Deployment Overview

Where to start

Jump directly by deployment method:

• Docker / NAS / small team -> Docker Deployment
• Long-running Linux server -> systemd Deployment
• Want command-line checks, offline config changes, or cross-database migration -> Operations CLI

This page walks through the "four things to decide before deployment" for first-time deployers.

AsterDrive is delivered as a single service:

• browser page
• public sharing page
• admin panel
• WebDAV
• file preview and WOPI entry

All are served by the same process.
The three most important deployment concerns are:

• keep the service running reliably
• preserve data correctly
• make uploads, WebDAV, and external openers work in your network environment

Recommended Methods

Method	Best for
Docker	NAS, single-machine, small-team, and existing container environments
Docker follower node	Attaching another AsterDrive instance directly as a Docker follower
systemd	Cloud hosts, physical machines, long-running stable services
Run the binary directly	Local testing and temporary validation

Confirm These Four Things Before Deployment

Data Directory

These contents must survive restarts and upgrades:

• data/config.toml
• database
• local upload directory

If avatar upload is enabled, or if you configured additional local local storage policies, keep these too:

• the local directory corresponding to avatar_dir (usually data/avatar by default)
• any custom local storage root directories

The service also uses temporary directories at runtime:

• data/.tmp
• data/.uploads

These two directories usually do not need backup, but the local disk must have available space.

Access Method

For production launch, you must serve HTTPS through a reverse proxy, and keep:

[auth]
bootstrap_insecure_cookies = false

If this is only local or intranet HTTP first bootstrap, you may temporarily set it to true so the system initializes the browser Cookie HTTPS requirement as disabled.
After switching to HTTPS in production, change it back to enabled in the admin system settings.

If the site will be externally accessible, also confirm:

• The home page response headers include the browser page baseline Content-Security-Policy returned by AsterDrive, and the proxy has not removed it or overwritten it with an incompatible policy.
• Admin -> System Settings -> Site Configuration -> Public Site URL has been set to the real https:// origin. Add multiple public domains one by one.
• If public registration, password recovery, or email rebinding will be enabled, Admin -> System Settings -> Mail Delivery has sent a test email successfully.

WebDAV

If Finder, Windows, or sync tools need access, consider these during deployment:

• WebDAV path
• reverse proxy
• upload size limits

Online Preview / WOPI

If you plan to open Office files through an external service, confirm these too:

• Public Site URL is set to the real https:// origin.
• Site Configuration -> Preview Applications has the corresponding opener configured.
• The external Office / WOPI service can access the AsterDrive address represented by Public Site URL. If browser cross-origin calls to AsterDrive APIs are blocked, allow the corresponding origin under Network Access.

Storage Location

• Local disk: simplest deployment.
• S3 / MinIO: suitable for object storage scenarios.

What First Startup Does Automatically

After the service starts successfully, it automatically completes these preparations:

• generates the default data/config.toml
• connects to the database and updates the database structure automatically
• creates the default local storage policy Local Default
• creates the default policy group Default Policy Group
• initializes default system setting entries
• starts mail dispatch, background task dispatch, periodic cleanup, and low-level file consistency check tasks

Validate These After Launch

The full checklist is in First-Start Checklist.

At minimum, verify these after deployment:

1. /health and /health/ready return normally.
2. The home page opens normally and login works.
3. You can create a folder and upload a file.
4. The admin panel opens.

Validate other role-specific areas (WebDAV, WOPI, mail, trash, and so on) according to the corresponding sections in the First-Start Checklist.

Where to Go Next

• Using Docker: see Docker Deployment
• Running a remote follower node with Docker: see Docker Follower Node Deployment
• Using systemd: see systemd Deployment
• Preparing backups, restore, and post-restore validation: see Backup and Restore
• Want command-line deployment checks, offline configuration, or cross-database migration: see Operations CLI
• Preparing HTTPS: see Reverse Proxy
• Preparing Prometheus / Grafana: see Monitoring and Grafana
• Want to confirm exactly what first startup does automatically: see First-Start Checklist
• Preparing to upgrade: see Upgrades and Browser Cache
• Want to establish or rerun performance baselines: see Performance Benchmarking and Load Testing