Self-Hosted Seafile in Romania on Offshore VPS
Seafile is the one mainstream self-hosted file sync product with a credible per-library client-side encryption mode. The server runs as a C daemon plus a small Python frontend (Seahub), the storage backend can be local block, S3, or FUSE-mounted, and the desktop client supports a real read-write FUSE mount on Linux. RAM idle is around 512 MB which puts it between Vaultwarden and Nextcloud on resource use. Romania gives an EU offshore jurisdiction outside Fourteen Eyes. This guide covers Anubiz Host Romania plan sizing, Docker compose, library E2EE truth, FUSE mount specifics and backup.
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Why Seafile
Pick Seafile when you specifically need per-library client-side encryption that survives server compromise, when you want a real read-write FUSE mount, or when you care about block-level dedup. Pass over it for users who need a thick app ecosystem (Talk, Notes, Calendar) where Nextcloud wins.
VPS Plan
Anubiz Romania Storage VPS 200 (4 GB RAM) for households. Storage VPS 1000 for small teams under 1 TB. NVMe storage for the metadata DB.
Docker Compose
Use the official seafileltd/seafile-mc image. MariaDB sidecar, Memcached sidecar, Caddy in front. SERVER_HOSTNAME=cloud.example.org. Initial admin user during entrypoint. Disable signups in the Seahub config.
Encryption Truth
Per-library encryption is real client-side encryption when you enable it at library creation. The library password is hashed client-side, the server stores only the hash, file blocks are AES-256 encrypted client-side. Server compromise leaks block storage but not contents. Caveat: filenames are visible to the server in the metadata DB even on encrypted libraries; only contents are E2EE.
FUSE Mount
Seafile FUSE mount gives a read-write filesystem view of all libraries. Useful for backup tools or for incremental rsync from the server side. seaf-fuse binary, mount under /srv/seafile-fuse, run as a dedicated user.
Backups
Restic the seafile-data block storage plus MariaDB dump nightly to Anubiz Host Iceland. 14/8/12 retention. Test restore monthly on a throwaway VPS.
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