Nextcloud on Ubuntu 24.04: automatic Android photo uploads

Install Nextcloud Snap on Ubuntu 24.04, enable HTTPS and Android auto-upload, and plan an independent server backup and restore test.

Goal and requirements

A personal Nextcloud server can automatically receive selected photos and videos from Android. It is not a full phone backup: apps, settings, messages and other folders are not automatically copied. Prepare updated Ubuntu 24.04, enough disk space, admin access, a public domain with correct DNS and available HTTP/HTTPS ports if using Let’s Encrypt. Nextcloud Snap ships its own services, so check port 80 and 443 conflicts.

Install Nextcloud Snap

Install the snap and inspect its services. On a trusted network, visit its web setup page to create an admin account with a strong password; this avoids putting a cleartext password in a nextcloud.manual-install shell argument. The Snap is updated independently of a manual /var/www installation.

sudo snap install nextcloud
sudo snap services nextcloud

Domain and HTTPS

Add your domain to trusted_domains at an unused index without overwriting existing values; cloud.example.com is a placeholder. Let’s Encrypt requires correct public DNS and reachable validation ports. nextcloud.enable-https lets-encrypt prompts for email and domain; check DNS and firewall first. A local IP alone does not normally meet public domain certificate requirements.

sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value="cloud.example.com"
sudo nextcloud.enable-https lets-encrypt

Android uploads

Install the official Nextcloud Android app, sign in at your HTTPS URL and enable Auto-upload for the Camera folder. Inspect destination and available options in your app version: Wi-Fi, charging, existing files and menu labels may vary. Grant required permissions and check Android battery restrictions. Take a test photo, wait for upload and confirm it on the server and another device.

What it does not copy

Auto-upload chiefly sends selected folders to the server. Do not assume two-way synchronization or a complete Android backup. Configure additional folders individually if the app and permissions allow it. Test how edits, duplicates and deletions behave before removing files from the phone.

Server backups and maintenance

Run sudo nextcloud.export to capture the Snap database, configuration, apps and data in its backup folder. Copy the export to separate storage and test restoring in a separate environment. A single copy on the same server is insufficient. Watch disk usage and services, plan Snap updates and monitor certificate renewal.

sudo nextcloud.export
# Copy the timestamped export out of /var/snap/nextcloud/common/backups/
# and verify a restore in a separate test environment.

Sources

Nextcloud Snap: https://github.com/nextcloud-snap/nextcloud-snap ; HTTPS: https://github.com/nextcloud-snap/nextcloud-snap/wiki/Managing-HTTP-encryption-(HTTPS) ; export: https://github.com/nextcloud-snap/nextcloud-snap/wiki/Export-and-Import .