File Browser — Railway Template

Deploy File Browser — a web-based file manager — on Railway in minutes.

File Browser provides a file managing interface within a specified directory. Upload, delete, preview, rename, and edit your files through a clean web UI. It supports multiple users, share links, and granular permissions.

Features

• Single-file binary — Go-based, minimal resource usage (~15 MB)
• Web-based file management — upload, download, rename, delete, preview
• Multi-user support — each user can have their own directory
• Share links — create time-limited, password-protected shares
• Text editor — edit files directly in the browser
• Image thumbnails — automatic preview generation
• Search — full-text and filename search
• Archive support — upload and extract zip/tar/gz archives

Architecture

                      ┌──────────────┐
                      │   Browser    │
                      └──────┬───────┘
                             │ HTTPS
                      ┌──────▼───────┐
                      │   Railway    │
                      │  Edge Proxy  │
                      └──────┬───────┘
                             │ HTTP :PORT
                      ┌──────▼───────┐
                      │  Filebrowser │
                      │  (Go binary) │
                      │  :$PORT      │
                      ├──────────────┤
                      │  /srv root   │
                      │  (ephemeral) │
                      └──────────────┘

Note: File Browser supports a persistent database at /srv/filebrowser.db. On Railway, this is ephemeral unless you attach a volume.

Quick Start

Click the Deploy button above, then configure these environment variables:

On first startup, File Browser creates an admin user automatically. You can log in with credentials configured via env vars.

Local Development

# Clone the repository
git clone git@github.com:INAPP-Mobile/railway-filebrowser.git
cd railway-filebrowser

# Build the Docker image
podman build -t railway-filebrowser .

# Run the container
podman run -d \
  --name filebrowser \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -e PORT=8080 \
  -v /path/to/your/files:/srv \
  railway-filebrowser

# Visit http://localhost:8080

Configuration

File Browser supports environment variables for configuration. These are passed as CLI flags:

Advanced: Custom Configuration File

File Browser also supports a .json or .yaml configuration file. Generate one:

filebrowser config init > filebrowser.json

Then mount it at /srv/filebrowser.json or use --config flag.

Troubleshooting

Unable to log in

The default admin credentials are set via FB_USERNAME and FB_PASSWORD. If these are not set, File Browser generates a random password on first startup. Check your Railway logs for the generated credentials.

Files not visible

Ensure the root directory (/srv) contains files. File Browser serves the contents of this directory. If you've attached a Railway volume, mount it at /srv.

Port conflict

Railway sets the PORT environment variable automatically. The Dockerfile binds to ${PORT}. If you see EADDRINUSE errors, ensure no other service is using the port.

Slow thumbnails

Image processing is CPU-intensive. Adjust the --img-processors flag if needed (default: 4).

Dependencies for File Browser

Deployment Dependencies

• Railway Account — hosting platform
• GitHub Account — source code hosting

Technical Dependencies

• Go binary — self-contained, no runtime dependencies
• Alpine Linux 3.20 — base image (~5 MB)

Deploy and Host

Deploy File Browser to Railway in one click. No local environment setup required — the containerized image includes everything needed for your file management needs on production-grade infrastructure with automatic HTTPS.

Quick Deploy Steps

1. Click the Deploy to Railway button above
2. Set FB_USERNAME and FB_PASSWORD environment variables (optional but recommended)
3. Click Deploy — the build takes ~30 seconds
4. Visit your new file browser at the generated *.up.railway.app URL

Environment Variables

Persistent Storage

File Browser stores its SQLite database at /srv/filebrowser.db by default. To persist data across deployments, attach a Railway Volume and mount it at /srv. The volume preserves your files and the embedded database automatically.

About Hosting

How It Works on Railway

File Browser runs inside a single Alpine-based container (Alpine 3.20, ~30 MB). The Dockerfile downloads the File Browser Go binary (v2.63.17) at build time and configures it to listen on the port assigned by Railway via the PORT environment variable. A health check pings /health to verify the container is serving requests.

The service is self-contained — no external database, cache, or dependencies are needed. All user data (files + metadata) lives inside the container's filesystem at /srv.

Resource Profile

Why Deploy

• Zero-config deployment — one-click deploy, no Docker knowledge required
• No external dependencies — single binary, SQLite for metadata, no Redis or Postgres
• Automatic HTTPS — Railway provisions TLS certificates on your *.up.railway.app domain
• Persistent storage — attach a volume to keep files and the database across deployments
• Lightweight — runs perfectly on the smallest Railway Hobby tier

Common Use Cases

• Personal media server — store and access photos, documents, and videos from anywhere
• Team file sharing — share folders via public links with time-limited, password-protected access
• Backup destination — serve as a remote backup location for files from other servers or desktops
• Static site content — host images, PDFs, and assets for Jekyll, Hugo, or custom static sites
• Cross-device sync — replace Dropbox/Google Drive with your self-hosted file manager

License

This template is licensed under the MIT License.

File Browser itself is licensed under Apache License 2.0.