Nextcloud Link Generator

A lightweight Windows context menu tool that generates public links to files and folders in Nextcloud with a single right-click.

🚀 Features

• One-click integration - Generate Nextcloud public links directly from Windows Explorer
• Simple configuration - All settings in one place at the top of the script
• Flexible path mapping - Convert any local path to Nextcloud path with regex patterns
• Robust error handling - Automatic retry mechanism with detailed feedback
• Clean interface - Color-coded output for better readability
• Instant clipboard copy - Links automatically copied and ready to paste
• Battle-tested - Successfully tested with real Nextcloud instances

📋 Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11 with PowerShell 5.1+
• curl.exe (included in Windows 10/11)
• Nextcloud server with API access
• Administrator rights for registry installation

Recommended: PowerShell 7

For the best terminal experience, we recommend using PowerShell 7:

• Download from GitHub
• Better UTF-8 character support
• Enhanced display and performance

If using Windows PowerShell 5.1, the script works perfectly but some display characters may render differently.

🛠️ Quick Setup

1. Download and Configure

1. Download the latest release or clone this repository
2. Edit src/ExportNextcloudLink.ps1 and modify the configuration section:

# CONFIGURATION SECTION - MODIFY THESE VALUES
$NEXTCLOUD_SERVER = "https://your-nextcloud-server.com"  # Your Nextcloud URL
$NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME = "your-username"                    # Your username
$NEXTCLOUD_PASSWORD = "your-password"                    # Your password

# Path mappings - Local to Nextcloud path conversion
$PATH_MAPPINGS = @(
    @{ Pattern = "^C:\\Users\\YourName\\Documents"; Replacement = "/Documents" },
    @{ Pattern = "^D:\\Projects"; Replacement = "/Projects" },
    @{ Pattern = "^C:\\"; Replacement = "/LocalDrive" }
)

2. Install Context Menu

1. Edit install/context_menu.reg - update the path to your script location:

   @="pwsh -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \"C:\\your\\path\\ExportNextcloudLink.ps1\" -FilePath \"%1\""
   

2. Run as Administrator and execute:

   regedit /s install/context_menu.reg

3. Test It Out

1. Right-click any file or folder in Windows Explorer
2. Select "Generate Nextcloud Link"
3. Wait for the script to process
4. Paste the link anywhere - it's already in your clipboard!

🔧 Usage

Context Menu (Recommended)

• Right-click any file or folder → "Generate Nextcloud Link"
• Link automatically copied to clipboard

Command Line

Run the script directly with a file path:

# PowerShell
pwsh -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\path\to\ExportNextcloudLink.ps1" -FilePath "C:\your\file.txt"

# Command Prompt  
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\path\to\ExportNextcloudLink.ps1" -FilePath "D:\Projects\app\main.js"

Examples:

# Single file
.\ExportNextcloudLink.ps1 -FilePath "C:\Documents\report.pdf"

# Folder
.\ExportNextcloudLink.ps1 -FilePath "D:\Projects\MyApp"

# Network path
.\ExportNextcloudLink.ps1 -FilePath "\\server\share\document.docx"

📁 Project Structure

nextcloud-link-generator/
├── src/
│   └── ExportNextcloudLink.ps1    # Main script with configuration
├── install/
│   └── context_menu.reg           # Registry entries for right-click menu
├── docs/
│   ├── CONFIGURATION.md           # Advanced configuration guide
│   └── TROUBLESHOOTING.md         # Common issues and solutions
└── README.md                      # This file

⚙️ Configuration Guide

Path Mappings Explained

Path mappings convert your local Windows paths to Nextcloud paths using regex patterns:

$PATH_MAPPINGS = @(
    # Map entire drives
    @{ Pattern = "^C:\\"; Replacement = "/LocalC" },
    @{ Pattern = "^D:\\"; Replacement = "/LocalD" },
    
    # Map specific folders
    @{ Pattern = "^C:\\Users\\John\\Documents"; Replacement = "/JohnDocs" },
    @{ Pattern = "^C:\\Projects"; Replacement = "/Work" },
    
    # Map network drives
    @{ Pattern = "^\\\\server\\share"; Replacement = "/NetworkShare" },
    
    # Catch-all for unmapped drives (put this last)
    @{ Pattern = "^[A-Z]:\\"; Replacement = "/OtherDrives" }
)

Common Examples

Local Path	Pattern	Replacement	Result
C:\Users\John\file.txt	^C:\\Users\\John	/JohnHome	/JohnHome/file.txt
D:\Projects\app\src\main.js	^D:\\Projects	/Work	/Work/app/src/main.js
\\server\docs\report.pdf	^\\\\server\\docs	/SharedDocs	/SharedDocs/report.pdf

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging by setting:

$DEBUG = $true

This will show:

• Path mapping process
• Curl commands (with hidden passwords)
• Server responses
• Retry attempts

🎨 What You'll See

When you run the script, you'll see:

NEXTCLOUD LINK GENERATOR
=========================

Processing file...
Generating link...
-------------------------------------------------------------
Link copied to clipboard:
https://your-nextcloud.com/s/abc123xyz
-------------------------------------------------------------

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Please configure NEXTCLOUD_SERVER"

• Edit the script and set your Nextcloud server URL

"No path mapping found"

• Add appropriate path mappings for your directory structure
• Use Windows path format with double backslashes in patterns

"Failed to generate public URL"

• Check your Nextcloud credentials
• Verify the file/folder exists in Nextcloud
• Enable debug mode for detailed error info

Context menu doesn't appear

• Ensure you ran regedit as Administrator
• Check the script path in the .reg file is correct
• Try logging out and back in to Windows

Getting Help

1. Enable debug mode ($DEBUG = $true)
2. Check the generated curl_output.txt file
3. Verify your Nextcloud server is accessible
4. Test credentials in a web browser first

🔒 Security Notes

• Store credentials securely - consider using Windows Credential Manager
• Use app-specific passwords when available
• Don't commit your configured script with real credentials
• The script hides passwords in debug output

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

⭐ Star This Project

If this tool helps you, please give it a star on GitHub!

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Made with ❤️ for seamless Nextcloud sharing