webapp-config - for easy local installation of nextcloud?

Zucca

I've been looking to install Nextcloud into my (headless) server. I hate to fight with php, so I'm hoping webapp-config may be the route.

Can I use webapp-config to simplify installation of Nextcloud? Or is it the wrong tool for the job?
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Elleni · Veteran Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 1270

Yes, it's possible. I update my nextcloud on my vps just issuing

msst · Apprentice Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 259

I think for this it is the wrong tool, as nextcloud brings its own installer and updater. Plus a package as nextcloud must be very current to avoid security problems.

Now here comes the problem with the webapp-config:
1. It needs to be packaged to work. Nextcloud updates relatively frequent and the gentoo packages lag behind.
2. When you login as admin then nextcloud will want to update itself. If you do that it gets out of sync with the webapp-config.
3. And webapp-config is generally not overly convenient to use. It works, but is a command line hack.
4. The internal updater of nextcloud does also update all plugin apps, check for compatibility and change the sql database structure if needed. webapp-config does not do anything like this, so you need to do manual steps from within nextclouds admin interface anyway.

Thus I would use webapp-config only for web packages that
1. Bring no own updater
2. Require and are updated quite slowly
3. That are not too complex. The more complex the more likely will be serious security loopholes. Nextcloud is quite complex. I need to stress again that nextcloud needs to be kept very current. The internal updater with its check is not there without a reason.

Ant P. · Watchman Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 6920

You could say the same about firefox and chromium.

Does Nextcloud's internal updater have any way to operate normally without leaving all its code files read-write-execute by the PHP userid?

Syl20 · l33t Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 619 Location: France

Nextcloud ebuild does use webapp-config by default. No need to run it manually.

Zucca · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:23 am Post subject:

I wouldn't want anything (especially web related) to update itself without package manager knowing about it.
webapp-config and portage are (or can be) tightly integrated so I'll use them.

Only inside some container (or vm) I'd let those apps update themselves.

I'm RTFM'ing webapp-config docs whenever I have time now. Mainly the configuration docs.

lyallp · Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:31 am Post subject:

Personally, I have nextcloud running on my Gentoo at home.
I do the updates via portage rather than using the nextcloud updater.
I use the nextcloud updater to update the 'apps', however.
I then test, tweak config if necessary due to updates, etc.

To update my hosting provider,

I tar/gzip the entire nextcloud folder,
scp it up to my hosting provider
put nextcloud in maintenance mode
backup mysql database using hosting providers cpanel
rename the nextcloud folder to nextcloud.old
extract my tar/gzip archive
update config and .htaccess (generally by copying from the .old folder if no changes are required)
use occ to do the database and config version update update rather than the web UI (occ doesn't timeout)
re-enable nextcloud (out of maintenance mode)
re-enable apps
verify all is working

It leaves a couple of files that are used by webapp-config that the admin screens whine about not being valid but I am fine with that.

I guess, not the most efficient method, but it has worked for me since I migrated from owncloud, when nextcloud came into being.
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Zucca · Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:31 pm Post subject:

I'm looking for something far more simple. :D

But before I start with Nextcloud I try with Venus, because I'll install it eventually anyways.
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Gentoo IRC channels reside on Libera.Chat.
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Elleni · Veteran Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 1270

I run nextcloud installed by portage since some time now on my vps, and keeping it up-to-date is as simple as emerging, issuing webapp-config, and finally opening the page on brower and hitting update button, which then updates what is still needed (apps n stuff). Then page reloads and thats about it.

Zucca · Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:48 pm Post subject:

lyallp · Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 11:54 pm Post subject:

Nice and simple but if something goes to hell in a handbasket, you have no recovery recourse.
Things liked timeout during the update, occ doesn't timeout whereas the web page can.
The database update might have a problem (had one of those in the past).
If anything goes wrong, you have to find and fix manually rather than simply reverting to the working version and trying again after resolving any issues.
Still, if all goes well, which it has mostly, in the years I have been using *cloud, you should be fine

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...Lyall

Elleni · Veteran Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 1270

You are right, I occasionally run into a problem while updating but could solve it by temporary changing apache user in password file to allow login (/bin/bash instead of /sbin/nologin) and issuing the correct occ command there. And as its just my personal cloud a bit of downtime was not critical

Hu · Moderator Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 21635

Elleni · Veteran Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 1270

Oh, cool. Thanks for your input