Server Configuration

This page covers [server]

Listen address, port, worker count, temporary directories, and node startup mode. These decide "where the service is exposed, where temporary files land, and whether it runs as primary or follower". Most primary deployments only need to check two things: whether host is 0.0.0.0, and whether temporary directories are on a disk with enough capacity.

[server]
host = "127.0.0.1"
port = 3000
workers = 0
temp_dir = ".tmp"
upload_temp_dir = ".uploads"
start_mode = "primary"

[server.follower]
managed_ingress_local_root = "managed-ingress"

If data/config.toml was generated automatically, relative paths are resolved to data/ at runtime, such as data/.tmp, data/.uploads, and data/managed-ingress.

When to Change It

• Container/Docker deployment - Change host to 0.0.0.0; otherwise the service cannot be reached from outside the container.
• Port is occupied - Change port.
• The disk containing temporary directories is small - Move temp_dir and upload_temp_dir to a larger disk.
• Unsure about worker count - Keep workers = 0 and let AsterDrive choose based on CPU.
• This instance should run as a follower node - Change start_mode to follower, and make sure managed_ingress_local_root is on a disk with suitable capacity.

Options

Option	Default	Purpose
host	"127.0.0.1"	Listen address. Use 0.0.0.0 for container deployments.
port	3000	HTTP listen port
workers	0	Worker count. 0 = choose automatically based on CPU.
temp_dir	".tmp"	General server-side temporary file directory
upload_temp_dir	".uploads"	Temporary directory for chunked uploads and upload recovery
start_mode	"primary"	Node startup role. primary is the normal controller; follower is a remote storage follower node.
follower.managed_ingress_local_root	"managed-ingress"	Root directory for local ingress targets managed by the primary on the follower

Where Temporary Directories Are Used

temp_dir and upload_temp_dir directly affect local disk usage. They are mainly consumed by:

• Large-file chunked uploads
• Upload recovery/resume
• Temporary assembly for local storage
• A few upload paths that require temporary server-side processing

Move them if you upload large files often

By default, they land in data/.tmp and data/.uploads. If you expect many large uploads, bind these two directories to a local disk with more capacity.

How to Choose start_mode

The default is primary. Normal deployments, login entry points, the admin console, sharing, WebDAV, and the user file browser are all primary responsibilities.

Change it only when you explicitly want this machine to join as a remote storage follower node:

[server]
start_mode = "follower"

start_mode is a static startup role. Restart the process after changing it.
A follower is not a second login site. It only provides health checks and internal remote storage APIs. See follower nodes for the complete enrollment flow.

Follower Ingress Root

[server.follower].managed_ingress_local_root only matters in follower mode.

When the primary creates a local ingress target in the follower node details, it can only enter a relative path. The follower joins that relative path under managed_ingress_local_root, so the primary cannot write arbitrary host directories directly.

For example:

[server.follower]
managed_ingress_local_root = "/data/managed-ingress"

When the primary creates the ingress target, enter:

base_path = "default"

The final write location is:

/data/managed-ingress/default

Plan this directory together with real file capacity. It is not a temporary directory; it stores real objects received by the follower.

The configuration key is under [server.follower]

The ingress root is now server.follower.managed_ingress_local_root.

If an old configuration still uses server.managed_ingress_local_root, startup will prompt you to migrate it to the new location.

Common Examples

Local Testing

[server]
host = "127.0.0.1"
port = 3000
workers = 0
temp_dir = "data/.tmp"
upload_temp_dir = "data/.uploads"
start_mode = "primary"

Docker / Container

[server]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 3000
workers = 0
temp_dir = "/data/.tmp"
upload_temp_dir = "/data/.uploads"
start_mode = "primary"

Docker Follower

[server]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 3000
workers = 0
temp_dir = "/data/.tmp"
upload_temp_dir = "/data/.uploads"
start_mode = "follower"

[server.follower]
managed_ingress_local_root = "/data/managed-ingress"

Practical Notes

• Most deployments do not need manual workers tuning.
• For long-running deployments, use absolute paths for temporary directories.
• If a reverse proxy is already in front, keep the application listening on an internal port. Do not expose it directly to the public internet.

Environment Variables

ASTER__SERVER__HOST=0.0.0.0
ASTER__SERVER__PORT=3000
ASTER__SERVER__WORKERS=0
ASTER__SERVER__TEMP_DIR=/data/.tmp
ASTER__SERVER__UPLOAD_TEMP_DIR=/data/.uploads
ASTER__SERVER__START_MODE=follower
ASTER__SERVER__FOLLOWER__MANAGED_INGRESS_LOCAL_ROOT=/data/managed-ingress