How to install Owncloud on a Mac mini server

“One benefit of hosting a Mac mini server is you can use it many different ways,” Brian Stucki blogs for Macminicolo. “Owncloud is a great service to add to the multi-purpose list.”


Stucki writes, “Ok, so Owncloud is awesome. How do you install it? Glad you asked. We worked with Macminicolo customer Kolby Allen, to put together a tutorial.”

Full illustrated instructions here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Macminicolo” for the heads up.]


  1. I’d like to use Owncloud with my Time Capsule, but TC is a very frustrating prone & limited device, not to mention expensive for the few features it come with. I regret purchasing it.

  2. let’s see “owncloud” or open source file storage software that has always been available to let you store your own stuff on your own mac/pc/server?

    Oh, and “owncloud” is just a branding and rehashing of open source software made by hard working progammers?

    Steal other people’s work much?

    1. The new mac mini has that really fast external bus (goes to look up what it’s called) Thunderbolt! Faster than lightning or whatever the tag line is. I got me a 3TB external drive every bit as fast as the innard’s drive.
      You could stop paying for car insurance, gas and car payments and walk to work in order to afford one.

  3. I still don’t get why no one ever talks about the most reliable backup method: drag and drop, and burn what you drop (DVD DL, BR, etc.)
    Relying on backup software is like trusting that Schrodinger’s cat is always alive. It can screw up on you and keep reporting that everything is hunky dory in the storage closet. It’s only when you go to restore that you find what the actual state of your backed up data is: ‘Cannot restore – parameters out of sync’ or god know what.

    1. Manual backups are not reliable because they rely on the single-most unreliable thing on any computer: THE USER.

      Besides physical media costs money, takes space, and requires constant user intervention.

      You solution is like suggesting that we all just walk to work everyday because there is no car payment, no insurance, and no pollution.

      1. Only speaking for my user experience, of course, I do find it is 100% reliable. Can’t vouch for unreliable things using computers.

        Archives are physical media. DVDs are cheap!

        Why don’t we all just walk to work everyday because there is no
        car payment, no insurance, and no pollution.

          1. They do? it’s just holes in plastic… you know, the same
            plastic that the tree huggers swear never breaks down and then the bear eats the plastic pieces and ruins his kidneys.
            I got some really old CD’s back from when burning CD’s was
            the amazing thing, and they still read fine.

  4. My Mac Mini currently has 1.1Tb internally, but doesn’t run server ‘ware. I’m sure it would be just as easy to use a NAS external with 4 or 6Tb inside, and an appropriate app to access it, like GoFlex or Synology.

  5. Owncloud is like running your own Dropbox service on your own machine.


    Let’s review the #1 Rule Of Computing:
    A) Make regular incremental backups. They are your best form of computer security.
    B) Make one backup on-site for easy access.
    C) Make a second backup OFF-site. This is useful in case your site burns down or your hardware is stolen, etc. Off-site backups are CRITICAL. Don’t neglect them

    DropBox is, among other things, an off-site backup site.

    Don’t kill the off-site backup process by dropping your ‘cloud’ backups. If you’ve tossed your Mac Mini Server off-site, then Owncloud is a great replacement! Otherwise, Owncloud is merely an on-site backup (and sharing…) solution.

    Off-site backups = required.

    1. Indeed. Except you place a lot of unearned faith in third parties. Owning your own servers is the best way to ensure data security, period. Owncloud is one great solution to manage your secure servers. Microsoft and Apple and Amazon and other’s “clouds” simply offer inadequate control & security, and they never will because all profit motives point to the data snooping that companies like Google and Facebook are now famous for exploiting.

      1. I totally agree! Great points.

        But everyone requires off-site backup storage. If you’re using Owncloud for on-site storage, that’s kewl. But what are you using for OFF-SITE backup storage?

        I’m using DropBox at this time, but I only upload critical stuff inside an encrypted sparse disk image. They can’t read my stuff, period.

    2. I actually love the fact that I have a nice dad who also has a mac mini and we backup to each other’s servers, so we have both on-site and off-site backups. Best way to go; get someone else that has a mini server, provide your own disk to each other, and backup your stuff offsite.

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