Nextcloud ships with ~20 standard apps; the Nextcloud app store adds another ~250. Here’s a curated overview from our experience — what’s worth it, what we recommend, what we install with reservations.
You manage apps in Administration settings → Apps. Apps can be enabled / disabled / installed / updated — admins only.
Standard apps (always active)
These come preinstalled on our setups and should usually stay active:
- Files — the file browser, core app
- Sharing — sharing functionality
- Activity — shows what happened (logins, sharing, file changes)
- First Run Wizard — welcome screen for new users
Recommended standard apps
Calendar, Contacts, Tasks
Everything for personal organization. More in Calendar, Contacts, Tasks.
A mail client right inside Nextcloud — you can connect IMAP accounts and read/write mail through it. Handy, but functionally slimmer than a dedicated mail client. From our experience: nice for occasional use, not as your main mail client.
Talk
Chat and video conferencing. Important app, plenty of limits — see Talk and Talk High Performance Backend.
Notes
Lean notes app, syncs via Markdown files. Also works with the external Notes app on iOS/Android.
Bookmarks
Browser-style bookmark management. With the browser extension you can save bookmarks from Chrome/Firefox straight into Nextcloud.
Deck
Kanban board for project management. Cards, lists, boards — like Trello, but self-hosted.
News
RSS reader. You subscribe to feeds, Nextcloud fetches them regularly, you read them in the browser.
Tasks
To-do lists with CalDAV sync (to your smartphone).
Office suites
Three options for office editing right in the browser:
- Euro-Office — preinstalled in all our Nextcloud plans, no setup, no extra charge. A sovereign office suite from Europe, built on the proven OnlyOffice engine — which means excellent Word/Excel/PowerPoint compatibility.
- OnlyOffice — Microsoft Office compatible, polished, good performance. Available with us on request instead of Euro-Office, with a dedicated server also with a commercial license.
- Collabora Online — LibreOffice-based, strong with ODF formats.
Key recommendation: Euro-Office is already active for you — just start. For serious office editing with many concurrent editors, we advise against the app store setup and recommend a dedicated office server. More in Office overview and Why app store office is problematic.
File management
Photos
Photo management with album browsing, date sorting, automatic tagging. Also works very well with the mobile app’s photo auto-upload.
Files Access Control
Allows fine-grained access rules on files — e.g. “files tagged ‘sensitive’ only for the admin group”.
Workflow Engine
Automatic actions based on file events. From our experience: powerful, but you only need it for specific workflows.
Group Folders
Folders that belong to a group (instead of a user). Very practical for shared areas. See Users and groups.
Communication and collaboration
Forms
Online forms for surveys, sign-ups, orders. Slick, simple.
Polls
A Doodle replacement — vote on dates or options together.
Whiteboard
Collaborative whiteboard for visual discussions.
Files: Reminder
Reminders on files. Handy for “remind me about this document in 7 days”.
Security and privacy
Auditing / Logging
Logging app for compliance. Enable it for medical practices, law firms, public agencies.
Password Policy
Enforces password complexity requirements for all users.
Two-Factor TOTP
TOTP 2FA. Enabled by default in our setup.
Two-Factor WebAuthn
Hardware-key 2FA. We recommend it for highly security-critical setups.
Files End-to-End Encryption
Optional client-side encryption per folder. The server (us included) never sees the content. Trade-off: lose the key → data gone.
Apps we warn about
Server-side Encryption
Encrypts files on the server with a server-side key. Sounds good, but it’s operationally tricky:
- Backup complexity: the key has to be backed up separately.
- Performance loss: every file gets processed twice (encrypt/decrypt).
- Recovery is hard: no key, no data.
We don’t enable it by default. On request yes, but with clear risk communication.
Apps with low activity / maintenance
The app store has apps that haven’t been updated in years. They can cause problems on Nextcloud updates or carry security holes.
Our recommendation: before installing an app, check its app store entry → date of the last update. Older than 12 months: caution.
Office apps from the app store
The standard office apps (Collabora or OnlyOffice as app store packages) are functional but too weak for serious multi-user editing. More in Why app store office is problematic.
Installing apps
- Administration settings → Apps.
- Browse the App bundles section or individual categories.
- Click Install.
- The app is enabled immediately.
After installation you’ll find it in the top navigation as an icon (for most user-facing apps). Server-side apps have no direct UI — they work in the background.
Disabling or removing apps
In the app list:
- Disable: the app is off, its data stays. Re-enable later and it’s all back.
- Remove: the app and its data are deleted. Careful — irreversible.
Some apps (“Files”, “Sharing”) can’t be disabled — that would be system-critical.
Enabling apps for specific groups
In the app’s settings you can define which group may use it:
- Everyone: every user
- Specific groups: selection only
Practical examples: audit log only for the admin group, a newsletter app only for the marketing team.
Apps and updates
When an app update is available, Nextcloud shows it in the apps list. You can update manually — or wait until we do it in the next maintenance window.
On major Nextcloud updates, apps can become incompatible. We test app status before updates and get in touch if an important app no longer runs on the new Nextcloud version.
Frequently asked questions
How many apps should I enable? As few as possible, as many as necessary. Active apps put a slight load on server performance. 10–15 apps for standard setups, 20+ for intensive use.
Do I need an app for every feature? No. Files, Sharing, Calendar, Contacts come standard. Special requirements → app.
Are apps free? In the official Nextcloud app store, almost all of them, yes. There are a few pro apps (like extended workflow features) that cost money.
What if an app breaks after an update?
Disable it first. We check the server logs (nextcloud.log) — if needed we roll the app version back. Open a ticket.
Can I develop my own apps? Yes. Nextcloud app development is documented. In play: PHP, JavaScript, Vue.js. For your own apps you need SSH access.
What’s the difference between app store apps and plugins / themes?
- Apps: extend functionality (new features, sections).
- Themes: change the look — logo, colors, branding. Not via the app store, but via Administration settings → Theming.
What’s next
First login as a Nextcloud admin
What to do after your Nextcloud is provisioned — login, profile, the important first settings, what we handle and what you handle.
Admin GUI overview — what you'll find where
Nextcloud's administration settings are big. Here's a tour of the sections that matter and what they do.
Creating users and groups
Create users for family, club or team, organize groups, set quotas, control login behavior.
Sharing — files with others, internally and externally
Sharing files in Nextcloud — within your cloud with other users, with groups, or externally via sharing link.