The resolver already supported per-app placement — CFG_<APP>_STORAGE names a
location and appDir sends data, compose and config there — and 37 of 39 app
templates ship the field. What was missing was choosing AT INSTALL TIME. The
only routes were editing a config by hand before installing, or installing onto
the default disk and then `app move`ing it, which copies the data twice.
libreportal app install <app> --storage=<location>
and the App Center's existing storage dropdown, which travels inside
config_variables. Both resolve to one answer in storageChoiceFor, so there is a
single code path.
Ordering is the whole difficulty, and getting it wrong is quiet. installApp
copies the app template into appDir(), sources it, and later applies the form
overrides. The choice has to be live before the copy (or the directory is
created on the wrong disk), written into the config before the source (or the
template's "default" wins and every later appDir in that process returns the
primary root), and folded into config_variables (or the override pass writes
"default" back). Miss any one and the directory and its config disagree — which
resolves correctly only until something sources the config.
Refuses an unknown or unmounted location, an existing directory, and an app
whose template marks the field **READONLY** (fixed to the primary root because
other apps reach it by literal path — storageMoveApp already refuses to move
those, and installing one elsewhere is the same violation from the other end).
Three shipped bugs found making this work:
* updateConfigOption chose its write helper by comparing the path against
$containers_dir — the PRIMARY root only — so an app on any other registered
location took the manager branch and `sed -i` failed with exactly the
permission error the comment above that code describes. `app move` writes
the new location with `|| true`, so it reported a successful move while
leaving the config naming the old disk.
* storageLocationName resolved a location's name only from an in-scope
CFG_STORAGE_LOC_<id>_NAME, falling back to the bare id. That name is the
value CFG_<APP>_STORAGE is set to, so the generated dropdown offered
"location-1" as both label and value — a choice that does not resolve. Read
it from the location's config when the variable is not in scope.
* storageSyncAllAppComments was written for "the regen path" and never wired
into one. Every CFG_<APP>_STORAGE option list was frozen at install time, so
adding a drive did not make it selectable anywhere. Called from the storage
generator now, which runs exactly when those lists go stale — and extended
to app TEMPLATES, since an app not installed yet is precisely the one whose
install form needs to show which drives exist.
Verified on a live install with three locations: linkding and authelia on disk1,
ipinfo on disk2, fourteen on the default root, each config naming its own drive.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
LibrePortal
Your own private corner of the internet — free, open, and yours.
LibrePortal is a self-hosted platform for running the apps you rely on, on your own server: one-click installs, a reverse proxy with automatic SSL, rootless Docker, optional VPN routing, and a clean web dashboard to manage it all.
⚠️ v0.1.0 — early days. Expect rough edges while things settle.
Why LibrePortal
Too many services today treat your data as theirs to take — quietly overstepping boundaries that should never have been crossed. LibrePortal grew out of frustration with that: it's a way to run the apps you depend on on your own server, where your data stays yours. Privacy here isn't a feature to toggle — it's the whole point.
Free & open — forever
The entire platform is free software under the GNU AGPLv3. Self-host it and you get everything — every feature, no paywalls, no telemetry. See our Promise for exactly what that means.
What you get
- 📦 One-click self-hosted apps (Nextcloud, Vaultwarden, Jellyfin, Gitea, …)
- 🔀 Traefik reverse proxy + automatic Let's Encrypt SSL
- 🔒 Rootless Docker, CrowdSec, sane security defaults
- 🛡️ Optional VPN routing (gluetun) for any app
- 🖥️ A web dashboard to install, configure, back up, and monitor everything
Quick start
curl -fsSL https://get.libreportal.org/install.sh | sudo bash
This installs a versioned, checksum-verified release (Debian/Ubuntu, root). Put
data on separate disks with --system-dir= / --containers-dir= / --backups-dir=.
The
get.libreportal.orghost is still being set up — until it's live, build a release and install from it locally (see the docs below).
Documentation
- docs/guide/install-and-use.md — install, place data on separate disks/drives, update, back up, uninstall.
- docs/contributing/development.md — run a dev copy, cut stable/edge releases, and test them before publishing.
LibrePortal Connect (optional)
Self-hosting is free and complete. If you'd rather not fiddle with the tricky parts — like reaching your server from your phone, or keeping off-site backups — LibrePortal Connect will handle them for you. Here's the catch that makes us different: we work like a courier carrying a sealed box. We move your data between your devices and store backup copies, but it stays locked and you hold the only key — we can't open it, and we never run your apps for you. Everything we offer, you can also set up yourself for free. Our Promise spells out exactly where that line sits.
Contributing
PRs welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md. We use a lightweight
DCO sign-off (git commit -s), no CLA.
Acknowledgments
LibrePortal has been built from scratch since 2023. Its spark of inspiration
was a small installer script from Brian McGonagill (OpenSourceIsAwesome):
gitlab.com/bmcgonag/docker_installs.
From that seed it grew start to finish — refined, extended, and refactored
into the platform it is today.
License
GNU AGPLv3. What's open stays open.