/dev/null

Nextcloud app for external disk auto-ingest: detect, mount, scan, deduplicate, classify.

"Where your data goes to live."

— Named after /dev/null, the Unix black hole where data goes to die. This app does the opposite.

Warning

DevNull is feature-complete (v0.5.0) but not yet published on the Nextcloud App Store (certificate pending: PR #1152).

What is this?

DevNull transforms your Nextcloud server into a central ingest point for external drives. Plug in a disk, click mount, and your server detects, mounts, scans, deduplicates, and classifies — all from the web interface. No terminal required.

Built for the person with 10+ external drives in a drawer, full of photos and documents that deserve an organized life.

Status

Component	Status	Notes
Disk detection (lsblk)	🟢 Working	Recursive, filters system partitions
Web UI (Vue.js)	🟢 Working	Disk cards, mount/eject/process buttons, badges
Mount via udisks2	🟢 Working	www-data with polkit, handles AlreadyMounted
Eject (unmount)	🟢 Working	Removes NC external storage by saved ID
Storage registration	🟢 Working	PHP API (GlobalStoragesService), no subprocess
File scan (auto)	🟢 Working	\OC\Files\Utils\Scanner (NC 34 compatible)
Ingest pipeline	🟢 Working	Scan (sync) + Dedup/Classify (background jobs)
Permissions	🟢 Working	Admin mounts; users see shared storage
Error handling	🟢 Working	Consistent {success, error, code} + HTTP status
Notifications	🟢 Working	NC notification panel (mount, ingest, hotplug)
Auto-classify	🟢 Working	Triggers Recognize after scan (configurable)
Dashboard widget	🟢 Working	IAPIWidgetV2 on NC home screen
Admin settings	🟢 Working	Automation rules in NC admin panel
Daemon (hotplug)	🟢 Working	Python + pyudev, SSE, webhook bridge
DB schema	🟢 Working	3 tables (disks, operations, mounts)
App Store	📋 Pending	Certificate PR open

Features

• Detect USB/external drives connected to the server
• List disks in Nextcloud UI (name, size, filesystem, model, serial)
• One-click mount via udisks2 (no root required)
• One-click eject with --force
• Auto-register as Nextcloud external storage on mount
• Auto file scan after mount (content visible immediately)
• Auto-remove external storage on eject (clean lifecycle)
• Ingest pipeline: scan → deduplicate → classify (AI)
• Background job scheduling for heavy operations (dedup, classify)
• Auto-classify via Recognize after scan (configurable)
• Nextcloud notifications (mount complete, ingest complete, disk detected)
• Dashboard widget (mounted disks + recent ops on NC home)
• Admin settings page (automation rules, daemon config)
• Python daemon with hotplug detection (pyudev + polling fallback)
• SSE real-time events endpoint
• Webhook bridge (daemon → NC app)
• Auto-mount on plug (configurable)
• Deploy script (scripts/deploy.sh)
• Automated test suite (scripts/test.sh)
• Filter system partitions (/, /boot, swap)
• .devnull marker file on mounted disks
• PHPStan level 5 compliance
• Structured error responses with error codes
• Nextcloud App Store publication (awaiting certificate)

Architecture

DevNull/
├── app/                           # Nextcloud PHP app
│   ├── appinfo/                   # info.xml, routes.php
│   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── AppInfo/               # Bootstrap + DI (IBootstrap)
│   │   ├── Capability/            # Interfaces (DiskDetector, MountStrategy, StorageRegistrar)
│   │   ├── Command/               # SecureCommandRunner (whitelisted exec)
│   │   ├── Controller/            # OCS API (Disk, Mount, Ingest, Status, Operation, Daemon, Settings)
│   │   ├── Dashboard/             # NC Dashboard widget (IAPIWidgetV2)
│   │   ├── Detection/             # LsblkDetector, DetectorFactory
│   │   ├── Event/                 # DiskMounted, DiskUnmounted, IngestCompleted
│   │   ├── Ingest/                # Pipeline + Steps (Scan, Deduplicate, Classify)
│   │   ├── Listener/              # TriggerScanOnMount, LogOnUnmount, NotifyOnIngestComplete
│   │   ├── Migration/             # DB schema (disks, operations, mounts)
│   │   ├── Mount/                 # UdisksMountStrategy, SudoMountStrategy, NullMountStrategy
│   │   ├── Notification/          # Notifier + NotificationService
│   │   ├── Bridge/                # HttpDaemonClient, NullDaemonClient
│   │   ├── Settings/              # AdminSection, AdminSettings
│   │   └── Storage/               # NextcloudStorageRegistrar (PHP API + auto-classify)
│   ├── src/                       # Vue.js frontend
│   │   ├── components/            # DiskCard, DiskList, OperationLog (dashboard)
│   │   └── App.vue
│   ├── templates/                 # Admin settings page
│   └── js/                        # Built frontend bundle
├── daemon/                        # Python daemon (optional enhancer)
│   ├── devnull_daemon/
│   │   ├── api/                   # FastAPI REST + SSE
│   │   ├── detection/             # UdevMonitor + polling fallback
│   │   ├── mount/                 # Strategy pattern (udisks, sudo)
│   │   ├── notifications/         # Webhook notifier → NC app
│   │   ├── events.py              # EventBus (async pub/sub)
│   │   └── models/                # Pydantic models
│   └── systemd/                   # Service unit
├── scripts/
│   ├── deploy.sh                  # One-command deploy
│   └── test.sh                    # Automated test suite
└── docs/                          # Audit reports, continuation prompts

Tech Stack

• Backend: PHP 8.2+ / Nextcloud App Framework 28+
• Frontend: Vue.js 2.7 / @nextcloud/vue / Webpack 5
• Daemon: Python 3.11+ / FastAPI / pyudev / httpx
• Mount: udisks2 (userspace, polkit) or sudo mount (fallback)
• Detection: lsblk --json (PHP) / pyudev real-time (daemon)
• Storage: files_external GlobalStoragesService (PHP API)
• Scan: \OC\Files\Utils\Scanner (NC 34, IUser + SetupManager)
• Jobs: IJobList for dedup/classify/Recognize scheduling
• Notifications: OCP\Notification\IManager
• Dashboard: IAPIWidgetV2 + IReloadableWidget

Quick Deploy

# On the server
cd /opt/devnull && git pull && sudo bash scripts/deploy.sh

# With daemon (hotplug detection)
cd /opt/devnull && git pull && sudo bash scripts/deploy.sh --with-daemon

# Run tests
export DEVNULL_TEST_PASS='your-nc-password'
bash /opt/devnull/scripts/test.sh

API Endpoints

Method	Path	Auth	Description
GET	/api/v1/disks	User	List detected disks
POST	/api/v1/mount	Admin	Mount a device
POST	/api/v1/unmount	Admin	Eject a device
POST	/api/v1/ingest	Admin	Start ingest pipeline
GET	/api/v1/ingest/steps	User	List available steps
GET	/api/v1/status	User	Current mount/operation status
GET	/api/v1/logs	User	Operation history
GET	/api/v1/settings	Admin	Get automation settings
PUT	/api/v1/settings	Admin	Update automation settings
POST	/api/v1/daemon/event	Token	Daemon webhook receiver
GET	/api/v1/daemon/config	Token	Daemon self-configuration

Daemon API (port 9876)

Method	Path	Auth	Description
GET	/api/v1/health	—	Health check
GET	/api/v1/disks	Token	List available disks
POST	/api/v1/mount	Token	Mount a device
POST	/api/v1/unmount	Token	Unmount a device
GET	/api/v1/events	—	SSE real-time stream
GET	/api/v1/events/history	Token	Recent event history

Contributing

Contributions welcome. Areas where help is needed:

1. Testing — PHPUnit tests for controllers and services
2. New mount strategies — Docker volumes, NFS, CIFS
3. Device support — testing with different USB enclosures
4. Platform support — Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch variations
5. Frontend — Vue.js admin settings component

License

AGPL-3.0