FileBrowser provides a minimal CLI for setup and user management.

Available Commands

Start Server

Default command - runs the server:

./filebrowser

With custom config:

./filebrowser -c /path/to/config.yaml

Setup

Create new configuration file:

./filebrowser setup

Generates config.yaml with defaults.

Version

Check version information:

./filebrowser version

User Management

Add or update user:

./filebrowser set -u username,password

With custom config:

./filebrowser set -u username,password -c config.yaml

Create admin user:

./filebrowser set -u username,password -a

Important Notes

Always shut down the server before CLI operations

Only one process can access the database at once.

# Stop service first
systemctl stop filebrowser

# Run CLI command
./filebrowser set -u admin,newpass -c config.yaml

# Start service
systemctl start filebrowser

Docker Usage

Stop Running Container 

docker compose down

Run CLI in Container 

docker run -it \
  -v $(pwd)/database.db:/home/filebrowser/database.db \
  -v $(pwd)/config.yaml:/home/filebrowser/config.yaml \
  --entrypoint="" \
  gtstef/filebrowser sh

Inside container:

./filebrowser set -u admin,newpass -c config.yaml
exit

One-Line Docker Commands

Password reset:

docker run -it --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/database.db:/home/filebrowser/database.db \
  -v $(pwd)/config.yaml:/home/filebrowser/config.yaml \
  --entrypoint="" \
  gtstef/filebrowser \
  ./filebrowser set -u admin,newpassword -c config.yaml

Create user:

docker run -it --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/database.db:/home/filebrowser/database.db \
  -v $(pwd)/config.yaml:/home/filebrowser/config.yaml \
  --entrypoint="" \
  gtstef/filebrowser \
  ./filebrowser set -u newuser,password -c config.yaml

Common Operations

Password Reset 

./filebrowser set -u admin,newpassword -c config.yaml

Create New User 

./filebrowser set -u joe,password -c config.yaml

Promote User to Admin 

./filebrowser set -u joe,newpassword -a -c config.yaml

Initial Admin Setup

After first install:

# Option 1: Use CLI
./filebrowser set -u admin,secure-password -a -c config.yaml

# Option 2: Use environment variable
export FILEBROWSER_ADMIN_PASSWORD="secure-password"
./filebrowser -c config.yaml

Command Reference

filebrowser

Start server with optional config.

Syntax:

./filebrowser [-c config.yaml]

Options:

  • -c - Config file path (default: config.yaml)

Examples:

./filebrowser
./filebrowser -c /etc/filebrowser/config.yaml

filebrowser setup

Create default configuration file.

Syntax:

./filebrowser setup

Output: Creates config.yaml in current directory.

filebrowser version

Display version information.

Syntax:

./filebrowser version

Output:

FileBrowser version: v0.10.0
Built: 2025-01-15
Go version: go1.23

filebrowser set

Add or update users.

Syntax:

./filebrowser set -u username,password [-a] [-c config.yaml]

Options:

  • -u - Username and password (comma-separated)
  • -a - Make user admin
  • -c - Config file path

Examples:

# Create user
./filebrowser set -u john,pass123 -c config.yaml

# Create admin
./filebrowser set -u admin,secure-pass -a -c config.yaml

# Reset password
./filebrowser set -u john,newpass -c config.yaml

Troubleshooting

For common issues and solutions, see the Troubleshooting guide.

Next Steps