How do you manage your server files?

I'm currently debating on how to manage files on my servers. I have a jellyfin and a minecraft server on which I need to add, remove or download files quite often. I don't really want to use scp for everything, so I was wondering what everyone uses.

Edit: I'm looking for a gui solution, but a somewhat automated process of backups etc. is also nice

Edit 2: For anyone wondering what my final solution was: I am currently using a wireguard vpn on a raspberry pi to access my servers. I use Xpipe as a gui interface to transfer my files. I also just use tmux and ssh to execute commands and run services.

drkt , (edited )
@drkt@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

rsync for backups. SMB / NFS for things I need on a daily basis. SSH FTP (use whatever client you want) for things I need rarely but don't wanna bother with SCP and I especially don't bother ever setting up vsftpd for 'real' FTP.

normalexit ,

It's not very sexy, but I just use SFTP and filezilla. Filezilla is available for all the major operating systems, and an ssh server is basically required anyways.

MangoPenguin ,
@MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Plex/Jellyfin is automatically managed by Sonarr/Radarr so I don't touch those.

But for game servers I use Pterodactyl which has a nice WebUI to manage the server and its files, and has automated backups.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

pterodactyl looks really neat, will definitely look into that. I have a manual system for my media library, so I want to add the directories with artwork and movies manually to the directory which jellyfin reads.

MangoPenguin ,
@MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser might be what you want for that, just a basic web based file management tool.

But you could also just use SMB and access the shares directly from file explorer.

slazer2au ,

Being the weirdo I am I have 2 things I use.

WinSCP to get that classic FTP look of file transfers and VS Code when working on smaller compose files.

Darkassassin07 ,
@Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca avatar

Linux?

I just use sshfs to mount ssh shares and move files between them like any other folder.

Same with samba shares (windows).

Klajan ,
@Klajan@lemmy.zip avatar

You can do the same on Windows (mount ssh shares), there is an Fuse like project for Windows: WinFsp.

theRealBassist ,

SSHFS also has a windows release.

cmnybo ,

I use rsync and SFTP to transfer files to a remote server and NFS over the LAN.

gravitywell ,

I use samba for normal usage and rsync for backups.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

Do you automate your backups in some way? And can you also use samba remotely

gravitywell ,

For automatic stuff I use synching to keep my home an documents in sync.

I don't normally use samba remotely but I have a wire guard VPN that I connect to if I'm not at home and that gives me access to samba or any other "local" services I might need when away

Decronym Bot , (edited )

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
DNS Domain Name Service/System
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the Web
Plex Brand of media server package
SSH Secure Shell for remote terminal access
SSL Secure Sockets Layer, for transparent encryption
TLS Transport Layer Security, supersedes SSL
VPN Virtual Private Network

7 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 6 acronyms.

[Thread #576 for this sub, first seen 5th Mar 2024, 18:25]
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eletes ,
@eletes@sh.itjust.works avatar

Sftp using the KDE file browser Dolphin. Keeps it simple for my monkey brain as if I'm accessing the drive locally.

blotz , (edited )
@blotz@lemmy.world avatar

Nemo/most file explorers have a remote server option. For nemo, "Files > Connect to server". Once configured, you should be able to view your server files from your file explorer and uploading files should be as easy as drag and drop. I'm pretty sure nautilis has something similar too!
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/19692bf8-91fb-4d55-bb23-982e8f94ba03.png

It's not the best for security because if someone gets your computer, they can access your server through the file explorer. But it's fast and convenient if you are already using your file explorer.

kevincox ,
@kevincox@lemmy.ml avatar

Generally you can even just type it into the location bar, no need to find a specific dialog. For example if I type CTRL+l then sftp://myserver.local into Nautilus it pops up a username+password dialog (or just logs in using my keys).

originalucifer ,
@originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com avatar

docker, persistent shared storage

matcha_addict ,

Can you tell us what's your issue with scp? It'll help us make better recommendations.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I mostly want some sort of graphical way, I'm often moving a bunch of loose files and seeing them is a lot easier for me when transferring

agressivelyPassive ,

How exactly are you "losing" files?

BearOfaTime ,

Loose, not lose

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I'm not losing them, I have a lot of single files. For example during a Minecraft update, I have to move ~20 jar files and other things to the server. I also try to make frequent backups and I upload new movies somewhat frequently to my jellyfin server, so I want to have an easy way to transfer files.

vegetaaaaaaa ,
@vegetaaaaaaa@lemmy.world avatar

sftp://USERNAME@SERVER:PORT in the address bar of most file managers will work. You can omit the port if it's the default (22), you can omit the username if it's the same as your local user.

You can also add the server as a favorite/shortcut in your file manager sidebar (it works at least in Thunar and Nautilus). Or you can edit ~/.config/gtk-3.0/bookmarks directly:

file:///some/local/directory
file:///some/other/directory
sftp://my.example.org/home/myuser my.example.org
sftp://otheruser@my.example.net:2222/home/otheruser my.example.net
legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

sounds like a good option, will definitely try this out

matcha_addict ,

I would recommend you mention "graphical" or "GUI" in your main post. Most suggestions to be assuming CLI.

Some suggestions mentioned NFS / SSHFS. Those would allow you to use any GUI file manager for moving stuff over.

Sorry I can't help more. Don't have a lot of knowledge in gui tools

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

will do, thanks a lot

kevincox ,
@kevincox@lemmy.ml avatar

IDK what OS you are on but on Linux most file managers have support for remote filesystems. SFTP (SSH-FTP, not to be confused with FTPS which is FTP-secure) is ubiquitous and if you use scp then you already have SSH set up.

If you need Windows support it is more of a pain. You may need to set up Samba or WebDAV and permissions can suck. But you can also download a third-party file browser that supports remote protocols.

So basically SFTP, and I fairly regularly just use a graphical file manager when I am doing one-off operations.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I'm using debian, so sftp would be an option, do you use a graphical client?

kevincox ,
@kevincox@lemmy.ml avatar

Right now I am just using nautilus (default GNOME file manager) but in past I was using Thunar (default XFCE file manager). I'd be pretty surprised if whatever file manager you are currently using doesn't support SFTP out of the box. Typically you can just enter something like sftp://myhost.example into the location bar. They may also have a dedicated network connection section with a wizard to add it.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I'm considering this, as I can see by your example, you can add a domain name to the server. How would you go over doing this?

kevincox ,
@kevincox@lemmy.ml avatar

You should look into DNS or maybe mDNS or even local DNS aliases.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I will take a look, thank you very much!

SomeBoyo ,

nemo for a gui, or midnightcommander after logging in via ssh for managing/moving files on the server.

ptz ,
@ptz@dubvee.org avatar

NFS, SMB, and/or sshfs

  • NFS for my media shares between servers (Emby, MPD, etc)
  • SMB for accessing from workstations
  • sshfs when I need a quick, one-off file session (or if I'm accessing remotely)
matcha_addict ,

Sshfs is also a good candidate if for whatever reason you want security / encryption

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I mostly want to upload to a media server from my desktop, as that is where I download and manage the files before they go on the server

JASN_DE ,

Use Filezilla and SFTP.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I'll also take a look at this

crony ,
@crony@lemmy.cronyakatsuki.xyz avatar

I tend to use rsync 99% times.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

how would you do that with a large media library?

crony ,
@crony@lemmy.cronyakatsuki.xyz avatar

I would just use rsync on the whole folder.

Rsync is smart enough to be able to only send files you didnt' have previously like a regular mv command.

Or you can sync the whole directory and have it also delete removed files.

Edit: If you wan't something to automatically "sync/backup" the data, why don't you try and use syncthing? P2P syncing solution that might be exactly what you need in your hse case.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

I'm now considering syncing my minecraft world with syncthing, I already use it for some things but don't know why I didn't think of doing that.

On the other hand, if I have a 100+ gb media library, it seems kinda over the top to also have it fully copied on my local machine. Do you do this?

crony ,
@crony@lemmy.cronyakatsuki.xyz avatar

When it comes to media like my music library and comics for example I just use rsync to move new ones to the server every time I collect some new (I have about 60gb of it)

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

so you basically have a copy of your media library on a local machine?

crony ,
@crony@lemmy.cronyakatsuki.xyz avatar

No, I only have new files on my local machine, and as I collect new stuff I move them to my server with rsync and just remove it onthe local machine.

Rsync is more than smart enough to, if you keep same folder structure to easilly move the files to the server without you having to manually copy other each file.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

sounds good, do you have any docs on how to do that?

crony ,
@crony@lemmy.cronyakatsuki.xyz avatar

Don't really have some rn. Will make a page on my wiki and link it to you later with some basic examples.

crony ,
@crony@lemmy.cronyakatsuki.xyz avatar

Here is the link to the wiki page I created: rsync

The most important part for you is the last one, but I would recomend to read it whole to understand how rsync works a bit.

legoraft OP ,
@legoraft@reddthat.com avatar

Great! Thanks a lot, this will help

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