ONLYOFFICE + Nextcloud: Self-Hosted Microsoft Office Editing

Nextcloud handles file storage. ONLYOFFICE Docs adds real-time collaborative editing of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly in your browser. The combination gives your team Google Workspace functionality on your own server. Here is how to deploy ONLYOFFICE Docs and connect it to Nextcloud.

Step 1: Deploy ONLYOFFICE Document Server

services:
  onlyoffice-docs:
    image: onlyoffice/documentserver:latest
    container_name: onlyoffice-docs
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8081:80"
    environment:
      - JWT_ENABLED=true
      - JWT_SECRET=your_long_random_secret_here
    volumes:
      - onlyoffice_data:/var/www/onlyoffice/Data
      - onlyoffice_logs:/var/log/onlyoffice
      - onlyoffice_fonts:/usr/share/fonts

volumes:
  onlyoffice_data:
  onlyoffice_logs:
  onlyoffice_fonts:

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Step 2: Configure the Reverse Proxy

Add a proxy host for docs.yourdomain.com pointing to onlyoffice-docs:80. Request SSL and enable Force SSL. ONLYOFFICE Docs must be accessible over HTTPS for Nextcloud to connect.

Step 3: Install the ONLYOFFICE Connector in Nextcloud

In Nextcloud, go to Apps. Search for ONLYOFFICE. Install the community connector app. Go to Settings, Administration, ONLYOFFICE.

• Document Editing Service Address: https://docs.yourdomain.com
• Secret key: the same JWT_SECRET you set in the Docker environment

Click Save. Nextcloud now opens .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files in ONLYOFFICE Docs directly in the browser.

Step 4: Test Collaborative Editing

Upload a .docx file to Nextcloud. Click it. It opens in the ONLYOFFICE editor inline. Share the file with a colleague. Open it simultaneously. You see each other's cursors and changes in real time, exactly like Google Docs.

ONLYOFFICE Docs supports two co-editing modes: Fast (changes appear immediately) and Strict (changes must be saved to become visible). Comments, track changes, version history, and built-in chat all work within the editor. The formatting fidelity with Microsoft Office is the best of any open-source office suite. Complex documents with tables, charts, and tracked changes render identically to how they appear in Word or Excel.

Performance Notes

ONLYOFFICE Docs needs 4GB RAM minimum for stable performance. For teams of 10-plus editing simultaneously, 8GB is recommended. The Community Edition supports up to 20 concurrent editors. Beyond that, consider the Enterprise Edition for clustering support.

VPS1 deploys ONLYOFFICE Docs integrated with Nextcloud as part of your managed stack. Your team edits documents in the browser like Google Workspace. Your documents stay on your server. Your formatting stays perfect.