Files, Calendar, Talk, Mail — those are the big apps in Nextcloud. Alongside them there’s a set of smaller apps many users don’t even know about, but that are genuinely handy in everyday use. Here are the most important ones.
Notes — Markdown notes
A lean app for notes in Markdown format. Like Apple Notes / Google Keep, just in your own cloud.
Enabling
As admin: Administration settings → Apps → Notes, install / enable.
The Notes icon then appears in the top navigation.
What Notes can do
- Categories for organization
- Markdown with live preview
- Full-text search
- Tags and favorites
- Auto-save
- Sync with the Notes app on iOS / Android (separate mobile app)
- Sync with third-party apps like Joplin (via WebDAV)
Storage location
Notes are stored as .md files in a special folder (default /Notes). So you also see them in the Files app and can edit them via the desktop client / WebDAV.
When Notes is worth it
- Personal notes, idea collections
- Meeting minutes
- Code snippets, command cheat sheets
- Personal knowledge management
From our experience: for many users it replaces Apple Notes or Google Keep.
Deck — kanban board
To-do management, Trello style. With boards, lists, cards.
Enabling
Administration settings → Apps → Deck, install.
Workflow
- Create a board (e.g. “Club board work”, “Website project”, “House renovation”)
- Create lists (e.g. “Backlog”, “In progress”, “Waiting on”, “Done”)
- Create cards in lists with:
- Title
- Description (Markdown)
- Due date
- Tags
- Assignment to users
- Attachments (from Nextcloud files)
- Comments
Sharing boards
You can share any board with other Nextcloud users. Permissions: read, write, manage.
Handy for:
- Club board work: everyone sees open tasks
- Family: shared task lists (“Renovation”, “Vacation planning”)
- Small projects: a Trello replacement without a third-party cloud
Mobile app
A separate Nextcloud Deck app on iOS and Android — full feature set, very usable on the go too.
Talk integration
In Talk conversations you can link Deck cards. Handy when discussing tasks.
When Deck is worth it
- Small to medium team projects
- Personal task management
- When you want to replace Trello / Asana
Limit: with large projects (50+ members, 500+ cards) it gets a bit sluggish.
News — RSS reader
Your own RSS/Atom feed reader in the cloud. Like Feedly, just self-hosted.
Enabling
Administration settings → Apps → News, install.
Important: cron has to run on the server side so feeds are updated regularly — standard at xaweho.
Adding feeds
Plus symbol → enter the URL of an RSS/Atom feed.
Examples:
https://www.heise.de/rss/heise.rdfhttps://www.tagesschau.de/index~rss2.xml- Practically all blogs / news sites with an RSS symbol
Organization
- Folders for grouping feeds
- Stars for important articles
- Full-text cache (with an additional app): the complete article content is stored
Mobile
The Nextcloud News app on iOS / Android, or apps like OCNews (Android) / CloudNews (iOS) with sync support.
When News is worth it
- You regularly follow 5+ news sources
- You want to sync articles between desktop and mobile
- Privacy matters to you — no third-party cloud knows what you read
Bookmarks — bookmark management
Collect browser bookmarks in the cloud and sync them across devices.
Enabling
Administration settings → Apps → Bookmarks, install.
Browser integration
Via the Floccus extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge):
- Install Floccus
- Configure the account (Nextcloud server URL + app password)
- Bookmarks sync in both directions
Conflict resolution: with parallel edits in multiple browsers, Floccus can merge or asks you.
Web interface
In the Nextcloud Bookmarks app:
- Sort bookmarks into folders
- Assign tags
- Full-text search
- External bookmarklets for quick-add
When Bookmarks is worth it
- You use multiple browsers (Firefox on the desktop, Chrome on the notebook)
- You want to sync bookmarks between your private and work setup
- You want to move away from browser cloud sync (Google, Mozilla Sync)
Forms — creating surveys
A dedicated app for online surveys, similar to Google Forms.
Use cases
- Doodle replacement: “Which date works best?”
- Club member surveys
- Feedback forms
- Event registrations
Setup
Apps → install Forms.
Create a form with various question types (choice, text, date, scale). Generate a sharing link — external people can participate too, without a Nextcloud account.
Limits
Functionally limited compared to Google Forms / Tally.so. Fine for simple surveys; for complex logic (branching, score calculations) better use dedicated tools.
Polls — votes
Specifically for scheduling polls (Doodle replacement):
- Offer multiple date options
- Participants mark “works”, “doesn’t work”, “maybe”
- Automatic best-date finder
Very popular in the club context: “When does the next board meeting fit?”.
Nextcloud Office — extras
When OnlyOffice or Collabora is active, there’s also:
- Nextcloud Text — the built-in Markdown/rich-text editor (always active, independent of Office)
- Whiteboard (separate app) — a collaborative whiteboard for brainstorming
How to sort out what you need
From our experience, this is what pays off for most:
| App | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Notes | Enable practically always |
| Deck | Enable if you share to-dos |
| News | Only for RSS users |
| Bookmarks | Only if you use Floccus |
| Forms | Only if you run surveys regularly |
| Polls | Very good for clubs, families |
Frequently asked questions
How much storage do the small apps use? Notes: minimal (Markdown files are small). Deck: minimal. News: can grow with the full-text cache active and many feeds. Bookmarks: minimal. Forms/Polls: minimal.
Are the small apps included in backups? Yes, the server backup covers all data — files and the apps’ database data.
Can these apps be removed from the app list when not in use? Yes, uninstall them in the app management as admin. The app’s data is not deleted in the process (it stays in the database) and can be reactivated later.
Mobile sync — does it work for all the small apps? Notes: yes, own app. Deck: yes, own app. News: yes, with third-party apps. Bookmarks: yes, with Floccus on mobile. Forms/Polls: web only.
Floccus or XBookmarks — what’s the difference? Floccus is the official one for the Nextcloud Bookmarks app. XBookmarks is an alternative with its own server requirements. We recommend Floccus.
Are all apps open source? Yes. Everything mentioned here is open source and available in the Nextcloud app store.
Which apps are actively developed? Notes, Deck, News, Bookmarks, Forms, Polls — all active. Recent updates on a regular basis.
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.