How to Self-Host Seafile File Sync and Share

What Is Seafile?

Seafile is a high-performance open-source file hosting platform with reliable syncing, end-to-end encryption, and team collaboration features. It is known for fast sync speeds and efficient storage through delta-based file transfers, making it excellent for teams that handle large files.

Prerequisites

• A Breeze with at least 2 GB RAM running Ubuntu 22.04+
• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• A domain name pointed to your Breeze

Docker Compose Setup

mkdir -p ~/seafile && cd ~/seafile

version: "3.8"
services:
  seafile:
    image: seafileltd/seafile-mc:latest
    container_name: seafile
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - seafile_data:/shared
    environment:
      - DB_HOST=seafile-db
      - DB_ROOT_PASSWD=DbRootPass123
      - SEAFILE_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@yourdomain.com
      - SEAFILE_ADMIN_PASSWORD=ChangeThisPassword
      - SEAFILE_SERVER_HOSTNAME=seafile.yourdomain.com
    depends_on:
      - seafile-db
      - memcached

  seafile-db:
    image: mariadb:10.11
    container_name: seafile-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - seafile_db:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=DbRootPass123

  memcached:
    image: memcached:1.6-alpine
    container_name: seafile-memcached
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  seafile_data:
  seafile_db:

Launch and Access

docker compose up -d

Navigate to http://seafile.yourdomain.com and log in with the admin email and password configured above. Install the Seafile desktop sync client on your workstations to begin syncing files.

Key Features

• End-to-end encryption for sensitive libraries
• File versioning with configurable history retention
• WebDAV access for third-party client compatibility
• Built-in online document editing with OnlyOffice or Collabora integration