Nextcloud is a powerful open-source platform for file synchronization and sharing, but it can run into issues if the file permissions are not set correctly. One common issue is the “Can’t write into config directory!” error, which typically indicates a permissions problem. This blog post will guide you through the steps to fix Nextcloud permissions within a Docker container.
Steps to Fix Nextcloud Permissions
Step 1: Identify the Running Container
First, you need to identify the container running Nextcloud. You can do this by listing all running containers and finding the one for Nextcloud.
docker ps
Look for the container ID or name of the container running Nextcloud.
Step 2: Adjust Permissions
You need to adjust the permissions of the config directory within the container. The following commands will set the correct permissions and ownership for the directory.
- Change Directory PermissionsRun the following command to set the permissions for the
configdirectory to755, which allows the owner to read, write, and execute, and others to read and execute.
docker exec -u root <container_id_or_name> sh -c 'chmod 755 /var/www/html/config'
- Change OwnershipSet the ownership of the
configdirectory towww-data, which is the user under which Nextcloud typically runs.
docker exec -u root <container_id_or_name> sh -c 'chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/config'
Replace <container_id_or_name> with the actual container ID or name.
Step 3: Verify Permissions
After changing the permissions and ownership, verify that the changes have been applied correctly. You can do this by listing the directory contents with detailed permissions.
docker exec -u root <container_id_or_name> sh -c 'ls -lsa /var/www/html'
This command will display the permissions and ownership of the files and directories in the Nextcloud root directory. You should see the config directory with 755 permissions and www-data as the owner.
Example Commands
Here are the example commands with placeholder values replaced:
docker exec -u root nextcloud_container sh -c 'chmod 755 /var/www/html/config'
docker exec -u root nextcloud_container sh -c 'chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/config'
docker exec -u root nextcloud_container sh -c 'ls -lsa /var/www/html'
Output Example
The output of the ls -lsa /var/www/html command should look something like this:
4 drwxrwxrwx 14 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 .
4 drwxrwxr-x 1 www-data root 4096 Jun 13 08:47 ..
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 5120 Jun 14 15:47 .htaccess
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 101 Jun 14 15:47 .user.ini
4 drwxr-xr-x 44 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 3rdparty
24 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 23796 Jun 14 15:47 AUTHORS
36 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 34520 Jun 14 15:47 COPYING
4 drwxr-xr-x 51 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 apps
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 2079 Jun 14 15:47 composer.json
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 3140 Jun 14 15:47 composer.lock
4 drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 config
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 4145 Jun 14 15:47 console.php
4 drwxr-xr-x 24 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 core
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 7837 Jun 14 15:47 cron.php
4 drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 custom_apps
4 drwxr-xr-x 3 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 data
24 drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 20480 Jun 14 15:47 dist
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 156 Jun 14 15:47 index.html
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 4564 Jun 14 15:47 index.php
4 drwxr-xr-x 6 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 lib
0 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jun 14 15:47 nextcloud-init-sync.lock
4 -rwxr-xr-x 1 www-data www-data 283 Jun 14 15:47 occ
4 drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 ocs
4 drwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 ocs-provider
1044 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 1065184 Jun 14 15:47 package-lock.json
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 7032 Jun 14 15:47 package.json
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 3759 Jun 14 15:47 public.php
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 5597 Jun 14 15:47 remote.php
4 drwxr-xr-x 4 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 resources
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 26 Jun 14 15:47 robots.txt
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 2523 Jun 14 15:47 status.php
4 drwxr-xr-x 3 www-data www-data 4096 Jun 14 15:47 themes
4 -rw-r--r-- 1 www-data www-data 383 Jun 14 15:47 version.php
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should be able to fix the “Can’t write into config directory!” error in your Nextcloud Docker container. Ensuring the correct permissions and ownership is crucial for the smooth operation of Nextcloud. If you encounter any issues, double-check the paths and commands used, and ensure that the container is running properly.