TrueNAS AppsTrueNAS Apps: Tutorials
Application maintenance is independent from TrueNAS version release cycles.
App versions, features, options, and installation behavior at time of access might vary from documented tutorials and UI reference.

WebDAV

The WebDAV application is a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol that allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote web servers. It serves as the replacement for the built-in TrueNAS WebDAV feature.

When installed and configured with at least one share, a container launches with temporary root privileges to configure the shares and activate the service.

First Steps

To grant access to a specific user (and group) other than the default for the webdav user and group (666), add a new non-root administrative user and take note of the UID and GID for this user.

If you want to create a dataset to use for the WebDAV application share(s), create it before you install the application.

Installing the WebDAV Application

To install the application, you can accept the default values or customize the deployment to suit your use case. You create the WebDAV share as part of the application installation.

To install the WebDAV application, go to Apps, click Discover Apps, then either begin typing WebDAV into the search field or scroll down to locate the WebDAV application widget.

WebDAV Application Widget
Figure 1: WebDAV Application Widget

Click on the widget to open the WebDAV information screen.

WebDAV Application Information Screen
Figure 2: WebDAV Application Information Screen

Click Install to open the Install WebDAV configuration screen.

Install WebDAV Application Screen
Figure 3: Install WebDAV Application Screen

Application configuration settings are presented in several sections. To find specific fields click in the Search Input Fields search field, scroll down to a particular section or click on the section heading on the navigation area in the upper-right corner.

Accept the defaults in Application Name and Version.

Accept the defaults or customize the settings in WebDAV Configuration. Accept the default authentication setting No Authentication or to require entering authentication credentials, select Basic Authentication as the type. The application includes all the setting fields you need to install and deploy the container, but you can add additional environment variables to further configure the container.

The default network protocol is HTTP and uses the port 30035. To use HTTPS and add encryption to the web traffic, clear the checkmark in Enable HTTP and select Enable HTTPS. HTTPS uses port 30035 and adds the Certificate field. The default certificate is 0.

We recommend not selecting Host Network as this binds to the host network.

Create at least one share in Storage Configuration. Click Add to display the share settings. Enable the share is selected by default. It enables the share at start (when the app starts). Enter a name using lower or uppercase letters and or numbers. Names can include the underscore (_) or dash (-).

Accept the default Resource Configuration, or enter the CPU and memory settings you want to apply to the WebDAV application container.

After configuring the container settings, click Install to save the application configuration, deploy the app, and make the share(s) accessible.

After the installation completes, the application displays on the Installed applications screen.

WebDAV App Installed
Figure 4: WebDAV App Installed

The WebDAV widget on the Discover and WebDAV information screens includes the Installed badge.

Application Name Settings

Accept the default values in Application Name and Version. If you want to change the application name, enter a new name.

WebDAV Configuration Settings

WebDAV configuration settings include the type of share authentication to use, none or basic. No Authentication means any system can discover TrueNAS and access the data shared by the WebDAV application share, so this is not recommended. Basic Authentication adds the Username and Password fields and provides some basic security.

WebDAV Configuration Basic Authentication
Figure 5: WebDAV Configuration Basic Authentication

The WebDAV application configuration includes all the settings you need to install the Docker container for the app. You can use the Docker container environment variables listed in the table below to further customize the WebDAV Docker container.

Docker Container Environment Variables
VariableDescription
WEBDRIVE_URLUse to specify a URL where you find the WebDAV resource other than the default. The default URL is http://webdav-ip:webdav-port/share1 where webdav-ip is the IP address for the TrueNAS system and webdav-port is 30034. If enabling HTTPS the URL is https://webdav-ip:webdav-port/share1 where the webdav-ip is the IP address for the TrueNAS system and webdav-port is 30035.
WEBDRIVE_PASSWORD_FILEUse to specify a file that contains the password instead of using the Password field. Use when Authentication Type is set to Basic Authorization.
WEBDRIVE_MOUNTUse to specify the location within the container where to mount the WebDAV resource (drive) into the container. This defaults to /mnt/webdrive and is not meant to be changed.

User and Group Configuration Settings

The default user and group for WebDAV is 666. To specify a different user, create the user and group before installing the application, then enter the user ID (UID) and group ID (GID) in the fields for these settings.

User And Group Configuration
Figure 6: User And Group Configuration

Network Configuration Settings

The container for the WebDAV app has Enable HTTP selected by default. The port for HTTP is 30034.

WebDAV Network Configuration for HTTP
Figure 7: WebDAV Network Configuration for HTTP

To add encryption to the web traffic between clients and the server, clear the checkmark in Enable HTTP and select Enable HTTPS. This changes the default port in HTTPS Port to 30035, and adds a system Certificate.

WebDAV Network Configuration for HTTPS
Figure 8: WebDAV Network Configuration for HTTPS

The default certificate is 0. You can use the default as the Certificate if no other specific certificate is available.

Storage Configuration Settings

Create one or more shares in the Storage Configuration section. For the application to work, create at least one share. Click Add for each share you want to create. Each share must have a unique name.

To add a WebDAV share to the application, click Add to the right of Shares in the Storage Configuration section.

WebDAV Storage Add Share
Figure 9: WebDAV Storage Add Share

Enter a name in Share Name. The name can have upper and lowercase letters and numbers. It can include an underscore (_) and/or a dash (-).

Enter share purpose or other descriptive information about the share in Description. This is not required.

Enter or browse to the Host Path location for the where the app adds the WebDAV share. If you created a dataset before installing the app, you can browse to it here.

Select Read Only to disable write access to the share. When selected, data accessed by clients cannot be modified.

Select Fix Permissions to change the Host Path file system permissions. When enabled, the dataset owner becomes the User ID and Group ID set in the User and Group Configuration section. By default, this is the webdav user with UID and GID 666. Fix Permissions allows TrueNAS to apply the correct permissions to the WebDAV shares and directories and simplify app deployment. After first configuration, the WebDAV container runs as the dedicated webdav user (UID: 666).

WebDAV only supports Unix-style permissions. When deployed with Fix Permissions enabled, it destroys any existing permissions scheme on the shared dataset. It is recommended to only share newly created datasets that have the Share Type set to Generic.

Resources Configuration Settings

By default, this application is limited to use no more than 4 CPU cores and 8 Gibibytes available memory. The application might use considerably less system resources.

WebDAV Resource Configuration
Figure 10: WebDAV Resource Configuration

Tune these limits as needed to prevent the application from overconsuming system resources and introducing performance issues.

Testing the Share

At the end of the installation process, test access to your WebDAV share.

In a browser, this is done by opening a new tab and entering the configured protocol, system host name or IP address, WebDAV port number, and Share Name. Example: https://my-truenas-system.com:30001/mywebdavshare

When authentication is set to something other than No Authentication, a prompt requests a user name and password. Enter the saved Username and Password entered in the webdav application form to access the shared data.

To change files shared with the WebDAV protocol, use client software such as WinSCP to connect to the share and make changes. The WebDAV share and dataset permissions must be configured so that the User ID and Group ID can modify shared files.