copyparty

The main copyparty server command

copyparty

The main copyparty server command starts the file sharing server with HTTP, WebDAV, and optional protocol support.

Synopsis

copyparty [OPTIONS] [-v VOLUME ...]

Description

copyparty is an HTTP file sharing server with features including:

• File upload/download via web UI
• WebDAV support
• Optional SFTP, FTP, TFTP, SMB protocols
• Audio/video streaming and transcoding
• Full-text search and tagging
• mDNS/SSDP service discovery
• Upload deduplication
• Event hooks and handlers

General Options

-c · path

Config file path (repeatable). Allows loading configuration from file instead of command-line arguments.

Example: -c /etc/copyparty/config.txt

-nc · integer · default: "512"

Maximum number of concurrent client connections.

-a · string

Add user account (repeatable). Format: USERNAME:PASSWORD

Example: -a alice:secretpass -a bob:hunter2

-v · string

Add volume/share (repeatable). Format: SRC:DST:PERMISSIONS[:FLAGS]

Where:

• SRC is the local filesystem path
• DST is the URL path to mount it at
• PERMISSIONS define user access (see Permissions section)
• FLAGS are optional volume configuration flags

Examples:

• -v .::r - Share current directory as read-only for everyone
• -v /data/music:/music:r:rw,alice - Share /data/music at /music, read-only for everyone, read-write for alice
• -v /tmp/uploads:/up:w:c,nodupe - Write-only upload folder with duplicate detection

--grp · string

Define user group (repeatable). Format: GROUPNAME:USER1,USER2,...

Example: --grp admins:alice,bob,charlie

--usernames · boolean

Require both username and password for login (default is password-only).

--chdir · path

Change working directory before mapping volumes.

-ed · boolean

Enable the ?dots URL parameter which allows clients to see dotfiles/hidden files.

--name · string

Server name displayed in the browser UI and mDNS announcements.

Default: Hostname or random identifier

--site · string

Public URL to assume when creating links.

Example: --site https://files.example.com/

Binding Options

-i · string · default: "::"

IP addresses or unix sockets to listen on (comma-separated).

Examples:

• -i :: - All IPv4 and IPv6 (default)
• -i 0.0.0.0 - All IPv4 only
• -i 127.0.0.1 - Localhost only
• -i unix:770:www:/dev/shm/party.sock - Unix socket with permissions

-p · string · default: "3923"

TCP ports to listen on (comma-separated or range).

Examples:

• -p 3923 - Single port
• -p 80,443,3923 - Multiple ports
• -p 8000-8010 - Port range

Upload Options

--dotpart · boolean

Prefix incomplete uploads with a dot, hiding them from clients unless -ed is set.

--dedup · boolean

Enable symlink-based upload deduplication (volflag=dedup).

--hardlink · boolean

Enable hardlink-based deduplication; falls back to symlinks when hardlinking is impossible (volflag=hardlink).

--no-dupe · boolean

Reject duplicate files during upload (volflag=nodupe).

--u2ts · string · default: "c"

How to timestamp uploaded files:

• c - Client’s last-modified time
• u - Upload time
• fc - Force client time
• fu - Force upload time

(volflag=u2ts)

--chmod-f · string

Unix file permissions (octal) for new files.

Examples:

• 644 - Owner RW, all read
• 600 - Owner RW only
• 666 - All RW

(volflag=chmod_f)

--chmod-d · string · default: "755"

Unix directory permissions (octal) for new directories.

Examples:

• 755 - Owner RWX, all RX
• 2750 - Setgid + owner RWX + group RX
• 700 - Owner only

(volflag=chmod_d)

Database Options

--dbd · string

Database durability profile (per-volume with volflag):

• acid - Extremely safe but slow (never lose data)
• swal - 2.4x faster, 99.9% as safe
• wal - 21x faster on HDD, 90% as safe
• yolo - Fastest, risk of losing entire database on power loss

Example: --dbd=swal or as volflag: -v ~/music:music:r:c,dbd=acid

TLS/SSL Options

--cert · path

Path to TLS certificate file (concatenation of key and certificate chain).

--http-only · boolean

Disable SSL/TLS, force plaintext HTTP only.

--https-only · boolean

Disable plaintext HTTP, force TLS only.

--ssl-ver · string

Set allowed SSL/TLS versions. Use help to list available versions.

--ciphers · string

Set allowed SSL/TLS ciphers. Use help to list available ciphers.

Protocol Options

--sftp · integer

Enable SFTP server on specified port.

Example: --sftp 3922

--ftp · integer

Enable FTP server on specified port.

Example: --ftp 3921

--ftps · integer

Enable FTPS (FTP over TLS) server on specified port.

Example: --ftps 3990

--tftp · integer

Enable TFTP server on specified port.

Example: --tftp 69

--smb · boolean

Enable SMB/CIFS server (read-only by default).

Warning: Requires root on Linux/macOS unless using --smb-port above 1024.

Zeroconf/mDNS Options

-z · boolean

Enable all zeroconf backends (mDNS, SSDP).

--zm · boolean

Announce services over mDNS (multicast DNS-SD) for auto-discovery.

--zs · boolean

Announce services over SSDP for Windows discovery.

Event Hooks

See Event Hooks for detailed information.

--xau · string

Execute command after file upload finishes (repeatable).

Example: --xau /scripts/notify-upload.py

--xm · string

Execute command on message (repeatable).

Example: --xm notify-send,message,--

QR Code Options

--qr · boolean

Show QR code on startup for easy mobile access.

--qrs · boolean

Use HTTPS URL in QR code.

--qrl · string

Location/path to include in QR code URL.

Example: --qrl "music/?pw=hunter2"

Permissions

Permissions in volume definitions:

• r (read) - List folders, download files
• w (write) - Upload files (requires r to see uploads)
• m (move) - Move files/folders (requires w at destination)
• d (delete) - Delete files/folders
• g (get) - Download files without listing folders
• a (admin) - View uploader IPs, config reload
• A (all) - Same as rwmda.

Examples

Basic read-only server

copyparty

Shares current directory as read-write for everyone on port 3923.

Read-only music server with authentication

copyparty -a alice:secret -v /data/music:/music:r:rw,alice

Shares /data/music as read-only for everyone, read-write for alice.

Upload server with multiple users

copyparty \
  -a alice:pass1 \
  -a bob:pass2 \
  --grp uploaders:alice,bob \
  -v /uploads:/up:w,uploaders:rw,alice

Uploaders group can write, alice has full access.

HTTPS server with mDNS

copyparty \
  --cert /etc/copyparty/cert.pem \
  --https-only \
  --zm \
  -v /data/share:/share:r

HTTPS-only server with mDNS announcement.

Multi-protocol server

copyparty \
  -p 80,443 \
  --sftp 22 \
  --ftp 21 \
  --zm \
  -v /data:/files:r

HTTP, HTTPS, SFTP, and FTP on standard ports.

See Also

• u2c - Upload client
• partyfuse - FUSE mount tool
• Common Options - Shared options reference