edit: Forgot to mention, this issue only affects the desktop client! When using the web client with my browser, I am still logged in.
I have a nextcloud instance that is local to my network, and I don’t trust my IT skills enough to secure my server in the internet, so it only works when I’m at home (or if I use something like Tailscale). I am content with leaving it that way, since I mostly self-host to back up my files, I’m not using anything like Jellyfin or Navidrome at the moment.
Everything seems to work fine, Nextcloud, Immich, my calendar, etc. all sync fine. However, it seems that Nextcloud doesn’t remember my laptop, and logs me out whenever I leave and come back to the network, meaning I pretty much have to login every day. Why is this? How do I get Nextcloud to remember my laptop?
Are you using a Mac? Could be Apples private wifi thing that gives you a new MAC address each time you connect. You can set it to use the same MAC every time for your home wifi and see if that fixes it.
Nextcloud shouldn’t be seeing your MAC address. However, my guess is that Nextcloud has been configured to invalidate the session if the client IP changes, and randomizing the MAC address is one way that can happen.
Fortunately I’m not in Apple’s walled garden. I’m running Fedora KDE :D
That’s definitely not how it should work. Leaving your LAN should not invalidate a session.
Is this in your browser, or are you talking about the desktop client?
It’s the desktop client, should have mentioned that. My browser remembers my device.
In that case, something is invalidating the login. Are you sure that it is happening due to leaving your LAN, and not just coinciding with that?
Does restarting the laptop log you out, or temporarily disconnecting from the internet? Could you test by switching to a wifi hotspot on your phone, and switching back, for example?
The client stores your session token in the OS credentials manager (kwallet for linux kde, for example) and the issue can lie there, as well.
I will try restarting and temporarily disconnect and see if the issue pops up. Probably should have done that before…
It might turn out to be something different - but just in case it does log you out after a system restart (but maybe not after network disconnect) it would probably have something to do with kwallet (the key ring which has your credentials) not unlocking correctly.
If that’s the case this or this might be further pointers to look into.
