebook which is permanently logged in. If I wouldn’t be using an iPad I would probably use Syncthing until Nextcloud creates a headless client.