🏠 Self-Hosted Personal Cloud — Raspberry Pi + Nextcloud

A self-hosted cloud storage solution built on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ using Docker and Nextcloud. Your own private Google Drive — no monthly fees, full data privacy, complete control.

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📌 Project Overview

This project turns a Raspberry Pi 3B+ into a fully functional personal cloud server accessible from any device on the local network. Built entirely from scratch with no prior Linux experience.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Technology	Purpose
Raspberry Pi 3B+	Hardware server
Raspberry Pi OS Lite	Operating system
Docker	Container runtime
Nextcloud	Cloud storage application
SSH	Remote access
WiFi Networking	Local network connectivity

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📋 Prerequisites

• Raspberry Pi 3B+ (or newer)
• MicroSD card (16GB minimum)
• Laptop with SSH client (PuTTY on Windows)
• Home WiFi network (2.4GHz)
• Raspberry Pi Imager

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🚀 Setup Guide

Step 1 — Flash Raspberry Pi OS

1. Download Raspberry Pi Imager
2. Select device: Raspberry Pi 3
3. Select OS: Raspberry Pi OS Lite (32-bit)
4. Configure settings before flashing:
   • Enable SSH
   • Set username: pi
   • Set your password
   • Enter WiFi credentials (2.4GHz only)
   • Set WiFi country: IN
5. Flash to MicroSD card

Step 2 — Boot and Connect

# Insert MicroSD into Pi and power on
# Wait 90 seconds, then SSH from laptop
ssh pi@raspberrypi.local

# Update the system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 3 — Install Docker

# Install Docker
sudo apt install -y docker.io

# Add pi user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker pi

# Reboot
sudo reboot

Step 4 — Deploy Nextcloud

# Pull and run Nextcloud container
sudo docker run -d \
  -p 8080:80 \
  --name nextcloud \
  --restart always \
  nextcloud

# Verify container is running
sudo docker ps

Step 5 — Access Nextcloud

Open browser and navigate to: http://192.168.1.12:8080

Create admin account and complete setup.

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📸 Screenshot

Nextcloud Dashboard

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🔧 Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
Pi not on WiFi	Use 2.4GHz network, Pi 3B+ doesn't support 5GHz
SSH not connecting	Wait 90 seconds after boot, check IP with arp -a
Docker install fails	Use sudo apt install docker.io instead of get.docker.com script
Nextcloud crashes	Add swap memory to Pi

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📚 What I Learned

• Linux command line basics
• SSH remote access and server management
• Docker containerization
• Self-hosting web applications
• Network configuration and troubleshooting
• Raspberry Pi setup and configuration

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👤 Author

• GitHub: shafinalam07

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