Event Photos Backed Up to WebDAV (Nextcloud, Synology, ownCloud)
You point Galeira at your Nextcloud, Synology, or ownCloud WebDAV URL, and approved event photos mirror straight into a folder you control. Every upload returns a receipt with the server response, path, and ETag so you can prove the file landed.
- ✓Works with Nextcloud, Synology, ownCloud, and standard WebDAV
- ✓App password stored encrypted, never shown in the dashboard again
- ✓Per-upload receipt with HTTP status, path, and ETag
- ✓Hostname allowlist keeps credentials pinned to your server
- ✓Only photos you approve are mirrored to your WebDAV
- ✓Reverse-proxy and Let's Encrypt setup documented
Why WebDAV / Nextcloud / Synology is the privacy-maximalist pick
If you already run a Nextcloud instance, a Synology NAS, or an ownCloud server, you have something most event hosts do not: storage you actually control. The disk is in your rack or your closet, the encryption keys are yours, the access logs are yours, and no third-party platform can quietly change retention rules on your event photos. For weddings, schools, clinics, congregations, and any host who handles photos of minors or sensitive moments, that level of control is the point. Galeira treats your WebDAV server as the long-term home for approved photos and keeps its own copy as the live sharing layer. You get a fast event gallery for guests on the night, and a private folder on your own hardware the next morning. If you ever want to leave Galeira, the folder on your NAS is already populated and already yours.
- ✓You own the disk, the keys, and the access logs
- ✓No third-party retention rule changes affect your event archive
- ✓Galeira stays the live sharing layer, WebDAV is the archive
- ✓Leaving Galeira is a no-op because the folder is already on your hardware
- ✓Works for hosts with strict data-residency or minors-only policies
How Galeira authenticates (URL + username + app password, encrypted)
To connect a WebDAV destination, you paste three things into the host dashboard: the full WebDAV URL (for Nextcloud this looks like https://cloud.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/yourname/), your username, and an app password generated inside Nextcloud, Synology DSM, or ownCloud. Galeira never asks for your main account password. The app password is encrypted at rest, scoped to a single event by default, and never displayed in the dashboard again after you save it. When Galeira mirrors a photo, it sends a single authenticated PUT to the configured path, reads the HTTP status and ETag from the response, and writes a receipt row into your event log. If the credential is revoked from inside your server, the mirror simply starts failing with 401 and you see the failure in the dashboard within seconds. There is no shared key, no service account, and no Galeira-side superuser path into your server.
- ✓App password generated inside your own server, not by Galeira
- ✓Credential encrypted at rest and scoped per event by default
- ✓Single authenticated PUT per photo, no batch tokens
- ✓Revocation on your side stops mirrors within seconds
- ✓Never shown in the dashboard again after first save
Path layout and the .galeira-verify marker file
Before Galeira mirrors any real photo, it writes a tiny marker file called .galeira-verify into the target folder and immediately reads it back. That round-trip confirms three things at once: the credential works, the path exists, and the WebDAV server accepts writes from Galeira. If the marker fails, no event photos are mirrored and you see a clear error in the dashboard. Once verification passes, photos land in a predictable layout like /Galeira/{event-slug}/{yyyy}/{mm-dd}/{photo-id}.jpg, so your archive is browsable on the NAS without any Galeira tooling. Each PUT returns a receipt with the HTTP status, the full destination path, the ETag, and the byte size, and those receipts are visible per photo in the event timeline. Hosts can download the full receipt set as a CSV before closing the event, which is useful for auditors and for handing the archive off to a venue or institution.
- ✓.galeira-verify marker proves write access before any real photo moves
- ✓Predictable folder layout per event, browsable on the NAS
- ✓Receipt per photo with HTTP status, path, ETag, and size
- ✓CSV export of receipts before closing the event
- ✓Failures surface immediately, not silently at the end
Reverse proxy + Let's Encrypt + Galeira hostname allowlisting
Galeira only connects to WebDAV endpoints over HTTPS, and it expects a valid TLS certificate on your server. The standard setup most hosts use is a reverse proxy such as Caddy, Nginx, or Traefik in front of Nextcloud or ownCloud, with Let's Encrypt issuing the certificate, and your WebDAV URL exposed on a clean hostname like cloud.example.com. Inside Galeira, you add the hostname to your event allowlist so the platform refuses to send requests anywhere else, even if the URL field is later edited. That stops a tampered config from silently exfiltrating photos to an attacker-controlled host. For Synology, DSM's built-in reverse proxy and Let's Encrypt integration cover the same ground without extra components. We document the headers and the WebDAV-specific timeout values you want to set on the proxy so that large RAW uploads do not get truncated, and so that NAS units do not drop slow connections from a rural reception venue.
- ✓HTTPS-only with a valid Let's Encrypt or DSM certificate
- ✓Hostname allowlist pins credentials to your real server
- ✓Caddy, Nginx, Traefik, and Synology DSM reverse proxy all supported
- ✓Documented headers and timeouts for large RAW uploads
- ✓Edits to the URL field cannot bypass the allowlist
Back up originals to a cloud you already own.
Galeira stores the event gallery so guests can view and download it, but the important part is ownership. When you connect a cloud destination, approved originals mirror to a place you control: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3, or WebDAV. The backup-status page shows what copied, what is pending, and what needs attention.
External cloud-provider outages and account deletions are outside Galeira's control — which is exactly why the receipt matters. You can verify, retry, and export while your archive is active.
How Galeira compares to the methods people try
Each method gets photos somewhere. The differences are in friction, quality, privacy, and what you can recover afterward.
Questions hosts ask before they create the QR
Does Galeira support Nextcloud, Synology, and ownCloud equally?
Yes, all three speak standard WebDAV and Galeira treats them the same. The only difference is the shape of the WebDAV URL you paste in, which is documented for each platform. Any other server that implements WebDAV correctly works too.
Do I have to give Galeira my main Nextcloud password?
No. You generate an app password inside Nextcloud, Synology DSM, or ownCloud and paste that. Galeira never asks for your main account credential, and you can revoke the app password from your server at any time.
What is the .galeira-verify file for?
It is a tiny marker file Galeira writes and reads back before mirroring real event photos. It proves the credential works, the path exists, and the server accepts writes. If verification fails, no photos are mirrored and you get a clear error.
Will Galeira mirror every guest upload to my WebDAV?
Only photos a host approves are mirrored by default. Unmoderated or rejected uploads stay inside Galeira and are not pushed to your server. This keeps your archive clean and avoids surprises for institutional hosts.
What happens if my Nextcloud goes offline during the event?
Guests keep uploading to Galeira as normal, because the live sharing layer is independent. Mirror PUTs that fail are retried with backoff, and you can see the failure count in the dashboard. Once your server is back, queued items mirror over.
Can I see proof that a specific photo landed on my NAS?
Yes. Each successful PUT writes a receipt row with the HTTP status, the full destination path, the ETag returned by your server, and the byte size. You can also export the full receipt set as a CSV before closing the event.
Does this work for EU hosts who need a GDPR-clean archive?
It is designed for that. The retention period, lawful basis, and share-link policy live inside your own Nextcloud or ownCloud server, where your existing data-protection review already applies. Galeira is the live event layer, not a long-term controller of your archive.
How do large RAW files behave over WebDAV?
They work, but you want reasonable timeouts on your reverse proxy and on the WebDAV server itself. We document the headers and timeout values that keep large PUTs from being truncated on slow venue uplinks. Synology DSM and Caddy defaults are usually fine.
Can the WebDAV URL be changed mid-event to redirect photos elsewhere?
Not silently. The hostname is locked to your event allowlist, so edits that point to a different host are refused. That stops a tampered config from quietly exfiltrating photos to an attacker-controlled server.
What if I close my Galeira account later?
The archive on your Nextcloud, Synology, or ownCloud is already populated under a folder you own. Nothing else is needed to keep the photos, and you can hand share links to guests from your server directly.
Keep reading
Create your event QR in about 60 seconds
Guests scan, upload, and view the gallery. You keep full-resolution originals backed up to your own cloud.