Can I install Nextcloud on a 1 GB RAM VM?

You can install Nextcloud on a very small VM for testing, but 1 GB RAM is tight for Apache, MariaDB, PHP, uploads, previews, and background jobs. For this tutorial, use at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM. For production use, choose a larger Raff VM based on the number of users, storage needs, and file activity.

Does Nextcloud require a domain name?

A domain or subdomain is strongly recommended. Nextcloud can technically load from an IP address, but HTTPS certificates, trusted domain configuration, browser security, and user access are much cleaner with a domain such as cloud.your-domain.com.

Why does this tutorial use Apache instead of Docker or Snap?

This tutorial uses the classic Apache, MariaDB, and PHP installation path because it gives you direct control over the web server, database, PHP settings, data directory, cron jobs, and caching. That makes it easier to explain, troubleshoot, and adapt for production deployments.

Why is the Nextcloud data directory outside the web root?

The tutorial stores user files in /var/nextcloud-data instead of inside /var/www/nextcloud. Keeping uploaded files outside the web root reduces accidental exposure risk and creates a cleaner separation between application code and user data.

What database should I use for Nextcloud?

This tutorial uses MariaDB, which is a common choice for self-hosted Nextcloud installations on Ubuntu. The database stores users, file indexes, app settings, shares, and other metadata. The actual uploaded files are stored in the Nextcloud data directory.

Why did I get an Access denied error during setup?

That usually means the database username or password in the Nextcloud setup form is wrong. The Nextcloud admin username and database username are different. In this tutorial, the admin username is raffadmin, while the database username is nextclouduser.

Why do I need cron jobs for Nextcloud?

Nextcloud uses background jobs for tasks such as file scanning, notifications, cleanup, and app maintenance. Cron is the recommended production-style method because it runs these tasks on a regular schedule instead of relying on browser visits.

What does APCu caching do?

APCu provides local memory caching for PHP. For a single-server Nextcloud deployment, it helps reduce repeated lookups and improves performance for common application operations.

Can I increase the upload size later?

Yes. Update the PHP values in /etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini, especially upload_max_filesize, post_max_size, and memory_limit, then restart Apache. The tutorial sets these values to 512M as a practical starting point.

Should I expose MariaDB to the public internet?

No. Keep MariaDB local to the VM unless you have a specific private networking design and strict firewall controls. In this tutorial, Nextcloud and MariaDB run on the same VM, so MariaDB does not need public exposure.

How should I back up this Nextcloud server?

Back up three things: the Nextcloud application directory, the Nextcloud data directory, and the MariaDB database. For production use, also test restore procedures regularly so you know the backups work before you need them.

Can I use this setup for multiple users?

Yes, but size the VM according to real usage. More users, larger files, photo previews, and frequent sync activity require more CPU, RAM, and storage. Start with the tested 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM plan for small deployments and scale up when usage grows.

Install Nextcloud on Ubuntu 24.04

In this tutorial, you’ll install Nextcloud on a Raff Ubuntu 24.04 VM with Apache, MariaDB, PHP, HTTPS, background jobs, and local caching.

Nextcloud is a self-hosted file sync, sharing, and collaboration platform. This tutorial uses the classic Ubuntu LAMP installation path with Apache, MariaDB, PHP 8.3, and the official Nextcloud archive. Raff Technologies has supported 10,000+ VM deployments across its compute platform, and Raff Linux VMs can be provisioned in 60 seconds with NVMe storage and unmetered bandwidth.

This tutorial was tested on a Raff VM with 2 vCPU, 4 GB DDR5 RAM, 80 GB NVMe storage, running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Tested on Raff infrastructure by Aybars Altınyay, platform engineer at Raff Technologies.

Prerequisites:

A Raff Ubuntu 24.04 VM
SSH access with sudo privileges
A domain or subdomain pointed to your VM’s public IPv4 address
Ports 80/tcp and 443/tcp available on the VM
Basic familiarity with Linux terminal commands

For this tutorial, select an Ubuntu 24.04 x64 Raff VM with at least 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 80 GB NVMe storage. This gives Nextcloud enough room for Apache, MariaDB, PHP, uploads, previews, and background jobs. For larger deployments, review Raff General Purpose VM plans and Raff pricing before choosing your final VM size.

Raff VM creation screen selecting Ubuntu 24.04 for a Nextcloud server

📌 Note: Replace cloud.your-domain.com throughout this tutorial with your own domain or subdomain.

Step 1 — Update system packages

Update the Ubuntu package index and install basic tools:

Bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y curl wget tar bzip2 unzip nano ufw dnsutils ca-certificates

Verify that package upgrades are complete:

Bash

sudo apt list --upgradable

Expected output:

Text

Listing... Done

Step 2 — Install Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and required modules

Install Apache, MariaDB, PHP 8.3, and the PHP modules required by Nextcloud:

Bash

sudo apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server \
  libapache2-mod-php8.3 \
  php8.3 php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql php8.3-gd \
  php8.3-curl php8.3-mbstring php8.3-intl php8.3-gmp \
  php8.3-bcmath php8.3-xml php8.3-zip php8.3-imagick \
  php8.3-apcu \
  certbot python3-certbot-apache

Enable Apache and MariaDB:

Bash

sudo systemctl enable --now apache2
sudo systemctl enable --now mariadb

Verify the services and PHP version:

Bash

systemctl is-active apache2
systemctl is-active mariadb
php -v | head -n 1

Expected output includes:

Text

active
active
PHP 8.3

Step 3 — Configure UFW firewall rules

Allow SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS traffic:

Bash

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw --force enable

Verify the firewall rules:

Bash

sudo ufw status numbered

Expected output includes:

Text

22/tcp    ALLOW IN
80/tcp    ALLOW IN
443/tcp   ALLOW IN

Step 4 — Create the Nextcloud MariaDB database

Create the Nextcloud database and database user:

Bash

sudo mariadb <<'SQL'
CREATE DATABASE nextcloud CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'ChangeThisStrongDatabasePassword!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextclouduser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
SQL

Verify that the database and user exist:

Bash

sudo mariadb -e "SHOW DATABASES LIKE 'nextcloud';"
sudo mariadb -e "SELECT User, Host FROM mysql.user WHERE User = 'nextclouduser';"

Expected output includes:

Text

nextcloud
nextclouduser    localhost

⚠️ Warning: Replace ChangeThisStrongDatabasePassword! with a unique database password before using this deployment for real data.

Step 5 — Download and verify Nextcloud

Download the current Nextcloud 32 archive and checksum file:

Bash

cd /tmp

wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest-32.tar.bz2
wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest-32.tar.bz2.sha256

Verify the archive checksum:

Bash

sha256sum -c latest-32.tar.bz2.sha256

Expected output:

Text

latest-32.tar.bz2: OK

Extract the archive and move it into the Apache web directory:

Bash

tar -xjf latest-32.tar.bz2
sudo mv nextcloud /var/www/nextcloud

Create a separate data directory outside the web root:

Bash

sudo mkdir -p /var/nextcloud-data
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/nextcloud /var/nextcloud-data

Verify the directories:

Bash

ls -ld /var/www/nextcloud /var/nextcloud-data

Expected output includes:

Text

www-data www-data /var/www/nextcloud
www-data www-data /var/nextcloud-data

Step 6 — Configure PHP for Nextcloud

Update PHP upload, memory, and execution limits:

Bash

PHP_INI="/etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini"

sudo sed -i 's/^memory_limit = .*/memory_limit = 512M/' "$PHP_INI"
sudo sed -i 's/^upload_max_filesize = .*/upload_max_filesize = 512M/' "$PHP_INI"
sudo sed -i 's/^post_max_size = .*/post_max_size = 512M/' "$PHP_INI"
sudo sed -i 's/^max_execution_time = .*/max_execution_time = 360/' "$PHP_INI"
sudo sed -i 's/^max_input_time = .*/max_input_time = 360/' "$PHP_INI"

Verify the PHP values:

Bash

grep -E "^(memory_limit|upload_max_filesize|post_max_size|max_execution_time|max_input_time)" "$PHP_INI"

Expected output includes:

Text

memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 512M
post_max_size = 512M
max_execution_time = 360
max_input_time = 360

Restart Apache:

Bash

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Verify Apache is active:

Bash

systemctl is-active apache2

Expected output:

Text

active

Step 7 — Configure Apache for Nextcloud

Create the Apache virtual host:

Bash

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/nextcloud.conf

Paste this configuration:

Apache

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName cloud.your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/nextcloud

    <Directory /var/www/nextcloud/>
        Require all granted
        AllowOverride All
        Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews

        <IfModule mod_dav.c>
            Dav off
        </IfModule>
    </Directory>

    SetEnv HOME /var/www/nextcloud
    SetEnv HTTP_HOME /var/www/nextcloud

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/nextcloud_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/nextcloud_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and required Apache modules:

Bash

sudo a2ensite nextcloud.conf
sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite headers env dir mime ssl setenvif

Validate Apache configuration:

Bash

sudo apache2ctl configtest

Expected output:

Text

Syntax OK

Reload Apache:

Bash

sudo systemctl reload apache2

Verify the HTTP response:

Bash

curl -I http://cloud.your-domain.com

Expected output includes 200, 302, or 303.

Step 8 — Enable HTTPS with Certbot

Run Certbot for your domain:

Bash

sudo certbot --apache \
  -d cloud.your-domain.com \
  --redirect \
  --agree-tos \
  --no-eff-email \
  -m admin@your-domain.com

Replace admin@your-domain.com with an email address you control.

Verify HTTPS:

Bash

curl -I https://cloud.your-domain.com

Expected output includes either:

Text

HTTP/2 200

or:

Text

HTTP/1.1 200 OK

Verify automatic certificate renewal:

Bash

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Expected output includes:

Text

Congratulations, all simulated renewals succeeded

Step 9 — Complete the Nextcloud web setup

Open your Nextcloud domain in a browser:

Text

https://cloud.your-domain.com

The Nextcloud setup page appears.

Nextcloud setup page on Ubuntu 24.04

Use these values:

Text

Administration account name: raffadmin
Administration account password: your strong admin password

Data folder: /var/nextcloud-data

Database user: nextclouduser
Database password: ChangeThisStrongDatabasePassword!
Database name: nextcloud
Database host: localhost

Click Install.

After installation finishes, verify that the dashboard loads. Nextcloud dashboard after first login on Ubuntu 24.04

Visible state check: the Nextcloud dashboard loads over HTTPS after the first login.

Step 10 — Configure background jobs and APCu caching

Create the Nextcloud cron job:

Bash

cat <<'EOF' | sudo tee /etc/cron.d/nextcloud
*/5 * * * * www-data php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
EOF

Set background jobs to cron:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ background:cron

Enable APCu for CLI operations:

Bash

cat <<'EOF' | sudo tee /etc/php/8.3/cli/conf.d/99-nextcloud-apcu.ini
apc.enable_cli=1
EOF

Configure APCu as the local memory cache:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ config:system:set memcache.local --value='\OC\Memcache\APCu'

Set a maintenance window start hour:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ config:system:set maintenance_window_start --type=integer --value=1

Restart Apache:

Bash

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Verify Nextcloud status and cache configuration:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ status
sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ config:system:get memcache.local

Expected output includes:

Text

installed: true
\OC\Memcache\APCu

Step 11 — Verify Nextcloud end to end

Open the Nextcloud admin overview page:

Text

Profile icon → Administration settings → Overview

Nextcloud administration overview showing setup checks

Open the Files app and upload a small test file named:

Text

raff-nextcloud-test.txt

Cleanup (Optional)

Use this section only when you want to remove Nextcloud, its database, data directory, Apache site, TLS certificate, cron job, and packages from the VM.

⚠️ Warning: The following commands permanently delete Nextcloud files, users, database records, uploaded files, app data, and local configuration. Back up anything you need before proceeding.

Put Nextcloud into maintenance mode if it is still installed:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ maintenance:mode --on

Drop the Nextcloud database and user:

Bash

sudo mariadb <<'SQL'
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS nextcloud;
DROP USER IF EXISTS 'nextclouduser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
SQL

Remove the Nextcloud cron job:

Bash

sudo rm -f /etc/cron.d/nextcloud

Remove the Apache site:

Bash

sudo a2dissite nextcloud.conf
sudo rm -f /etc/apache2/sites-available/nextcloud.conf
sudo a2ensite 000-default.conf
sudo apache2ctl configtest
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Delete the Certbot certificate:

Bash

sudo certbot delete --cert-name cloud.your-domain.com

Remove Nextcloud files and data:

Bash

sudo rm -rf /var/www/nextcloud
sudo rm -rf /var/nextcloud-data

Remove packages if the VM was dedicated to this tutorial:

Bash

sudo apt remove --purge apache2 mariadb-server certbot python3-certbot-apache \
  libapache2-mod-php8.3 \
  php8.3 php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql php8.3-gd \
  php8.3-curl php8.3-mbstring php8.3-intl php8.3-gmp \
  php8.3-bcmath php8.3-xml php8.3-zip php8.3-imagick \
  php8.3-apcu -y

sudo apt autoremove -y

Remove web firewall rules only if this VM no longer serves websites:

Bash

sudo ufw delete allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw delete allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw status numbered

Verify that Nextcloud is removed:

Bash

ls -ld /var/www/nextcloud /var/nextcloud-data
sudo mariadb -e "SHOW DATABASES LIKE 'nextcloud';"

Expected result: the directories and database are gone.

Troubleshooting

Nextcloud says database access is denied

Cause: The Nextcloud admin username was entered as the database username, or the MariaDB user/password does not match the web setup form.

Fix:

Use these database fields in the setup page:

Text

Database user: nextclouduser
Database password: ChangeThisStrongDatabasePassword!
Database name: nextcloud
Database host: localhost

Verify the database user:

Bash

sudo mariadb -e "SELECT User, Host FROM mysql.user WHERE User = 'nextclouduser';"

Expected output:

Text

nextclouduser    localhost

Reset the database user if needed:

Bash

sudo mariadb <<'SQL'
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS nextcloud CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'ChangeThisStrongDatabasePassword!';
ALTER USER 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'ChangeThisStrongDatabasePassword!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextclouduser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
SQL

Refresh the setup page and try again.

The Nextcloud page does not load

Cause: Apache is stopped, the site is not enabled, DNS is wrong, or the Apache configuration has an error.

Fix:

Bash

systemctl status apache2 --no-pager
sudo apache2ctl configtest
sudo a2query -s nextcloud
dig +short cloud.your-domain.com
curl -I http://cloud.your-domain.com

Expected checks:

Text

Apache is active
Syntax OK
nextcloud site is enabled
DNS returns the VM public IPv4 address
HTTP returns 200, 302, or 303

Certbot fails to issue HTTPS

Cause: DNS does not point to the VM, ports 80 and 443 are blocked, or Apache is not reachable over HTTP.

Fix:

Bash

dig +short cloud.your-domain.com
sudo ufw status numbered
curl -I http://cloud.your-domain.com
sudo journalctl -u apache2 --no-pager -n 80

Expected checks:

Text

DNS returns the VM public IPv4 address
80/tcp is allowed
443/tcp is allowed
Apache responds on HTTP

Run Certbot again after DNS and firewall checks pass:

Bash

sudo certbot --apache \
  -d cloud.your-domain.com \
  --redirect \
  --agree-tos \
  --no-eff-email \
  -m admin@your-domain.com

Nextcloud shows an untrusted domain error

Cause: The domain was not added to Nextcloud’s trusted domains list.

Fix:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value=cloud.your-domain.com

Verify:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ config:system:get trusted_domains

Expected output includes your domain.

File uploads fail or stop early

Cause: PHP upload limits are too low, Apache was not restarted, or the data directory permissions are wrong.

Fix:

Bash

PHP_INI="/etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini"

grep -E "^(memory_limit|upload_max_filesize|post_max_size|max_execution_time|max_input_time)" "$PHP_INI"

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/nextcloud /var/nextcloud-data
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Expected PHP values:

Text

memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 512M
post_max_size = 512M
max_execution_time = 360
max_input_time = 360

Admin overview warns about background jobs

Cause: Background jobs are still set to AJAX or the cron job has not run yet.

Fix:

Bash

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ background:cron

cat <<'EOF' | sudo tee /etc/cron.d/nextcloud
*/5 * * * * www-data php -f /var/www/nextcloud/cron.php
EOF

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ status

Expected output includes:

Text

installed: true

Wait five minutes, then refresh the admin overview page.

Conclusion and next steps

You now have Nextcloud installed on a Raff Ubuntu 24.04 VM with Apache, MariaDB, PHP 8.3, HTTPS, cron background jobs, APCu caching, and a verified file upload. If you have not deployed your Raff VM yet, you can spin one up in 60 seconds with a Raff Linux VM.

Next: How to Secure Your Ubuntu 24.04 Server

Related: Cloud Server Backup Strategies

Guide: Choosing the Right VM Size for Your Workload

Docs: Raff Virtual Machines documentation

How to Install Nextcloud on Ubuntu 24.04

Prerequisites

Step 1 — Update system packages

Step 2 — Install Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and required modules

Step 3 — Configure UFW firewall rules

Step 4 — Create the Nextcloud MariaDB database

Step 5 — Download and verify Nextcloud

Step 6 — Configure PHP for Nextcloud

Step 7 — Configure Apache for Nextcloud

Step 8 — Enable HTTPS with Certbot

Step 9 — Complete the Nextcloud web setup

Step 10 — Configure background jobs and APCu caching

Step 11 — Verify Nextcloud end to end

Cleanup (Optional)

Troubleshooting

Nextcloud says database access is denied

The Nextcloud page does not load

Certbot fails to issue HTTPS

Nextcloud shows an untrusted domain error

File uploads fail or stop early

Admin overview warns about background jobs

Conclusion and next steps

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Frequently Asked Questions

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