WebDAV Server for Centralized Backup and Sync Across Laptops

[IliaOzhmegov]

Context:
I'm setting up a WebDAV server to act as a centralized location for syncing and backing up files across multiple laptops. I want to use this WebDAV server while Super Productivity is run locally on one of my laptops, but I'm encountering issues during the setup process.

Setup:

• Access URL: http://192.168.178.24:8080 (running on a Raspberry Pi in my local network).
• docker-compose.yaml:

services:
  webdav:
    image: hacdias/webdav:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./webdav.yaml:/config.yml:ro
      - ./data:/data

• webdav.yaml:

address: 0.0.0.0
port: 8080

prefix: /
permissions: CRUD

users:
  - username: ilia
    password: password
    directory: /data/ilia

What Works:

• I can access the WebDAV server via curl:
  curl -u ilia:password -T test.json http://192.168.178.24:8080
  This successfully creates a file in the data/ilia directory on the server.
• Directory listings and file uploads work as expected with curl.

The Problem:
When trying to connect Super Productivity to the WebDAV server:

1. Base URL: http://192.168.178.24:8080 (also tried http://192.168.178.24:8080/webdav, http://192.168.178.24:8080/data/ilia)
2. Sync Folder Path: super-productivity-backup.json
3. Username: ilia
4. Password: password

Super Productivity returns an error:
Error: Unknown Upload Error (Settings correct?): Error: Invalid response: 409 Conflict

My Goal:
To have a central WebDAV server accessible to multiple laptops for file synchronization, starting with Super Productivity.

Questions:

1. What is the correct WebDAV URL structure for Super Productivity? Should the Base URL include the folder (/data/ilia), or is that specified in the Sync Folder Path?
2. Could the 409 Conflict error be related to file-locking, permissions, or another WebDAV-specific configuration?
3. Are there specific settings or logs in Super Productivity or the WebDAV server to debug this issue further?
4. Are there known compatibility issues between Super Productivity and certain WebDAV servers (e.g., hacdias/webdav)?
5. Does the WEBDAV_BACKEND variable in the hacdias/webdav Docker container play any role here? If so:
   • What values are supported for this variable?
   • Does it impact compatibility with Super Productivity, and should it be configured to a specific backend?

[IliaOzhmegov]

I've decided to step back and try to run that in locally, 2 containers, exactly the same as was written in the readme of the project. Well it fails...

However, when I search thru PRs regarding webdav I found this: #3534

TLDR:

• add folder super-productivity in your local folder in my case it was data/ilia.
• make sure Sync Folder Path is also super-productivity I used to have super-productivity-backup.json -- no idea why thou

[IliaOzhmegov]

just for the sake of not losing the progress to make it work at least with docker-compose, let me document it here.

File structure:

❯ tree
.
├── data
│   └── ilia
│       └── super-productivity
│           ├── ARCHIVE.json
│           └── MAIN.json
├── docker-compose.yml
└── webdav.yaml

4 directories, 4 files

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  sp:
    image: johannesjo/super-productivity:latest
    ports:
      - 80:80
    environment:
      - WEBDAV_BACKEND=http://webdav # Optional

  # Optional: WebDAV backend server
  # (used with the WEBDAV_BACKEND environment variable)
  webdav:
    image: hacdias/webdav:latest
    volumes:
      - ./webdav.yaml:/config.yml:ro
      - ./data:/data

webdav.yaml:

address: 0.0.0.0
port: 80

prefix: /
permissions: CRUD

users:
  - username: ilia
    password: iliapassword
    directory: /data/ilia

Since it's not very intuitive let also show my
settings in super-productivity:

[tune007]

Hi Ilia , for which provider are you trying to setup webdav e.g. NextCloud/Seafile etc. because I think the base URL will look different for each. I think 409 error means the library you are trying to access does not exist. Also the part where you are specifying the sync folder path refers to your library path not the actual json file so for instance if the library/folder name is SuperProd that should be what you specify in your basefolder path. By default SP will try to create it's own "folder" called super-productivity which if it does not exist on your webdav instance will give you the 409 error. Also if you are deploying a docker container you probably are using ngnix that you need to configure correctly for your webdav service. Hope I understood your question correctly :)

[IliaOzhmegov]

Hi @tune007,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I’m not actually using Nextcloud or Seafile—rather, I’m running a Docker-based WebDAV server (specifically the hacdias/webdav image) alongside Super Productivity. The 409 error I’m seeing doesn’t appear to be due to a missing “library” in the sense of Nextcloud/Seafile libraries; instead, it seems related to how Super Productivity handles its sync folder path and tries to write files (like MAIN.json and ARCHIVE.json).

From what I’ve gathered:

1. Super Productivity will create or expect a folder (e.g. /super-productivity) on the WebDAV server and store multiple JSON files there.
2. If I mistakenly set a “Sync Folder Path” in Super Productivity to something that looks like a single file (e.g. someFile.json), SP attempts requests like PUT /someFile.json/MAIN.json, which the WebDAV server interprets as a directory path, causing the 409 or 405 errors.
3. I’m also using Nginx inside the Super Productivity container, but I’ve tried to keep that separate from the WebDAV instance.

So in my case, it’s not about Nextcloud/Seafile “libraries” specifically, but rather how the path is handled on the hacdias/webdav server. Thanks for suggesting the idea of a missing library/folder—turns out that logic still applies in the sense that I need to ensure the correct folder name is used for SP’s sync path, so the server sees a valid directory.

I appreciate your input and hope this clarifies my setup. If you have more thoughts on dealing with 409 conflicts in a basic Docker-based WebDAV environment, I’d love to hear them. Thanks again for helping me troubleshoot!

[IliaOzhmegov]

My solution for my raspberry pi (with access from within local network)

File structure:

.
├── data
│   └── ilia
│       └── super-productivity
│           ├── ARCHIVE.json
│           └── MAIN.json
├── docker-compose.yaml
└── webdav.yaml

Note: files ARCHIVE.json and MAIN.json were created in the result of synchronization. Folders data/ilia/super-productivity were created manually.

webdav.yaml:

address: 0.0.0.0
port: 80

prefix: /
permissions: CRUD

users:
  - username: ilia
    password: iliapassword
    directory: /data/ilia

docker-compose.yaml:

services:
  webdav:
    image: hacdias/webdav:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - ./webdav.yaml:/config.yml:ro
      - ./data:/data

Note: I'm accessing webdav externally via port 8080.

The configuration of Sync in SP that is running natively on my machine:

Note: Raspberry pi's address in local network is http://192.168.178.24.

I also need to set up:

• https
• accessibility of my raspberry pi from external network
• port forwarding in my route
• leverage DDNS like duckdns to access my RP with a sensible domain name instead of ipv6, which I currently use

But all of these todos are outside of the scope of relevance for current discussion. But what is relevant is the way of syncing those files between different laptops, particularly when something goes wrong: personal laptop failed to sync with webdav due to some reason, and I need to continue to do something on a working laptop after. Apparently it's implied that when I start launching SP you pull remote files first, and when you are finishing work up push them on webdav to avoid some kind of conflict. But for that I'll check other discussions first or created a dedicated one if necessary.

[kavinay]

@IliaOzhmegov were you able to get multiple laptops/devices to work with your instance? Your fix helped me get sync working on one laptop with one browse. But every other browser on every other device is running into @SnoopAir 's problem with the "Unknown Sync Error"

[SnoopAir]

Hi @IliaOzhmegov thanks for all your effort regarding this topic. I'm trying to set it up myself but so far failed. For me it is mandatory to have the data stored persistent. I have not looked into how/where the data is currently. My goal would be to have a user based approach.
For now I would be happy if I could make webdav sync work. But I'm confused by the fact, that there is an explicit setting via GUI to specify webdev while there is a a env variable in docker compose (template) specifying the WEBDAV_BACKEND=http://webdav # Optional.

I have successfully setup hacdias/webdav:v5.7.3 with 3 users and normal webdav access works.
What does not work is any sync after entering the data in the GUI with the correct data. The bad thing is that I only see a short overly message saying "Unknown Sync Error: Error: Network Error". I can't find any further logoutput.

Another questions would be: Does the sync also store the settings itself?

webdav.yml
``

• username: john
  password: johnpwd
  permissions: CRUD
  directory: /data/john