Looking for a minimal self-hosted file sync platform
I’m trying to find a good open source alternative to cloud storage services that works well on ARM64 architecture with very limited hardware resources.
My setup is pretty basic - I’m running everything on an older Android device using Termux with Proot Distro. The specs are 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space, so nothing fancy here.
What I’m looking for:
- File storage and synchronization capabilities
- Cross-platform client support
- File sharing functionality
- Clean and responsive user interface
- Low resource consumption
I’ve tested several options but they don’t fit my needs. Nextcloud has too many features I don’t need and uses too much memory. Filebrowser is lightweight but doesn’t handle syncing properly.
Does anyone know of something that sits between these two extremes? I need the syncing features but without all the extra bloat that comes with full-featured platforms.
Any suggestions would be really helpful!
I’ve been running SeaFile on a similar ARM64 setup for about two years now and it’s been solid. The community edition handles file sync really well without the bloat you mentioned with Nextcloud. Memory usage stays around 150-200MB on my Pi which should work fine with your 4GB setup. The client apps work across platforms and the web interface is clean enough. Installation through Docker makes it straightforward even on Termux setups. Only downside is the server component requires a bit more initial configuration than some alternatives, but once it’s running it’s pretty much set-and-forget.
hey! you might wanna check out syncthing. it’s super light and does syncing without needing a web interface. works fine on arm64 and is much less resource-heavy than nextcloud.
Have you considered trying Pydio Cells Community? I switched to it after getting frustrated with Nextcloud’s resource hunger on my Orange Pi setup. The memory footprint is significantly smaller and it handles file synchronization quite well through their desktop clients. The web interface is modern and responsive, though the initial setup requires some patience with the configuration wizard. What really sold me was how stable it runs on ARM64 - been using it for eight months without major issues. The sync client works reliably across Windows, macOS and Linux. One thing to note is that while it’s lighter than Nextcloud, it still needs proper database setup, but SQLite works fine for smaller deployments like yours.