> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/9001/copyparty/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Get copyparty running in under 5 minutes

## Get copyparty

The fastest way to get started is to download and run the self-extracting Python script:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download copyparty">
    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Linux / macOS">
        ```bash theme={null}
        # Download the self-extracting script
        curl -LO https://github.com/9001/copyparty/releases/latest/download/copyparty-sfx.py

        # Make it executable
        chmod +x copyparty-sfx.py

        # Run it
        python3 copyparty-sfx.py
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Windows">
        Download [copyparty-sfx.py](https://github.com/9001/copyparty/releases/latest/download/copyparty-sfx.py) and double-click it, or run:

        ```powershell theme={null}
        python copyparty-sfx.py
        ```

        Or download the Windows executable:

        ```powershell theme={null}
        # Download copyparty.exe
        curl -LO https://github.com/9001/copyparty/releases/latest/download/copyparty.exe

        # Run it
        .\copyparty.exe
        ```
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    <Info>
      The sfx is a self-extractor which unpacks an embedded tar.gz into your temp directory. If this concerns you, use the [zipapp](https://github.com/9001/copyparty/releases/latest/download/copyparty.pyz) or [PyPI installation](/installation#pypi-installation) instead.
    </Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Access the web interface">
    Open your browser and navigate to:

    ```
    http://127.0.0.1:3923
    ```

    You should see the copyparty web interface with the current directory listed.

    <Warning>
      By default, copyparty gives everyone **read/write access** to the current folder. This is fine for testing, but you'll want to configure proper permissions for production use.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install optional features (recommended)">
    For thumbnails, media indexing, and audio transcoding:

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Debian / Ubuntu">
        ```bash theme={null}
        sudo apt install --no-install-recommends python3-pil ffmpeg
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Fedora / RHEL">
        ```bash theme={null}
        # Enable rpmfusion first
        sudo dnf install python3-pillow ffmpeg --allowerasing
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Alpine">
        ```bash theme={null}
        sudo apk add py3-pillow ffmpeg
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="macOS (Homebrew)">
        ```bash theme={null}
        brew install pillow ffmpeg
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="macOS (MacPorts)">
        ```bash theme={null}
        sudo port install py-Pillow ffmpeg
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Windows">
        ```powershell theme={null}
        # Install Pillow
        python -m pip install --user -U Pillow
        ```

        Download FFmpeg from [ffmpeg.org](https://ffmpeg.org/download.html#build-windows) and add it to your PATH.

        <Note>
          copyparty.exe already includes Pillow and only needs FFmpeg for video thumbnails.
        </Note>
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="FreeBSD">
        ```bash theme={null}
        sudo pkg install py39-sqlite3 py39-pillow ffmpeg
        ```
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Configure server options

Now that copyparty is running, let's configure it with some recommended options:

### Enable file indexing

File indexing enables search, deduplication, and the "unpost" feature:

```bash theme={null}
python3 copyparty-sfx.py -e2dsa
```

<Accordion title="What do these flags mean?">
  * `-e2d` - Enable database for file metadata
  * `-e2ds` - Index files on server startup
  * `-e2dsa` - Also index on file access
  * `-e2ts` - Enable audio metadata indexing (requires FFmpeg or Mutagen)
</Accordion>

### Set up permissions

Configure user accounts and volume permissions:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Basic: Read-only for everyone theme={null}
  python3 copyparty-sfx.py -v .::r
  ```

  ```bash With user account theme={null}
  # Create user 'ed' with password 'hunter2'
  # Share current folder as root, readable by anyone, read-write for ed
  python3 copyparty-sfx.py -a ed:hunter2 -v .::r:rw,ed
  ```

  ```bash Multiple volumes theme={null}
  # Share /mnt/music as /music (read-only for everyone)
  # Share /mnt/uploads as /uploads (write-only for everyone, read-write for ed)
  python3 copyparty-sfx.py -a ed:hunter2 \
    -v /mnt/music:/music:r \
    -v /mnt/uploads:/uploads:w:rw,ed
  ```

  ```bash Private share theme={null}
  # Only accessible to user 'ed'
  python3 copyparty-sfx.py -a ed:hunter2 -v .::r,ed
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Accordion title="Understanding permissions">
  The permission syntax is: `-v SOURCE:URL:PERM1:PERM2:...`

  * `r` - Read (browse and download)
  * `w` - Write (upload files)
  * `m` - Move files from this folder
  * `d` - Delete files
  * `a` - Admin (see upload IPs, reload config)
  * `g` - Get-only (download files but can't list folders)

  Format: `PERM,user1,user2` grants that permission to those users.

  Example: `r:rw,ed` means everyone can read, only ed can read+write.
</Accordion>

## Common scenarios

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Public file sharing" icon="globe">
    Share files publicly:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python3 copyparty-sfx.py -v ~/shared:/files:r
    ```
  </Card>

  <Card title="Upload dropbox" icon="cloud-arrow-up">
    Create an anonymous upload folder:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python3 copyparty-sfx.py -v ~/uploads:/drop:w:rw,admin -a admin:pass
    ```

    Anyone can upload, only admin can see files.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Media server" icon="music">
    Share your media library:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python3 copyparty-sfx.py -e2ts -v ~/Music:/music:r
    ```

    Enables audio player and metadata search.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Personal cloud" icon="cloud">
    Private file storage:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python3 copyparty-sfx.py -a user:pass -v ~:/files:rw,user
    ```

    Only accessible with authentication.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Make it accessible online

To access copyparty from anywhere, use Cloudflare Tunnel:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download cloudflared">
    Get cloudflared from [Cloudflare's downloads page](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-networks/downloads/)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start copyparty with real-IP detection">
    ```bash theme={null}
    python3 copyparty-sfx.py --xff-hdr cf-connecting-ip
    ```

    This tells copyparty to read the client IP from Cloudflare's header.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start the tunnel">
    ```bash theme={null}
    cloudflared tunnel --url http://127.0.0.1:3923
    ```

    Cloudflare will display a public URL like `https://random-words.trycloudflare.com` that you can share.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  For production deployments, see the [Deployment guides](/deployment/systemd) for systemd services, Docker, and reverse proxy setups.
</Info>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Installation methods" icon="download" href="/installation">
    Learn about all the ways to install copyparty
  </Card>

  <Card title="Accounts and volumes" icon="users" href="/config/accounts-and-volumes">
    Configure detailed permissions and user accounts
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core features" icon="star" href="/features/uploads">
    Explore resumable uploads, protocols, and media features
  </Card>

  <Card title="Demo server" icon="globe" href="https://a.ocv.me/pub/demo/">
    Try out a live copyparty instance
  </Card>
</CardGroup>