NodeDrive

Note: this is still in early development.

NodeDrive is a robust, Node.js-powered Network Attached Storage (NAS) server application. It provides a secure web interface and a comprehensive Command Line Interface (CLI) for managing files, users, and connected drives.

✨ Key Features

• Secure File Management: Upload, organize, archive, and delete files with built-in rate-limiting and JWT-based authentication.
• Custom Database Engine: Leverages the dubnium database for lightweight, high-performance data storage, complete with configurable versioning and trash management.
• Integrated CLI: A powerful command-line interface for direct server management, user creation, and drive mounting.
• System Health Monitoring: Tracks system metrics (like macOS temperature and disk space) and logs system health over time.
• Internal Routing Security: Restricted internal API routes protected by a configurable hostname allowlist.
• View in Finder: Add your NodeDrive Instance to Finder with systemsoftware/nodedrive-mac.

🛠 Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: Dubnium
• Authentication & Security: JWT (jsonwebtoken), bcrypt, express-rate-limit, cookie-parser
• File Handling: multer, archiver
• System Metrics: systeminformation, check-disk-space, macos-temperature-sensor (can be uninstalled on non-macOS devices, or if you do not need to track CPU temp)

🚀 Installation via npm

Best for simple set up.

If you prefer to use NodeDrive as a system-wide utility, you can install it directly from the npm registry.

1. Install the package globally:

npm install -g nodedrive-server

(Note: Depending on your system configuration, you may need to run this with sudo.)

2. Launch the Server: Once installed globally, you can start the NAS server from any directory:

nodedrive start

💡 Pro Tip: Persistent Services

For a production NAS setup, it is recommended to run the global nodedrive command using a process manager like PM2 to ensure it restarts automatically after a reboot:

pm2 start "nodedrive start" --name "my-nodedrive"

🚀 Installation via GitHub

Best for bleeding edge. This way is harder to keep up to date but may get more frequent minor updates.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher recommended)
• npm (Node Package Manager)

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/systemsoftware/nodedrive
   cd nodedrive

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Link the CLI (Optional but recommended): To use the nodedrive command globally:

   npm link

4. Start the server:

   npm start # or nodedrive start if linked

⚙️ Configuration

Control NodeDrive's behavior using the following conifg options in ~/.nodedrive/config.json. Use the nodedrive config command to manage.

| Variable | Description | Default | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | PORT | The port the web server runs on. | 80 | | JWT_SECRET | Required. Secret key for signing authentication tokens. | undefined | | DB_PATH | Directory where Dubnium databases are stored. | ~/.nodedrive/db | | ADVANCED_LOGGING | Enable detailed console logging (true/false). | false | | ROUTE_LIMITING | Enable rate limits on standard routes (true/false). | false | | DB_VERSION_LIMIT | Global limit for file/document versioning in the DB. | 5 |

(Note: Granular DB limits like USERS_DB_VERSION_LIMIT can also be set individually).

💻 Usage

Web Interface

Once the server is running, navigate to http://localhost:<PORT> (or your designated domain). If unauthenticated, you will be redirected to the /signin portal.

CLI Examples

NodeDrive comes with a modular CLI. If you installed globally via npm or ran npm link, you can interact with the server directly from your terminal:

# General usage structure
nodedrive <command> <subcommand> [options]

# Example: Get help
nodedrive help [search] # ex: nodedrive help user

# Example: Get system info
nodedrive info

# Example: Manage drives
nodedrive drive list
nodedrive drive mount

# Example: Manage users
nodedrive user create

📂 Project Structure

nodedrive/
├── bin/                  # CLI executable logic and subcommands
├── internal/             # Internal routes and server logic
├── routes/               # Express routing for web pages (UI)
├── static/               # Static assets (HTML, images, client-side JS)
├── db.js                 # Dubnium database initialization & configuration
├── index.js              # Main Express application entry point
├── package.json          # Project metadata and dependencies
└── utils/                # Helper functions and utilities

⚠️ Known Limitations

• The application currently relies heavily on local disk storage constraints; mounting external drives requires strict permission management on the host OS.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.