Nextcloud and Paperless-ngx in Multi-user Operation

The two open source solutions complement each other in joint operation. While Paperless-ngx automatically captures and processes documents, Nextcloud handles the synchronization and storage of documents. This article presents the setup for multi-user operation.

Basic Requirements

As described in the last article, Nextcloud and Paperless-ngx should ideally be operated on the same server. This allows Paperless-ngx folders to be integrated into Nextcloud as local external storage. The setup is explained step by step below.

1. Creating a Group

First, create a new group called “Users“ in Paperless-ngx. To do this, click on “Users & Groups - Add Group“ at the bottom left.

The user group does not receive admin and group rights. Under “User“, only the “View“ option needs to be checked.

2. Adding Users

Create users for Paperless-ngx, ideally with the same usernames as in your Nextcloud. Add these users to the “Users“ group.

3. Adding a Storage Path

Click on “Storage Paths - Create“ in the left menu to define a new storage path. By adding placeholders, you can specify the folder structure to be used by Paperless-ngx. It‘s important to set the {“{owner_username}/“} placeholder first so that documents are stored in the respective user directory.

With this path, a new folder with the document type is created in the user directory, and the document is saved with the title as the name.
{“{owner_username}/{document_type}/{title}“}

Under permissions, the administrator is set as the owner. The “Users“ group receives view rights.

A list of all placeholders can be found here:
https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/advanced_usage/#placeholders

4. Integrating Paperless-ngx Consume Folder

For the next step, the corresponding folders must first be created in the “consume“ folder of Paperless-ngx.

To do this, click on “Administration Settings - External Storage“ in your Nextcloud and add a local external storage. For the storage path, enter the consume folder, e.g., /opt/paperless-ngx/consume/Demo.
(The path may vary depending on the installation, and the corresponding folder must already be created)

This folder should only be shared with the administrator.

Then create the folders for the users.

5. Creating Workflows

Next, a workflow is created for each user. To do this, click on “Workflows - Add Workflow“ in the left menu.
The workflow is necessary so that documents from Nextcloud can also be loaded into Paperless-ngx.

It‘s best to use the respective username as the name.

• Trigger type: Processing started
• Path: /usr/src/paperless/consume/Demo/*
  (The path may vary depending on the installation, and the corresponding folder must already be created)

For the action type, select “Assignment“ and choose the storage path you just created. For owner, view permissions, and edit permissions, select the user for whom the workflow is being created.

6. Adding External Storage for Users

For each user to see their Paperless-ngx folders in Nextcloud, these must be integrated as external storage. To do this, click on “Administration Settings - External Storage“ in your Nextcloud. Create a folder “Paperless Documents“ with the storage path /opt/paperless-ngx/media/documents/archive/Demo

...and a “Paperless Input“ folder with this storage path: /opt/paperless-ngx/consume/Demo

Please note that the storage paths may vary depending on the installation.

Result

After successful setup, each Nextcloud user has two personal Paperless-ngx folders. The “Consume“ folder, in which documents can be easily loaded into Paperless-ngx via drag & drop, and the “Paperless“ folder, in which all documents with the Paperless-ngx folder structure can be seen. In Paperless-ngx, each user has their personal area with their documents that they can upload and edit.

As a PathConnect customer, we take care of the complete setup and specific settings for you.