Introduction

What is CubyCrate?

CubyCrate is a lightweight, self-hosted file drive built for individuals and small teams who want full ownership of their files on their own infrastructure. It bundles a Go backend and an embedded web interface into a single container image.

SQLite handles application metadata and directory state, while physical files reside on local filesystem paths or optional S3-compatible cloud storage buckets.

Core Capabilities

• Browser-based file management: Upload, download, rename, move, star, and delete files with desktop-style folder navigation.
• Resumable and direct uploads: Small files transfer directly, while large payloads use chunked TUS uploads that resume automatically after connection drops.
• Two storage spaces: Use My Storage for personal files and Organization for an open shared team space.
• Flexible storage backends: Store files on direct host mount paths or connect S3-compatible object storage nodes configured by an administrator.
• In-browser previews: Inspect images, video, audio, PDFs, text, and source code files directly without downloading them.
• Sharing controls: Share personal files with other registered accounts using Viewer or Editor permissions, or generate password-protected public links.

Storage Architecture

CubyCrate separates logical file trees from physical storage nodes:

1. Logical directory tree: Stored in SQLite (cubycloud.db). File metadata, ownership, folder structures, and share records live here.
2. Physical storage nodes: Administrators register storage nodes where raw bytes are written. Nodes can be local filesystem directories or S3-compatible buckets.
3. Master encryption key: Storage node credentials (such as S3 secret access keys) are encrypted using AES-256-GCM. The encryption key is stored on disk at secrets/master.key inside the data directory.

Infrastructure responsibility

CubyCrate does not run automatic multi-node replication or automatic high availability failover. The host operator maintains storage capacity, volume backups, network firewalls, and TLS termination.

My Storage vs. Organization

CubyCrate provides two distinct workspaces in the drive interface:

Workspace	Purpose	Permissions	Quota Accounting
My Storage	Personal file area	Private to the account owner; items can be shared explicitly	Consumes the user’s allocated storage quota
Organization	Shared team tree	Every registered user can read, write, upload, and delete	Does not count against individual user quotas

Organization has no sub-group RBAC

The Organization drive is a single shared directory tree for authenticated users. It does not provide isolated team silos, departemental boundaries, or granular group permissions.

Getting Started

Follow these guides to set up and use your CubyCrate instance:

• Installation Guide: Deploy the official container using Docker Compose and complete first-time administrator initialization.
• Configuration Guide: Configure environment variables, persistent volumes, and reverse proxies (Caddy, Nginx).
• File Management: Learn navigation, file actions, preview support, and upload mechanics.
• Sharing Guide: Share files with internal accounts or create password-protected public download links.