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Which general topic do you have
I just installed Nextcloud to my domain via cpanel. I was hoping to set up a simple version of my own WeTransfer type of email sharing for large files. I’ll need it to be for mostly non-user access via pasted email links that eventually expire in 30 days. I am willing to tinker a bit, but am wary of setting something up that will require constant fiddling between updates. Did I start with the right platform or are there other options that I might consider?
Hi,
welcome to the Nextcloud community! Great to see you’re exploring what the platform can do.
Let me walk you through some of your questions, especially regarding sharing and basic user functionality:
Seeing Other Users / Sharing With Them
By default, Nextcloud does not show a list of all users in the Contacts app. The Contacts app is more for managing your own personal address books.
However:
When sharing a file or folder, you can start typing a username or email, and if the person exists on the same instance, they will appear in autocomplete suggestions.
You can also share with a group, if groups have been defined (either by the admin or using the Circles app for user-created groups).
The Talk app also allows you to discover users by name or ID when starting a chat.
If you want to see a list of all users, that would require admin privileges or a custom app/script – Nextcloud intentionally doesn’t expose all users for privacy and scalability reasons.
How Sharing Works
You can share:
Files or folders with internal users (on the same Nextcloud instance) by entering their username or email.
With external users via public link (with optional password or expiration).
You can set permissions for each share:
Read-only, allow editing, allow uploading, resharing, or even file drop (where external users can upload, but not view existing content).
If you enable collaborative apps like Nextcloud Office, you can co-edit documents live (like in Google Docs).
Each share can be individually managed, and you can remove or adjust access anytime.
Installing New Apps
If you’re an admin:
Go to your user menu (top right) → Apps
There you can browse and install apps to expand functionality: Calendar, Mail, Office, Deck, Notes, Tasks, and more.
If you don’t see this menu, your account likely doesn’t have admin privileges.
Seeing Other Users / Sharing With Them
How Sharing Works
Installing New Apps