Cloudreve — Self-Hosted Cloud Storage with Multi-Backend Support

Introduction

Cloudreve provides a self-hosted file management and sharing platform that connects to a wide range of storage backends. It gives individuals and small teams full control over their data with a clean, responsive web interface.

What Cloudreve Does

• Hosts a personal or team cloud drive accessible from any browser
• Supports local, S3-compatible, OneDrive, Google Drive, and remote server backends
• Provides file previewing for images, videos, audio, documents, and code
• Enables link-based sharing with optional passwords and expiration dates
• Manages multiple users with storage quotas and permission groups

Architecture Overview

Cloudreve is a single Go binary that embeds a React-based frontend. It uses a relational database (SQLite by default, MySQL or PostgreSQL optional) for metadata and task queues. File operations are abstracted behind a storage policy layer so the same API works regardless of whether files live on local disk, an S3 bucket, or a remote Cloudreve node. Background workers handle async tasks such as thumbnail generation, zip compression, and remote transfers.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Run the single binary directly or deploy via Docker with the official image
• Configure storage policies through the admin panel to add S3, OneDrive, or other backends
• Set the database DSN in conf.ini to switch from SQLite to MySQL/PostgreSQL
• Place behind a reverse proxy (Nginx, Caddy) for TLS termination and custom domains
• Adjust upload size limits, chunk sizes, and worker counts in the config file

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop chunked uploads with resume support for large files
• Built-in office document preview and media player
• WebDAV endpoint for mounting as a network drive on desktop and mobile
• Aria2 integration for offline/remote downloading directly to your storage
• Themeable UI with dark mode and multi-language support

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Nextcloud — full-featured collaboration suite with calendar, contacts, and apps; heavier to operate than Cloudreve's single-binary approach
• Seafile — focuses on file sync with a native client; Cloudreve emphasizes browser-based access and multi-backend flexibility
• File Browser — lightweight file manager for a single directory; Cloudreve adds user management, sharing, and external storage policies
• ownCloud Infinite Scale — microservice rewrite of ownCloud; more complex deployment than Cloudreve
• MinIO — S3-compatible object storage server; provides an API layer rather than an end-user file management UI

FAQ

Q: Can I migrate existing files into Cloudreve without re-uploading? A: Yes. Place files in the storage directory and use the admin panel's import feature to scan and register them in the database.

Q: Does Cloudreve support single sign-on? A: Cloudreve supports OIDC-based authentication, so you can integrate it with providers such as Keycloak, Authentik, or Logto.

Q: Is there a mobile app? A: There is no official native app, but the web UI is fully responsive and Cloudreve exposes a WebDAV endpoint that works with any WebDAV client on iOS or Android.

Q: How does Cloudreve handle storage quotas? A: Administrators define user groups with configurable storage limits, download speed caps, and allowed file types. Users see their quota usage on the dashboard.

Sources

• https://github.com/cloudreve/Cloudreve
• https://docs.cloudreve.org/