Newbie question: how to configure external database during setup

ℹ️ Support
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1

Hello!

I have one of the silliest questions possible…
But how do I choose an external database during installation?

I have installed the latest version of Nextcloud AIO and it works fine. During the installation I haven’t found any option to use external Database (e.x. Postgres).
After installing I can see that it uses it’s own database container.

I didn’t find anything close to what was mentioned here: https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/admin_manual/installation/installation_wizard.html#database-choice

The Basics

  • Nextcloud Server version (e.g., 29.0.5):
    • 29.0.8.1
  • Operating system and version (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04):
    • Debian 12 Linux 6.1.0-27-amd64 x86_64
  • Web server and version (e.g, Apache 2.4.25):
    • Apache/2.4.62 (Unix)
  • Reverse proxy and version _(e.g. nginx 1.27.2)
    • Nginx
  • PHP version (e.g, 8.3):
    • 8.2.25
  • Is this the first time you’ve seen this error? (Yes / No):
    • Yes
  • When did this problem seem to first start?
    • 2024-11-13
  • Installation method (e.g. AIO, NCP, Bare Metal/Archive, etc.)
    • AIO: Docker container
  • Are you using Cloudflare, mod_security, or similar? (Yes / No)
    • No

Summary of the issue you are facing:

I have installed the latest version of Nextcloud AIO and it works fine. But I’d like it to use an external database. I haven’t found this option during installation process. Nothing close to what was mentioned here: https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/admin_manual/installation/installation_wizard.html#database-choice

How can I (or even can I) use an external database with Nextcloud AIO?

Steps to replicate it (hint: details matter!):

  1. Install Nextcloud
  2. Observe the issue: no option to choose an external database presented during installation, or at lease I couldn’t find one.
2

hello @NameHasBeenTaken welcome to the community :handshake:

As the name already implies there whole idea of AiO is to collect all important Nextcloud components under one hood - this is the reason why it comes with it’s own DB and there is no way to change it. If you need to you should check other installation methods e.g.

3

Thank you very muck for the fast and comprehensive answer!

I was a bit confusing about not being able to define a database connection.

For now I will just stick with the AIO, but have to change the backup policy a bit…