Seafile is an open source secure cloud storage platform like Dropbox. It is based on python. You can easily create your own private cloud using Seafile.

Using Seafile you can easily synchronize your files and data with PC and mobile devices. You can manage your all data files from central location using it’s web interface.

The main difference between Seafile and Dropbox is that Seafile is a self-hosted file sharing solution for private cloud applications.

Seafile provides lot’s of features such as :

1. Public link sharing for uploading and downloading.
2. Support client side encryption.
3. Support version control, LDAP authentication and Two-factor authentication.
4. Antivirus and office web app integration.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to install and configure Seafile on Ubuntu 16.04 server.

Requirements

• A server running Ubuntu 16.04.
• A non-root user with sudo privileges configure on your server.
• A static IP address 192.168.15.100 configure on your server.

Update System

Before starting, you will need to update Ubuntu repository with the latest one.

You can do this by running the following command:

sudo apt-get update -y
sudo apt-get upgrade -y

Installing Required Dependencies

Before starting, you will need to install some packages as a prerequisites of Seafile.
You can install all the required packages by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre poppler-utils libreoffice libreoffice-script-provider-python libpython2.7 python-pip mariadb-server python-setuptools python-memcache ttf-wqy-microhei ttf-wqy-zenhei xfonts-wqy python-imaging python-mysqldb python-pip

Next, you will need to install boto. You can easily install it using pip command:

sudo pip install boto

Create a Seafile User

Next, you will need to create a new seafile user for installation. We will run the seafile server as this user.

Run the following command to create a new user:

sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash seafile

Set password for seafile user:

sudo password seafile

Downloading Seafile

You can download the latest version of the seafile from it’s official website https://www.seafile.com/en/download/

You can download the seafile with wget command:

First log in as a seafile user with the following command:

su - seafile

Then, download seafile with the following command:

wget https://bintray.com/artifact/download/seafile-org/seafile/seafile-server_6.0.6_x86-64.tar.gz

Once seafile source is downloaded, extract it with the following command:

tar -xvzf seafile-server_6.0.6_x86-64.tar.gz

Next, rename seafile-server_6.0.6 directory to seafile-server:

mv seafile-server_6.0.6 seafile-server

Create the Database for Seafile

You will also need to create three database such as ccnet, seafile and seahub for seafile server.

First, exit from the seafile user shell with the following command:

exit

Next, create three database with one user and grant the user to all databases:

First, login to Mysql:

mysql -u root -p

Create three database with the following command:

MariaDB [(none)]> create database ccnet_db character set = 'utf8';
MariaDB [(none)]> create database seafile_db character set = 'utf8';
MariaDB [(none)]> create database seahub_db character set = 'utf8';

Create a user for these databases:

MariaDB [(none)]> create user seacloud@localhost identified by 'password';

Grant user to the databases:

MariaDB [(none)]> grant all privileges on ccnet_db.* to seacloud@localhost identified by 'password';
MariaDB [(none)]> grant all privileges on seafile_db.* to seacloud@localhost identified by 'password';
MariaDB [(none)]> grant all privileges on seahub_db.* to seacloud@localhost identified by 'password';

Next flush the privileges and exit from the shell:

MariaDB [(none)]> flush privileges;
MariaDB [(none)]> exit

Installing Seafile

Before installing seafile, you will need to login as a seafile user.
To do so, run the following command:

su - seafile

Next, change the directory to seafile-server and install seafile by running setup-seafile-mysql.sh script:

cd seafile-server
./setup-seafile-mysql.sh

During installation you will be asked about Server Name, Domain/IP, Seafile data directory, Seafile server port configuration and database information, provide each information carefully. Once the installation is completed successfully start seafile and the seahub server:

./seafile.sh start
./seahub.sh start

You will be asked about the admin email and password for seafile. Provide each details carefully, then stop seafile now.

./seafile.sh stop
./seahub.sh stop

Configuring Seafile Service File

Next, you will need to create seafile and seahub services file to start and stop seafile server.

Create a new service file with named seafile.service inside /lib/systemd/system/ directory:

First, exit from the seafile user shell:

exit

Then create service file for seafile:

sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/seafile.service

Add the following lines:

[Unit]
Description=Seafile Server
After=network.target mariadb.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/home/seafile/seafile-server/seafile.sh start
ExecStop=/home/seafile/seafile-server/seafile.sh stop
RemainAfterExit=yes
User=seafile
Group=seafile

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the file and create a new service file for seahub:

sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/seahub.service

Add the following lines:

[Unit]
Description=Seafile Hub
After=network.target seafile.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/home/seafile/seafile-server/seahub.sh start-fastcgi
ExecStop=/home/seafile/seafile-server/seahub.sh stop
RemainAfterExit=yes
User=seafile
Group=seafile

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the file once you are done.

Next, reload the systemd service and start seafile and seahub:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start seafile
sudo systemctl start seahub

Installing and Configuring Nginx

You will also need to install Nginx and configure it as a reverse proxy server for seafile-server on port 8000 and 8002.

First, install Nginx:

sudo apt-get install nginx

Next, create a new virtualhost file with name seafile.conf:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/seafile.conf

Add the following lines:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name 192.168.15.100;

    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;

    # Reverse proxy for seafile
    location / {
        fastcgi_pass    127.0.0.1:8000;
        fastcgi_param   SCRIPT_FILENAME     $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param   PATH_INFO           $fastcgi_script_name;

        fastcgi_param    SERVER_PROTOCOL        $server_protocol;
        fastcgi_param   QUERY_STRING        $query_string;
        fastcgi_param   REQUEST_METHOD      $request_method;
        fastcgi_param   CONTENT_TYPE        $content_type;
        fastcgi_param   CONTENT_LENGTH      $content_length;
        fastcgi_param    SERVER_ADDR         $server_addr;
        fastcgi_param    SERVER_PORT         $server_port;
        fastcgi_param    SERVER_NAME         $server_name;
        fastcgi_param   REMOTE_ADDR         $remote_addr;

        access_log      /var/log/nginx/seahub.access.log;
        error_log       /var/log/nginx/seahub.error.log;
        fastcgi_read_timeout 36000;
    }

    # Reverse Proxy for seahub
    location /seafhttp {
        rewrite ^/seafhttp(.*)$ $1 break;
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8082;
        client_max_body_size 0;
        proxy_connect_timeout  36000s;
        proxy_read_timeout  36000s;
        proxy_send_timeout  36000s;
        send_timeout  36000s;
    }

    #CHANGE THIS PATH WITH YOUR OWN DIRECTORY
    location /media {
        root /home/seafile/seafile-server/seahub;
    }
}

Save the file and create a symlink of this file to the sites-enabled directory and restart nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/seafile.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
systemctl restart nginx

Accessing Seafile Web Interface

Once everything is up to date, it’s time to access seafile web interface.

Open your favourite web browser and type the URL http://192.168.15.100, you will see the following page:

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Enter your admin username, password and click on Login button, you will see the seafile default dashboard in following image:

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Congratulations! You have successfully installed Seafile on your Ubuntu 16.04 server.