https://github.com/drewmarsh/filebrowser-remote-file-server
Configuring a remotely accessible file server using FileBrowser with Tailscale
https://github.com/drewmarsh/filebrowser-remote-file-server
file-server filebrowser tailscale
Last synced: 3 months ago
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Configuring a remotely accessible file server using FileBrowser with Tailscale
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/drewmarsh/filebrowser-remote-file-server
- Owner: drewmarsh
- Created: 2025-03-09T00:47:33.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-03-15T22:27:55.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-12-31T23:55:27.531Z (6 months ago)
- Topics: file-server, filebrowser, tailscale
- Homepage:
- Size: 346 KB
- Stars: 3
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
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README
## Overview
A secure, self-hosted file server using Tailscale (zero-trust VPN) and FileBrowser, featuring:
- đź”’ Traffic restricted to Tailscale devices via firewall rules
- ⚡ Automated service startup with Task Scheduler
- đź‘©đź’» Granular user permissions (admin vs. restricted roles)
## Step 1: Tailscale Setup (Zero-trust VPN) on Host PC
1. Download Tailscale for Windows and install
2. Sign up for a free account (personal use accounts allow 20 devices)
3. Right-click the Tailscale app in the system tray, hover over the account name, and then click `Add Panel…` and verify that the current system has been added to the device list
4. Run `tailscale status` in Command Prompt to confirm that the device is Active
## Step 2: FileBrowser Setup (Lightweight Web File Manager)
1. Install FileBrowser for Windows by running the command:
```powershell
iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/filebrowser/get/master/get.ps1 | iex
filebrowser -r /path/to/your/files
```
2. Create the `filebrowser.json` configuration file in the `C:\Program Files\filebrowser` folder with the following contents:
```json
{
"root": "D:\\Put-Media-Drive-Here",
"address": "Put-Tail-Scale-IP-Address-Here",
"port": 8080
}
```
In the code snippet above `Put-Media-Drive-Here` should be replaced for the drive to be used by the file server and `Put-Tail-Scale-IP-Address-Here` should be replaced with the Tailscale IP address. To find the Tailscale IP Address, run `tailscale ip` in Command Prompt
## Step 3: Schedule Windows Startup Task for FileBrowser with Custom Config
1. Run `Task Scheduler` as administrator and click `Create Task…`
2. Fill out the following settings and then click `OK`:
- **General Tab:**
- Name: `FileBrowser Auto-Start`
- Tick: âś…`Run whether user is logged on or not`
- Tick: âś…`Run with highest privileges`
- **Triggers Tab:**
- Click `New…`, select `At startup` (delayed by 1 seconds if needed), and click `OK`
- **Actions Tab:**
- Action: "Start a program"
- Program/script: cmd.exe
- Arguments:
```cmd
/c "cd /d C:\Program Files\filebrowser && filebrowser --config filebrowser.json"
```
> [!IMPORTANT]
> In order for this to work, this task must be ran after Tailscale is initialized and connecting (hence the 1 minute delay)
3. Input the admin credentials to approve the creation of this new task
4. Restart the host PC and run the following command in Command Prompt to verify the established connected:
```cmd
netstat -ano | findstr :8080
```
## Step 4: Firewall/Router Rules
1. Allow inbound TCP port 8080 (FileBrowser’s port) only through Tailscale by running the following command in PowerShell:
```powershell
# Allow FileBrowser access ONLY via Tailscale
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "FileBrowser (Tailscale Only)" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 8080 -InterfaceAlias "Tailscale" -RemoteAddress 100.64.0.0/10
```
## Step 5: Configuring Secure FileBrowser Credentials
1. Open a browser and navigate to `http://Put-Tail-Scale-IP-Address-Here:8080` (e.g. `http://100.101.102.103:8080`)
2. Enter the default credentials for FileBrowser
- Username: admin
- Password: admin
3. Navigate to `Settings` > `User Management` and edit the default admin credentials to be more secure
4. Add a second user:
- Username: jane.doe
- Password: Brevvt15!
- Untick ⬜Administrator
- Untick ⬜Delete files and directories
5. Drag an example document into the `My Files` tab
## Step 6: Remote Access Testing
- From the host PC:
- Right-click the Tailscale app in the system tray, hover over the account name, and then click `Add Panel…`
- Go to the `Users` tab and click `Invite external users`
- Invite an example employee (Jane Doe) to the file server for testing purposes
- From a remote device (outside the network):
- From the email of the example employee, accept the Tailscale invitation and download and log-in to the Tailscale client
- Connect to the host PC's network
- Open a browser and navigate to `http://Put-Tail-Scale-IP-Address-Here:8080` (e.g. `http://100.101.102.103:8080`)
- Log-in with their FileBrowser credentials
- Username: jane.doe
- Password: Brevvt15!
- Test Jane Doe's privileges:
- View: Open the example document that was previously added on the host PC
- Upload: Drag-and-drop a new file from the remote device into the file server
- Download: Click a file to download it to the remote device
