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Connecting WebDAV

This guide walks you through connecting a WebDAV storage destination to Pluton. WebDAV is a widely supported protocol used by many cloud storage services and self-hosted solutions, including Nextcloud, ownCloud, OpenDrive, Fastmail, and more.

Prerequisites​

Before connecting WebDAV, you need:

  1. A WebDAV-compatible server or service
  2. Your WebDAV server URL (endpoint)
  3. Your login credentials (username and password, or a bearer token)

Connecting to Pluton​

Step 1: Add Storage​

  1. In Pluton, navigate to Storages
  2. Click Add Storage button
  3. Select WebDAV from the provider list

Step 2: Configure Connection​

Pluton Webdav

Fill in the required fields:

  • Storage Name: A friendly name for this storage (e.g., "My WebDAV Server")
  • Server URL: The full URL of your WebDAV server (e.g., https://example.com/remote.php/webdav/)
  • Vendor Name: Select the WebDAV vendor that matches your service. Options include nextcloud, owncloud, infinitescale, sharepoint, sharepoint-ntlm, fastmail, rclone, or other. Choosing the correct vendor enables optimizations specific to that service.
  • Username: Your account username
  • Password: Your account password
tip

If your service uses two-factor authentication (2FA), you may need to generate an app password instead of using your regular password.

Step 3: Advanced Options (Optional)​

Additional settings available:

  • Bearer Token: Use a bearer token for authentication instead of username/password (e.g., a Macaroon)
  • Bearer Token Command: A command to run to dynamically generate a bearer token
  • Encoding: Override the default backend encoding
  • HTTP Headers: Set custom HTTP headers for all transactions
  • Pacer Min Sleep: Minimum time to sleep between API calls (default: 10ms)
  • NextCloud Chunk Size: Upload chunk size for Nextcloud servers (default: 10Mi)
  • Exclude OwnCloud Shares: Exclude shared files when using ownCloud (default: false)
  • Exclude OwnCloud Mounts: Exclude mounted external storages when using ownCloud (default: false)
  • Unix Socket Path: Path to a Unix domain socket for connections instead of TCP
  • Auth Redirect: Preserve authentication headers on redirects (default: false)
  • Description: A description of this storage

Step 4: Test and Save​

  1. Click Test Connection to verify your credentials and server URL
  2. If successful, click Save
  3. Your WebDAV storage is now ready for backup plans

Connecting Nextcloud​

Nextcloud is a popular self-hosted file sync and collaboration platform with full WebDAV support. Connecting Nextcloud to Pluton gives you incremental backups of your Nextcloud files.

Prerequisites​

  1. A Nextcloud instance (self-hosted or managed)
  2. Your Nextcloud username and password (or an app password if 2FA is enabled)

Step 1: Get Your Nextcloud WebDAV URL​

Your Nextcloud WebDAV URL follows this format:

https://your-nextcloud-server.com/remote.php/webdav/

To find it in Nextcloud:

  1. Log into your Nextcloud instance
  2. Click on Files in the top navigation
  3. Click the Settings cog icon in the bottom-left corner
  4. Copy the WebDAV URL shown there

Step 2: Configure in Pluton​

  1. In Pluton, navigate to Storages → Add Storage → WebDAV
  2. Fill in the fields:
    • Storage Name: e.g., "Nextcloud Backups"
    • Server URL: https://your-nextcloud-server.com/remote.php/webdav/
    • Vendor Name: Set to nextcloud
    • Username: Your Nextcloud username
    • Password: Your Nextcloud password (or app password if 2FA is enabled)

Step 3: Generate an App Password (If Using 2FA)​

If you have two-factor authentication enabled on your Nextcloud account:

  1. Log into Nextcloud and go to Settings → Security
  2. Scroll down to Devices & sessions
  3. Enter a name for the app (e.g., "Pluton Backup") and click Create new app password
  4. Copy the generated app password and use it as the Password in Pluton

Step 4: Optional Nextcloud Settings​

  • NextCloud Chunk Size: Controls the upload chunk size (default: 10Mi). For better performance with large files, consider increasing this — Nextcloud recommends configuring your server to support up to 1 GB chunks. See the Nextcloud documentation for details.

Step 5: Test and Save​

  1. Click Test Connection to verify
  2. If successful, click Save
info

Nextcloud supports modified timestamps and file hashes (SHA1 and MD5), which improves backup efficiency and integrity verification compared to plain WebDAV servers.

Connecting OpenDrive​

OpenDrive is a cloud storage service that supports WebDAV access for file management.

Prerequisites​

  1. An OpenDrive account — Sign up here
  2. Your OpenDrive email and password

Step 1: Configure in Pluton​

  1. In Pluton, navigate to Storages → Add Storage → WebDAV
  2. Fill in the fields:
    • Storage Name: e.g., "OpenDrive Backups"
    • Server URL: https://webdav.opendrive.com/
    • Vendor Name: Set to other
    • Username: Your OpenDrive email address
    • Password: Your OpenDrive password

Step 2: Test and Save​

  1. Click Test Connection to verify your credentials
  2. If successful, click Save
  3. Your OpenDrive storage is now ready for backup plans

Common Issues​

Connection Refused or Timeout: Verify your Server URL is correct and includes the full path (e.g., /remote.php/webdav/ for Nextcloud). Ensure the server is reachable from the machine running Pluton.

Authentication Failure: Double-check your username and password. If your service uses 2FA, you must use an app password. For NTLM authentication (e.g., SharePoint), use the format Domain\User for the username.

SSL/TLS Errors: Ensure your WebDAV server has a valid SSL certificate. Self-signed certificates may cause connection failures.

Vendor Mismatch: Setting the wrong vendor can cause unexpected behavior. Use nextcloud for Nextcloud, owncloud for ownCloud, and other for services like OpenDrive that don't have a dedicated vendor option.

Slow Uploads to Nextcloud: If uploads are slow, try increasing the NextCloud Chunk Size setting and configuring your Nextcloud server to support larger chunks.

Best Practices​

  • Always use HTTPS for WebDAV connections to encrypt data in transit
  • Use app passwords instead of your main account password when available
  • Set the correct Vendor Name to enable service-specific optimizations
  • For Nextcloud, increase the chunk size for better upload performance with large backup sets
  • Regularly verify your WebDAV credentials haven't expired, especially when using app passwords
  • Monitor your storage quota on the WebDAV service to ensure there is enough space for backups