How to configure a WebDAV server using rclone

Introduction

WebDAV is an extension of the HTTP protocol that allows you share files remotely. Most web server software such as Apache HTTPhave built-in WebDAV modules but they usually require complex configuration steps.

One of the easiest ways to configure a WebDAV server is by using rclone.

Rclone is a command line application used to manage files on cloud storage, but it can also be used to configure a WebDAV server.

Step 1

First, you'll need to install rclone.

sudo dnf install rclone -y

Here is the format for the command to run a WebDAV server:

rclone serve webdav remote:path [flags]

The remote:path specifies the directory for the WebDAV server.

/media/webdav/

Configure the addr, user, and pass flags.

• The addr flag is used to specify the IP address and port.

  --addr 192.168.4.200:8111
  

• The user flag is used to specify a username. Choose a name that doesn't exist on the server.

  --user poochie
  

• The pass flag is the password for the WebDAV user.

  --pass myRandomPassword
  

Here is the complete command to start the WebDAV server:

rclone serve webdav /media/webdav/ --addr 192.168.4.200:8111 --user poochie --pass myRandomPassword

This works great for testing but should be configured to run as a service.

Step 2

We'll be creating a custom systemd unit file to control the WebDAV server.

First, we need to create a bash script that will run the rclone serve command.

sudo vi /usr/bin/rclone/rclone_webdav.sh

Here is the complete script:

#!/bin/bash
/usr/bin/rclone serve webdav /media/webdav/ --addr 192.168.4.200:8111 --user poochie --pass myRandomPassword

Make the script executable.

chmod +X /usr/bin/rclone/rclone_webdav.sh

Create a systemd unit file for the script.

vi /etc/systemd/system/rclone_webdav.service

Add the following lines:

[Unit]
Description=Rclone WebDAV Service
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone/rclone_webdav.sh
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Run the following systemctl commands to enable the service:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start rclone_webdav.service
systemctl enable rclone_webdav.service

To verify the status:

systemctl status rclone_webdav.service

If you want to access this remotely and securely, you can create Zero Trust access for free using Cloudflare tunnels and a domain name. You'll get a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate and you won't even have to open up any ports on your system.