Filebrowser is a lightweight and open-source web-based file manager that allows you to manage and share files securely over the internet. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Filebrowser on POP! OS Latest.
The first step is to install some required dependencies on your system. To do that, open the terminal and run the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y wget curl gnupg2
We recommend using the official release binary to install Filebrowser on your system. You can download the latest version from the official website by running:
cd ~
wget https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/releases/latest/download/filebrowser-linux-amd64
Now that we've downloaded the binary, we need to move it to the /usr/local/bin directory:
sudo mv filebrowser-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/filebrowser
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/filebrowser
The second command sets the permission for the Filebrowser binary file to be executable.
Now that we have installed Filebrowser, we will create a new system user that will be used to run the service. To do that, run the following command:
sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false filebrowser
This command creates a new system user named filebrowser with /bin/false as the login shell. We will use this user to run the Filebrowser service.
Next, we need to create a Systemd service file that will start and manage the Filebrowser service. To do that, run the following command:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/filebrowser.service
This will open a new empty file in the Nano text editor. Copy and paste the following content into the file:
[Unit]
Description=File Browser
After=network.target
[Service]
User=filebrowser
Group=filebrowser
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/filebrowser --port 8088 --database /var/lib/filebrowser/database.db --root /var/lib/filebrowser/root --log /var/log/filebrowser.log
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
The file contents are explained as follows:
Description field specifies a description for the File Browser service.After field indicates that the service should only start after the network is ready.User and Group fields specify the system user and group that will run the service. We created the filebrowser user in the previous step.ExecStart field specifies the command to start the Filebrowser service. In this case, we are telling it to use port 8088, the database in /var/lib/filebrowser/database.db, and to serve files from /var/lib/filebrowser/root, as well as writing logs to /var/log/filebrowser.log.Install section specifies that the service should be started when the system enters multi-user mode.After adding these details, save the file (CTRL+X), and exit the editor.
Now we can start the Filebrowser service by running:
sudo systemctl start filebrowser
To enable the service to start automatically at boot time, run:
sudo systemctl enable filebrowser
If you have a firewall set up on your system, you may need to open the port 8088 to allow incoming traffic. To do that, run the following command:
sudo ufw allow 8088/tcp
You can now access the Filebrowser service by opening your web browser and navigating to http://localhost:8088. If you're accessing it from another system, replace localhost with your server's IP address.
You should see the Filebrowser web interface, where you can navigate and manage your files.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Filebrowser on your POP! OS Latest system.
If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!
Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!
