ownCloud: Free and open-source software project for content
ownCloud is a self-hosted file management and file transfer and sync tool. Free and open-source software project for content collaboration and sharing and syncing of files.
Why self-host ownCloud
Running ownCloud yourself means you control the data, the uptime policy, and the upgrade schedule. That is a different relationship with software than subscribing to a hosted service.
What it does
ownCloud falls into the File Management, File Transfer and Sync, Cloud Storage category of self-hosted software. It is designed to be deployed on your own infrastructure, whether that is a home server, a VPS, or a local machine running Docker.
Community traction
The project has 8k stars on GitHub, which is a reasonable proxy for how widely it is used. Active repositories tend to ship bug fixes faster and have better documentation than projects that stall after the initial release.
Deployment
Getting ownCloud running usually takes under an hour if you have a working Docker setup. The official documentation covers the basic deployment steps.
Alternatives
If ownCloud does not fit your needs, common alternatives include Box, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, Mega. The self-hosted versions of these tools often differ in resource requirements and feature focus, so it is worth testing the one that matches your workload.
Maturity
The current release is 10.15.0. The project has moved past early development and tends to ship stable, documented releases.
License
It is licensed under AGPL-3.0, making it freely available for personal and commercial use.
Links
Whether you are just starting with self-hosting or adding to an existing setup, ownCloud is a reasonable pick in the file management and file transfer and sync space.