docs(admin): clarify web server user and file ownership requirements#14911
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The chown -R www-data:www-data command implied that ownership must be www-data:www-data specifically. The actual requirement is that the web server process user has read/write access to the Nextcloud directories. Added a note clarifying: - www-data is the Debian/Ubuntu default; RHEL/CentOS/Fedora uses apache - Ownership is not strictly required — group membership + group-writable permissions are sufficient in environments where chown is not possible (shared hosting, Docker bind-mounts, VirtualBox shared folders, etc.) Fixes #1239 Signed-off-by: skjnldsv <skjnldsv@protonmail.com>
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May 19, 2026
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/backport to stable34 |
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/backport to stable33 |
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/backport to stable32 |
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The backport to # Switch to the target branch and update it
git checkout stable33
git pull origin stable33
# Create the new backport branch
git checkout -b backport/14911/stable33
# Cherry pick the change from the commit sha1 of the change against the default branch
# This might cause conflicts, resolve them
git cherry-pick 207d59a5
# Push the cherry pick commit to the remote repository and open a pull request
git push origin backport/14911/stable33Error: Failed to create pull request: Validation Failed: {"resource":"PullRequest","code":"custom","message":"A pull request already exists for nextcloud:backport/14911/stable33."} - https://docs.github.com/rest/pulls/pulls#create-a-pull-request Learn more about backports at https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/go.php?to=developer-backports. |
This was referenced May 19, 2026
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📖 Documentation Preview📄 1 changed documentation pageLast updated: Tue, 19 May 2026 14:05:02 GMT |
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☑️ Resolves
Summary
The installation docs showed
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/nextcloud/without explaining that
www-datais the Debian/Ubuntu web server user, or thatstrict ownership is not actually required — only read/write access by the web server
process user is.
This causes confusion for users on:
apache, notwww-data)vboxsf-mounted volumeAdded a note clarifying:
www-datais Debian/Ubuntu specific; RHEL/CentOS usesapachewww-data:www-dataownership🖼️ Screenshots
No visual layout change — text-only addition to an existing section.
✅ Checklist
codespellor similar and addressed any spelling issues