KyleBenzle/FreeCloud
FreeCloud turns the web hosting space you already pay for into a simple personal cloud drive. - KyleBenzle/FreeCloud
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README
FreeCloud
Stop paying twice for storage FreeCloud turns the web hosting space you already pay for into a simple personal cloud drive. It currently includes:
a desktop sync app for Linux/macOS, with a Windows launcher path a working Android app a PHP web file manager and sync API you upload to your host a public website/download page
If you already pay for:
web hosting cloud storage maybe email storage
then you may already be paying for the same kind of disk space more than once. FreeCloud is the simple version of using that hosting space instead. License FreeCloud is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later. Public Links
Website: https://freecloud.wiki Source: https://github.com/KyleBenzle/FreeCloud
What FreeCloud Is FreeCloud is a hosted file sync and browser drive built around your own web host. You upload the server files to a folder like: public_html/FreeCloud/
Then your desktop app, Android app, and browser all talk to that same hosted FreeCloud install. Current Platforms
Linux desktop: primary tested desktop path macOS desktop: same Python/Tk desktop app, but still needs real-world Mac testing Windows desktop: launcher and compatibility path exist, but it has not been fully tested Android: working app iPhone/iPad: not implemented
Setup 1. Upload the server files Upload the contents of server/ to your web host so it looks like this: public_html/FreeCloud/index.php public_html/FreeCloud/freecloud_api.php public_html/FreeCloud/freecloud.php public_html/FreeCloud/freecloud_download.php public_html/FreeCloud/freecloud_preview.php
It should not look like this: public_html/FreeCloud/server/freecloud_api.php
Then visit: https://yourdomain.com/FreeCloud
2. Run the desktop app Linux / macOS: ./Run_Mac_Linux.sh Windows: Run_Windows.bat In the desktop app, enter:
Website Address: https://yourdomain.com/FreeCloud Local Folder: your normal local sync folder, such as ~/FreeCloud Password: an optional password for this hosted drive
On first connection:
if the hosted drive is not initialized yet, the app creates it if it is already initialized, the app uses the existing password
3. Use the web view Once uploaded, your hosted browser drive is available at: https://yourdomain.com/FreeCloud
You can:
upload files browse folders preview supported media edit supported text files download files or ZIP folders
4. Use the Android app The Android app connects to the same hosted FreeCloud install. Use:
Website Address: https://yourdomain.com/FreeCloud Password: the same FreeCloud password Phone folder: the local Android folder you want to use
Project Structure server/ The actual hosted FreeCloud web app and API:
server/index.php server/freecloud.php server/freecloud_api.php server/freecloud_download.php server/freecloud_preview.php
Desktop app The current desktop app is built from:
freecloud_ui.py: desktop GUI freecloud_cli.py: sync engine / CLI Run_Mac_Linux.sh: Linux/macOS launcher Run_Windows.bat: Windows launcher
android-app/ Android app source project. website/ Public landing/download site assets, including:
website/index.html website/privacy.html website/FreeCloud.zip
This folder is for the public website, not the hosted FreeCloud backend. How Sync Works The current sync model is simple:
local changes upload to the hosted FreeCloud server remote changes download back to the local folder remote deletions remove unchanged local files local deletions do not delete remote files unless the CLI is started with --delete-remote
This behavior is intentional, but it is not fully symmetrical. Configuration Files Desktop/local config currently uses simple JSON files:
last-used config:
.freecloud_last_config.json
per-local-folder config:
.freecloud_client.json
sync state:
.freecloud_state.json
These are convenient, but they are not hardened secrets storage. Current Architecture FreeCloud currently has three main user-facing layers:
Desktop sync client Android client Hosted PHP web app and API
The hosted server stores synced files in: freecloud_files/
The main server pieces are:
freecloud_api.php for sync actions freecloud.php for browser file management freecloud_preview.php for inline previews freecloud_download.php for downloads and ZIP export
Security Notes FreeCloud is practical, but not fully hardened. Important current realities:
storage protection currently depends heavily on host configuration the app stores local credentials in plaintext JSON the web UI does not currently have CSRF protection some risky file types are still allowed through the browser file manager large uploads are still relatively simple and not highly robust
So:
this is not meant to be a hardened enterprise storage platform it is meant to be a small, useful personal hosted drive
Known Limitations
macOS path still needs broader real-device testing Windows path is best-effort and not deeply tested no iPhone/iPad app no multi-sync manager yet no self-host mode right now no GitHub publishing integration right now
Development Notes If you are working on the project locally:
the desktop app is the main path for Linux/macOS the Android app lives in android-app/ the public website lives in website/ the hosted backend lives in server/ the current architecture and sync flow are summarized in PROJECT_NOTES.md
Why This Exists Because paying for hosting and then paying again for storage often makes no sense. You already have the space. Use it.