How it helps your business
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FileGator is the open-source solution for simple, powerful web-based file management. Whether you need a private alternative to Dropbox or an internal portal for your team to access shared files, FileGator provides a sleek and easy-to-use interface that sits comfortably on top of your existing storage. Unlike heavy enterprise document management systems, FileGator is lightweight, fast, and remarkably easy to deploy.
One of its greatest strengths is its versatility. You can connect it to local directories, remote FTP servers, or high-scale cloud storage like Amazon S3 or MinIO. Its multi-user system allows you to define exactly who can view, upload, or delete files, making it a perfect tool for collaborative environments. With built-in previews for common file types and a native text editor, you can manage your digital assets directly in the browser without downloading a single byte.
Self-hosting FileGator provides organizations with a cost-effective, secure file portal that ensures data sovereignty while delivering a world-class user experience for file management.
Key Benefits
- Zero-Cloud Fees: Manage your files on your own infrastructure without subscription costs.
- Universal Storage: Connect to local disks, FTP, or S3-compatible cloud storage.
- Privacy & Security: Full control over users, permissions, and where your data is stored.
- Blazing Fast: One of the most lightweight file managers available for the web.
- Simple Sharing: Easily generate public links to share files with colleagues or clients.
Production Architecture Overview
A production FileGator deployment typically consists of:
- Web Server: (Apache or Nginx) running PHP 8.1 or higher.
- PHP-FPM: For high-performance PHP processing.
- Storage Backend: Your choice of Local, FTP, SFTP, or S3-compatible storage.
- Auth Layer: Default internal multi-user system or integrated OIDC (optional).
- Reverse Proxy: NGINX or Caddy to handle SSL/TLS and routing.
How we deploy this for you
Security Hardened
Firewalls, SSL, and hardened kernels out of the box.
Performance Tuned
Optimized for speed with cache and DB fine-tuning.
Automated Backups
Daily off-site backups so you never lose your data.
Private Cloud
You own the server and the data. No middleman.
Implementation Blueprint
Prerequisites
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y
sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start dockershell
Docker Compose Production Setup
This configuration runs FileGator using the official lightweight Docker image.
version: '3'
services:
filegator:
image: filegator/filegator:latest
ports:
- "8080:8080"
volumes:
- ./my-files:/var/www/filegator/repository
- ./config:/var/www/filegator/configuration
environment:
- FILE_GATOR_REPO_PATH=/var/www/filegator/repository
restart: alwaysKubernetes Production Deployment (Recommended)
FileGator can be containerized and deployed on Kubernetes for improved availability and scaling.
# Deploy using a standard Deployment and Service
kubectl create deployment filegator --image=filegator/filegator:latest
kubectl expose deployment filegator --port=8080Benefits:
- High Availability: Scale your FileGator pods to ensure that project data is always accessible.
- Cloud Storage Integration: Use Kubernetes Secrets to manage S3/FTP credentials for your storage backends.
- Persistent Management: Use Kubernetes PersistentVolumeClaims to manage your local storage repository reliably.
Scaling & Performance
- S3 Offloading: For large-scale setups, always use an S3-compatible backend (like AWS S3 or MinIO) to handle high volumes of files.
- Image Previews: If you have many large images, consider optimizing your backend storage I/O to ensure fast preview generation.
- Load Balancing: Use a load balancer to distribute traffic across multiple FileGator pods in the cluster.
- Caching: Leverage a reverse proxy to cache static assets and reduce the load on the PHP server.
Backup & Safety
- Storage Backups: Regularly backup your local repository or ensure your S3 provider has versioning and cross-region replication enabled.
- Volume Snapshots: Regularly backup the persistent volumes containing your user configurations and local files.
- Security Updates: Monitor FileGator's GitHub for updates and security patches.
- HTTPS Enforcement: Always run FileGator behind a secure reverse proxy with SSL/TLS enabled to protect your files and user credentials.
Includes Security & performance standards
Best place to host FileGator
We recommend Hostinger for its reliability and low cost. It's the perfect home for your new apps, featuring easy setup and 24/7 support.
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