The OpenCloud 8.0 platform has been released, offering users the ability to deploy a system for sharing files and collaborating on content on their own server. Positioned as an open alternative to proprietary systems such as Microsoft SharePoint, Google Drive, and Dropbox, OpenCloud aims to meet the requirements of the current European Union regulation GDPR.
Based as a fork of the OCIS platform (ownCloud Infinite Scale), OpenCloud sets itself apart from the old code base of ownCloud and the NextCloud project by rewriting the server part from PHP to Go. The focus is on optimizing the code base for collaboration with files by eliminating unnecessary functionality.
The server part of OpenCloud is written in the Go language, distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, and supports various programming interfaces including WebDAV, gRPC, Microsoft RESTful Web API Graph, OCS, OCM 1.1, and OpenID Connect. Employing the concept of microservices, the server can scale from Raspberry Pi installations to large multi-server implementations.
The desktop client for OpenCloud is written in C++ using Qt and is published under the GPLv3 license, with support for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The client offers features for file synchronization and mounting shared storage as a virtual file system. The web interface, written in TypeScript using the Vue.js framework, is available under the AGPLv3 license. Mobile applications for Android and iOS are also available.
In addition to file storage and sharing functions, OpenCloud includes capabilities for real-time collaborative document editing, integration with the Collabora office suite Online and the Markdown Editor (ToastUI), text extraction from images and scanned documents, and the use of the ICAP protocol for scanning downloaded files for viruses.