--- title: "Deploy File Browser" description: "File Browser — web-based file manager for managing files and folders." category: "Storage" url: https://railway.com/deploy/industrious-happiness --- # Deploy File Browser File Browser — web-based file manager for managing files and folders. **[Deploy File Browser on Railway](https://railway.com/template/industrious-happiness)** - **Creator:** INAPP - **Category:** Storage - **Total deploys:** 12 ## Template content ### File Browser - **Source:** https://github.com/INAPP-Mobile/railway-filebrowser - **Public domain:** Yes ## Documentation # File Browser — Railway Template [![Deploy on Railway](https://railway.app/button.svg)](https://railway.com/new/template/industrious-happiness) Deploy [File Browser](https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser) — 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: | Variable | Default | Description | |----------------|------------|--------------------------------------------| | `PORT` | `8080` | HTTP port (Railway sets this automatically) | | `ROOT` | `/srv` | Root directory to serve | | `FB_USERNAME` | `admin` | Default admin username (first run only) | | `FB_PASSWORD` | *(unset)* | Default admin password (plain text, first run) | On first startup, File Browser creates an admin user automatically. You can log in with credentials configured via env vars. ## Local Development ```bash # 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: | Flag | Environment | Default | Description | |--------------------|-------------|---------------|-----------------------------------------| | `--port` | `PORT` | `8080` | HTTP listen port | | `--address` | — | `0.0.0.0` | Bind address | | `--root` | `ROOT` | `/srv` | Root directory to serve | | `--database` | `FB_DATABASE` | `/srv/filebrowser.db` | Database path | | `--username` | `FB_USERNAME` | `admin` | First user's username | | `--password` | `FB_PASSWORD` | *(auto-gen)* | First user's password (hashed) | | `--noauth` | — | `false` | Disable authentication (not recommended) | | `--baseurl` | `FB_BASEURL` | `""` | Base URL for reverse proxy | | `--cache-dir` | — | `""` | File cache directory | ### Advanced: Custom Configuration File File Browser also supports a `.json` or `.yaml` configuration file. Generate one: ```bash 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](https://railway.app) — hosting platform - [GitHub Account](https://github.com) — 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. [![Deploy on Railway](https://railway.app/button.svg)](https://railway.com/new/template/industrious-happiness) ### 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 | Variable | Required | Default | Description | |----------|----------|---------|-------------| | `PORT` | No | `8080` | HTTP listen port (Railway sets this automatically) | | `ROOT` | No | `/srv` | Root directory to serve files from | | `FB_USERNAME` | No | `admin` | First admin username (ignored if admin already exists) | | `FB_PASSWORD` | No | _auto-generated_ | Default password on first run — set explicitly for reproducibility | ### Persistent Storage File Browser stores its SQLite database at `/srv/filebrowser.db` by default. To persist data across deployments, attach a [Railway Volume](https://railway.com/docs/resources/volumes) 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 | Metric | Value | |--------|-------| | Image size | ~30 MB uncompressed | | RAM usage | 15–50 MB idle (~100 MB under heavy file operations) | | CPU usage | Negligible idle; burst during thumbnail generation | | Startup time | ~2 seconds after image pulled | ## 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](LICENSE). File Browser itself is licensed under [Apache License 2.0](https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/blob/master/LICENSE). ## Similar templates - [Garage S3 Storage](https://railway.com/deploy/garage-s3-storage) — Ultra-light S3 server: fast, open-source, plug-and-play. - [Redis](https://railway.com/deploy/redis-1) — Self Host Latest Redis with Railway - [EasyImg](https://railway.com/deploy/easyimg) — Simple self-hostable Nuxt.js personal image hosting system. Open this page in a browser: https://railway.com/deploy/industrious-happiness