💾🎉 copyparty: Setup?

aa11

Hi,

"Turn almost any device into a file server with resumable uploads/downloads using any web browser. Server only needs Python (2 or 3), all dependencies optional."

introducing copyparty, the FOSS file server (Video)

To use:

Download copyparty-sfx.py
Run python3 copy party-sfx.py

That should be it (until you want to get into customs configs).

I tried using it at OS and it seems to startup, but:

Its initial output said that it created some config files but they weren't actually created (a permission issue?)
A dir at /tmp/pe-copyparty.### is created
- Could that be a security issue? Ie: Storting a users files in a location accessible by anyone else on that server?
- Or maybe not because all of the files are owned by the user?
None of the provided URLs worked (maybe we need to create an app with port forwarding?)

Thanks.

sean

⚠️ disclaimer: I don't know anything about copyparty but I know how to wire stuff up at Opalstack. Follow these instructions at your own risk.

aa11 Its initial output said that it created some config files but they weren't actually created (a permission issue?)

What did it actually say, verbatim? (redact your username and server if it's included)

aa11 Could that be a security issue?

I generally recommend using a tmp directory inside your home directory when the app supports it. Most do via the standard environment variable TMPDIR.

aa11 None of the provided URLs worked (maybe we need to create an app with port forwarding?)

You'll need to do the following:

Create a new Nginx Proxy Port app and make a note of its port assignment.
Attach the app to a site.

Log into SSH and run following commands, replacing APP with your app name, NNNNN with your port, USER with the username you want and PASS with the password you want:

mkdir -p $HOME/apps/APP/{tmp,files}
export TMPDIR=$HOME/apps/APP/tmp
wget https://github.com/9001/copyparty/releases/latest/download/copyparty-sfx.py -O $HOME/apps/APP/copyparty-sfx.py
daemonize -c $HOME/apps/APP -E TMPDIR=$HOME/apps/APP/tmp -a -o $HOME/logs/apps/APP/out.log -e $HOME/logs/apps/APP/err.log -p $HOME/logs/apps/APP/pid /usr/local/bin/python3.13 $HOME/apps/APP/copyparty-sfx.py -p NNNNN -i 127.0.0.1 --rproxy -1 --chdir $HOME/apps/APP/files -a USER:PASS -v $HOME/apps/APP/files::rw,USER

That last "daemonize" command starts the app as a background process listening on its assigned port.

At this point, copyparty will be up and running on the site you created in step 2. Visit the site, enter your password (PASS from the start command), and you're in.

To stop the app, run:

kill $( cat $HOME/logs/apps/APP/pid )

To see more app options including accounts and permissions, run python3.13 $HOME/logs/apps/APP/copyparty-sfx.py --help. A ton of info is also available on the Github page that you linked.

(That 2-step "download and run" procedure would have ended up serving a read-write directory to the world, if the network port was open. Thankfully we keep them closed by default so you didn't expose your files inadvertently.)

aa11

Thank you for all of the sean !

That's more than hoped it would be. But I'll try it sometime.

Thank you again.

aa11

sean What did it actually say, verbatim? (redact your username and server if it's included)

Some of the relevant first-run output:

[SFX] sfxdir: /tmp/pe-copyparty.1045.162676.0

20:02:17.910 root      creating new sessions-db /home/USERNAME/.config/copyparty/sessions.db
20:02:17.916 root      created new sessions-db
20:02:17.919 auth      volumes and permissions: "/"  /home/USERNAME/apps/USERNAME/files/copyparty

20:02:17.927 root      max clients: 1024
20:02:17.931 tcpsrv    available @  http://127.0.0.1:3923/  (1-lo)
20:02:17.931 tcpsrv    available @  http://[::1]:3923/  (1-lo)
20:02:17.931 tcpsrv    available @  http://OS-SERVER-IP-HERE:3923/  (2-em1, external)

20:02:18.210 tcpsrv    listening @ [::]:3923  f3 p162676
20:02:18.210 hsrv      subscribed @ [::]:3923  f3 p162676
20:02:18.210 cert      creating new ca ...
20:02:18.211 qr-code   http://OS-SERVER-IP-HERE:3923/

20:02:18.218 cert      could not create TLS certificates: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'cfssl': 'cfssl'
20:02:18.218 cert      install cfssl if you want to fix this; https://github.com/cloudflare/cfssl/releases/latest  (cfssl, cfssljson, cfssl-certinfo)
20:02:18.219 cert      using default TLS certificate; https will be insecure: /home/USERNAME/.config/copyparty/cert.pem

peter

aa11 You would get this output if you run the app with python copyparty-sfx.py, in which case the process is started with copyparty's default settings, including its default port (3923). As per Sean's instructions, you must create an Nginx Proxy Port app through the Opalstack control panel and make a note of its port assignment, then manually set the assigned port number and some other settings when you call copyparty-sfx.py.

You can run it like this:

python3.13 $HOME/apps/APP/copyparty-sfx.py -p NNNNN -i 127.0.0.1 --rproxy -1 --chdir $HOME/apps/APP/files -a USER:PASS -v $HOME/apps/APP/files::rw,USER

(Replace APP with the name of your application, NNNNN with your assigned port number, USER with your desired username, and PASS with the password you want to use.)

You will immediately see the app's output, but the process will be terminated when you close your shell session. That is why you should use daemonize to start the app as a background process, exactly as described in Sean's setup instructions above.

ttavoy

This looks wonderful. But following Sean's instructions, when I visit the site in a browser and try to log in, the browser responds with:

rejected by cors-check (see serverlog) URL:

*** edited to say *** further investigation indicates the problem has to do with http:// vs https:// ... will continue investigating. Thanks.