Add External Storage On Your Nextcloud: Complete Setup Guide!

Описание: Today we're picking up where we left off last week by reviewing how to add external storage locallly to your nextcloud! We'll be doing this via Ubuntu Linux but all steps are duplicatable in any debian based distro like Raspberry Pi OS.

📢 October 2025 Update:
The instructions for this project are now also available as an easy-to-download PDF on my Lite Tech Patreon tier!
In the coming months, these instructions will be exclusively available on Patreon, so be sure to grab them there if you’d like ongoing access.

Thanks so much for your feedback and constant support of the channel — it helps keep new projects coming!


➡️June 2025 Update:
If you’re seeing this message when adding external storage:
“Confirm your password – This action needs authentication”
You’re not alone — it’s a known bug in Nextcloud 30.x. Even the correct password fails in the web UI.
You can bypass the bug using the occ command-line tool.

‘sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ files_external:create "NAS-Share" smb password::password \
-c host=192.168.1.50 \
-c share=Media \
-c root=/ \
-c domain=WORKGROUP \
-c user=myusername \
-c password=mypassword’
Replace the values (IP, share name, user, etc.) with your setup details.
This will successfully mount the storage without using the web interface.
*Let me know if you’d like a quick walkthrough video on using occ.
I’ll put this in the video description also!

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=== Production Notes ===
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👉🏻 Instructions:
Before plugging in your storage, make sure there’s nothing on it you want to keep!

1) Type ‘lsblk -p’ to see what storage devices you currently have
2) Plug in the external storage device and type ‘lsblk -p’ and take note of the new device listed.
3) For instruction sake, let’s called it ‘/dev/sba’. If it has a partition, it will be listed as ‘/dev/sba1/
4) To manage partitions, type ‘fdisk /dev/sda/‘ and then ‘m’ for options.
To delete a partition, type ‘d’. To create a new partition, type ’n’
5) After creating a partition, we’ll format the drive by typing ‘mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sba’ and it’s best to select the ‘default’ options.
6) Next we’ll mount the drive by creating a directory mount and type
‘sudo mkdir /mnt/uniquename
7) Next we need to set permissions for the new directory ‘sudo chmod -R 777 /mnt/uniquename.’
7a) Next we want to make sure we make the mount persistent:
'sudo nano /etc/fstab' and paste the following on the last line of the fstab file (make sure to substitue your values for device name and 'unquename' )
'/dev/sba /mnt/uniquename ext4 defaults 0 2'
Make sure to save the fstab file!
8) Next, navigate to your nextcloud instance and click on your profile in the upper right hand corner of the screen and click on ‘Apps’, then search for ‘external storage’.
9) Select the ‘external storage support’ and click ‘Enable’.
10) Now click ‘home’ and under ‘Administrative settings’ click on the ‘External storage’.
11) In the first box, ‘folder name’ give the external storage device a name.
12) The next box, under ‘add storage’ select ‘local’. Under ‘Authentication’, provide a user and password if needed. Under the configuration box type the mount path your established ‘/mnt/uniquename’.
13) Next click on ‘Files’ on the left and your storage should be visible!


Time stamps:

0:00 intro
0:55 identifying external drive and partitioning
2:40 Making linux files system
3:00 Mounting drive
3:45 Enabling External Storage
5:00 Setting permissions for drive

⚠️ Disclaimer:
This video is for educational and informational purposes only. I’m not responsible for any damage, data loss, or gremlins that may appear from following these steps—so please back up your data and proceed at your own risk. Every setup is different, and your results may vary.

#nextcloud
#linux
#externalstorage
#ubuntu
#raspberrypi