Filebrowser Configuration Guide - Complete Reference

filebrowser has many configurable options that you can use via command-line flags, environment variables, or a config file. Below is a comprehensive list of commonly used CLI flags and configuration options.

✅ Basic filebrowser Configuration Flags

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These are the most important flags when running the filebrowser binary:

✅ User Management Commands

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You can manage users from CLI:

filebrowser users add <username> <password> [flags]
filebrowser users update <username> [flags]
filebrowser users rm <username>
filebrowser users list

User-related flags:

✅ Available Permissions (for --perm.*)

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✅ TLS (HTTPS) Support

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To run with HTTPS:

filebrowser --cert /path/to/cert.pem --key /path/to/key.pem

You can generate a self-signed cert with:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -days 365 -nodes

✅ Config File (Alternative to CLI)

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You can create a JSON config file and load it with --config.

Example: config.json

{
  "address": "192.168.1.3",
  "port": 8080,
  "log": "stdout",
  "database": "/srv/filebrowser/filebrowser.db",
  "root": "/srv/data"
}

Run it like this:

filebrowser --config /srv/filebrowser/config.json

✅ Environment Variables

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You can also set settings via environment variables:

✅ Help Command

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To get a full up-to-date list of flags and commands:

filebrowser --help

Or for subcommands:

filebrowser users --help

Would you like me to generate a default config file for you or help turn this into a systemd service?

Ah 👍 you already have the default FileBrowser settings.json (auto-generated). That’s why you see only:

{
  "port": 80,
  "baseURL": "",
  "address": "",
  "log": "stdout",
  "database": "/database/filebrowser.db",
  "root": "/srv"
}

This is the basic config (port, db path, root folder). If you want user registration (signup), you need to expand this file to include extra keys (like I showed before).

Here’s a merged example (keeping your current values + adding signup support):

{
  "port": 80,
  "baseURL": "",
  "address": "",
  "log": "stdout",
  "database": "/database/filebrowser.db",
  "root": "/srv",
  "signup": true,
  "createUserDir": true,
  "branding": {
    "name": "My FileBrowser",
    "disableExternal": false
  },
  "defaults": {
    "scope": "/srv",
    "locale": "en",
    "viewMode": "list",
    "singleClick": false,
    "sorting": {
      "by": "name",
      "asc": true
    },
    "perm": {
      "admin": false,
      "execute": true,
      "create": true,
      "rename": true,
      "modify": true,
      "delete": true,
      "share": true,
      "download": true
    }
  }
}

🔹 Steps

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1. Edit your config/settings.json and replace contents with the above.

2. Ensure permissions are correct:

   sudo chown 1000:1000 /home/youcef/docker_app/filebrowser/config/settings.json

3. Restart container:

   docker-compose down
   docker-compose up -d

Now when you go to http://192.168.1.6:8080, you should see a Sign Up button.

Security note: this makes registration open for anyone on your LAN.