Filebrowser

How to Install File Browser on Ubuntu 24.04

File Browser is a powerful and user-friendly web-based file manager that allows you to browse, upload, download, and manage files on your server. It provides a modern interface while running entirely on your own server, giving you complete control over your data.

This guide walks you through installing File Browser using Docker on Ubuntu 24.04, including setting up directories, running the container, and retrieving the auto-generated admin credentials.

 

Step 1: Update Your System and Install Dependencies

Before installing File Browser, it’s important to update your system and install the required packages. Open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose ufw

  • Docker: Runs File Browser in a lightweight, isolated container.

  • Docker Compose: Optional, but useful for managing multiple containers.

  • UFW: Firewall to secure your server.

Enable and start Docker:

sudo systemctl enable docker sudo systemctl start docker

 

Step 2: Create File Browser Directories

File Browser stores its files, configuration, and database in persistent volumes or directories. Create the necessary directories on your server:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/filebrowser/data sudo mkdir -p /opt/filebrowser/database sudo mkdir -p /opt/filebrowser/config sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /opt/filebrowser

  • /opt/filebrowser/data: Root directory for your managed files.

  • /opt/filebrowser/database: Stores the File Browser database.

  • /opt/filebrowser/config: Stores configuration files (settings.json).

 

Step 3: Pull the File Browser Docker Image

Next, download the latest File Browser Docker image:

sudo docker pull filebrowser/filebrowser

 

Step 4: Run the File Browser Container

Run File Browser as a Docker container with the directories you created mapped to the container’s internal paths:

sudo docker run -d \ --name filebrowser \ -v /opt/filebrowser/data:/srv \ -v /opt/filebrowser/database:/database \ -v /opt/filebrowser/config:/config \ -p 8080:80 \ --restart always \ filebrowser/filebrowser

  • -d: Runs the container in detached mode.

  • --restart always: Ensures File Browser restarts automatically if the server reboots.

  • -p 8080:80: Exposes File Browser on port 8080 of your server.

 

Step 5: Configure Firewall

To access File Browser from your browser, allow traffic through the firewall:

sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp sudo ufw enable sudo ufw status

 

Step 6: Wait for Initialization

The first time the container runs, it automatically initializes the database and configuration. The default admin user and password are randomly generated. You can check the logs to retrieve them:

sudo docker logs filebrowser

Look for a line like this:

 
User 'admin' initialized with randomly generated password: password

Step 7: Access File Browser

Open a web browser and navigate to your server’s IP and port:

http://<your-server-ip>:8080
 

Step 8: File Browser Is Ready

Congratulations! File Browser is now installed and running on your Ubuntu 24.04 server.

 

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