Files
projectsend/README.md
T
Ignacio Nelson 72749a9070 Document updating, and the OPcache step nobody documents (#1626)
Updating had a numbered list inside INSTALL.md and a code block in the
dashboard, and between them they were missing the step that decides
whether an update works at all.

Rehearsed both paths end to end against a real 2.0.0 install before
writing any of this down. On Docker the whole update is `docker compose
pull && docker compose up -d`: the entrypoint waits for the database,
migrates, ensures the roles, and starts the workers, and it does not
start nginx until that finishes — so a failed migration is a container
that stays down rather than a half-updated site taking traffic. The
generated APP_KEY on the storage volume is left alone. Verified: 69
migrations to 73, key unchanged, data intact, healthcheck healthy.

The manual path is where the gap was. Replace the files, run the four
documented commands, and the site still serves the old version: with
`opcache.validate_timestamps=0` — what every production guide recommends,
and what our own image ships — PHP never re-reads a file it has already
compiled. The database is on the new version, every visitor is on the
old code, and `php artisan` cheerfully reports the new version the whole
time you are trying to work out why. Reproduced exactly that, then
watched a php-fpm reload fix it.

UPDATE.md is now the whole procedure for both, INSTALL.md keeps the short
sequence with the reload added, and the in-app instructions gained the
same line — in the code block, which is not translated, so no locale is
left saying something different.

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-08-14 18:42:49 -03:00

5.7 KiB

ProjectSend

Share files with your clients, from your own server.

License: GPL v2 or later PHP 8.4+ Self-hosted


ProjectSend is a self-hosted application for getting files to the people you work with. You upload what you want to send, choose exactly who can see it, and each client signs in to their own private page to download it.

No public link passed around by email, no third-party service holding your clients' documents, no per-seat pricing. It runs on your server, and the files stay there.

What it does

For the people you send to

  • A private area per client, showing only what has been shared with them
  • Sign in with an email address, with optional two-factor authentication
  • Search, filter and sort their files; download one, several as a zip, or a whole folder
  • Optional comments on a file, so questions live next to the thing they are about
  • Email notifications when something new arrives, in their own language

For you

  • Resumable uploads that survive a dropped connection, so large files actually arrive
  • Organise with folders, categories and client groups
  • Share with one client, a whole group, or publicly — and set an expiry date or a download limit
  • Thumbnails and previews for images and documents
  • Storage quotas per client, and custom fields for the details you need to keep on them
  • A full activity log and download history: who got what, and when

For the installation

  • Roles and permissions for your own team, so an uploader is not an administrator
  • Sign-in the way you already work: LDAP, social sign-in, or plain email and password
  • Themes for the client-facing pages and for outgoing email
  • 16 languages
  • A REST API with scoped tokens and generated OpenAPI docs
  • Privacy controls, including GDPR-grade account erasure with a grace period
  • Local disk or S3-compatible storage

Screenshots

The dashboard: counters for files, clients and groups, the clients using the most storage against their quotas, a month of uploads and downloads as a line chart, and recent activity

The dashboard — what is in the installation, and what has been happening in it.

The file library, showing folders and files with thumbnails, sharing status and download counts

Your library — folders, categories, and who each file is shared with.

A client's own page, listing the files shared with them with download buttons

What your client sees — only their files, nothing else.

Getting started

With Docker — the quickest path, and the one we recommend.

git clone https://github.com/projectsend/projectsend.git
cd projectsend
cp .env.example .env          # set PROJECTSEND_EDITION=community
docker compose up -d

The app is at http://localhost:8090, and the first thing it shows you is a setup screen that creates your administrator account.

Before you put real files in it, read DOCKER.md — where your database and uploads actually live, how to move them onto paths you chose, and how to back them up so an upgrade can't take them with it.

Without Docker — for servers where it isn't an option, install from a release zip. INSTALL.md covers requirements, .env, nginx, the background worker and cron, updating and troubleshooting. You do not need Composer or npm on the server; the zip ships ready to run.

Already running it? UPDATE.md is how you move to a new version — one command on Docker, a short sequence on your own server, and what to check afterwards either way.

Coming from ProjectSend Legacy?

The previous generation of ProjectSend lives on at projectsend/legacy. This is a rebuild rather than an upgrade, so moving across is an import rather than an update — install fresh, then bring your old site into it with the migration tool: accounts, clients, groups, categories, folders, files and history.

It never writes to your old install, and any run can be undone with a single command. MIGRATING-FROM-V1.md explains what comes across, the two routes (same machine, or a portable export from a server you can't reach), and the one change your clients will notice: they sign in with their email address now, using the same password.

Contributing

Bug reports, translations and pull requests are all welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md for how to set up a development copy, what the checks are, and the contributor agreement.

Found a security issue? Please report it privately through GitHub's security advisories rather than opening a public issue.

License

Free software under the GNU General Public License v2, or (at your option) any later version — see LICENSE. Use it, study it, change it, share it.

Commercial licenses are available for organizations that cannot work under copyleft terms; LICENSING.md explains both options. Contributions require signing a CLA, for reasons set out in CONTRIBUTING.md.