NimShare

Self-hosted, brand-styled file sharing on Azure — with signatures, AI, and a native iOS app. Upload once, share via personalised links with expiry, password, download limits, custom domains, QR codes and file-request (upload) links. Multi-user with fine-grained permissions, native iOS app, EFIGS+NL localised, and AI features that actually help (chat with your files, smart tags, semantic search, humorous greetings).

Built on ASP.NET Core 8 + Azure App Service + Azure Blob Storage. Deploy in one click.

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What's inside

NimShare grew from a link-sharing MVP into a full file-collaboration platform. Highlights, grouped by area.

Sharing links (the original superpower)

• Custom slugs — nimshare.com/s/project-x instead of random tokens.
• Password protection — bcrypt-hashed, verified per request.
• Expiration — absolute date/time or "burn after N downloads".
• Download limits — hard cap per link, atomically counted.
• Recipient allowlist — restrict a public link to specific email addresses.
• Optional email-gate + one-time-passcode before download.
• Multiple links per file — different rules for different audiences.
• Branded landing page with optional message, preview, and AI auto-summary.
• QR code auto-generated for every link.
• One-click revoke without deleting the file.
• Access statistics per link — hits, downloads, referrers, country + city, device type, IP hashes.
• Public links admin-curated, visible to all users under Meine Links.

Reverse-share (upload requests)

• Generate a public link that lets someone else send you a file — no account on their side.
• Same guard rails: expiry, max uploads, password.
• AI-drafted cover message personalised per recipient.
• Recurring upload requests for regular collections (monthly reports etc.).

File browser (Seafile-style)

• Three scopes: Personal, Public (visible to all authenticated users), and Group (per-team).
• Full folder hierarchy with breadcrumbs, tree panel, drag-and-drop upload, bulk selection.
• Grid vs. list view, right-click context menu, hover actions.
• Inline preview for images and PDFs; Office preview via LibreOffice-headless for .docx/.xlsx/.pptx.
• Precise file-format icons (PDF, DOCX, PNG, MP4, ZIP, …) — same design on web and iOS.
• Folder ZIP download — streams recursively as a proper file (temp-file, fault-tolerant per blob).
• Bulk ZIP for selected files, or single-file "as ZIP".
• Move / Copy / Rename / Delete for both files and folders, with target-folder picker.
• Favourites, Trash / Restore, Recent activity feed, Pinned items.
• Full-text search across files and folder names.
• File versioning — every replace keeps the previous version, restorable.
• File locking + OnlyOffice integration for concurrent editing.

Permissions ("Windows-ACL for public folders")

• A public folder can be marked private — only creator, admin, and explicitly-granted users see it.
• Direct-shares grant read/write to individual users or entire groups.
• Sub-folder permission overrides (e.g. cap child folder to read-only even when parent is write).
• Auto-privatize: setting a group/user permission on a public folder automatically switches it to private — so "share with group X" actually means "restrict to X", not "additive".
• 🔒 badge on private folders, permissions modal via right-click.

Digital signatures (DocuSign-alike)

• Draw signatures with the mouse (web) or Apple Pencil (iOS, via PencilKit).
• Visual field placement on the PDF with pdf.js + drag-drop.
• Sequential delivery with per-recipient deadlines and auto-reminders.
• Bring-your-own certificate (PKCS#12 upload) for cryptographic signing, or platform-managed certificates.
• Signature audit log with forensic fields (country, city, device, timezone, IP hash).
• Full REST API for signature requests; native iOS Requester + Signer flows.

AI features (opt-in, provider-agnostic)

Bring your own key for Gemini, OpenAI or Anthropic, or leave the AI Gateway disabled.

• Chat with your files — RAG over per-file embeddings, cosine-search on the fly.
• Auto-summary on public share landing pages.
• Smart tags — auto-classify uploads on completion.
• Semantic search across your library.
• Vision-AI for images via DescribeImageAsync.
• OCR + language detection for scanned PDFs.
• AI-drafted share emails and upload-request cover messages personalised per recipient.
• Content risk detection on public uploads (flags problematic files for review).
• AI-drafted email templates for signature invites.
• Home-screen greeting — witty, localised (EFIGS+NL), with today's weather (Open-Meteo, no API key) and optional cloud-status summary from a configured incident.io status page.
• Reindex button to rebuild embeddings after schema changes.

Contacts, notifications, bookmarks

• Address book with import from CSV.
• Notifications tray with badge count; per-event settings.
• Bookmarks — company-wide curated link collection (admin-managed), with emoji-picker; useful for pinning internal tools and portals.

Native iOS app (SwiftUI, iOS 17+)

• Adaptive one-screen home — tiles auto-size to fill the viewport; personalised greeting + weather live in the greeting card.
• Full file browser with long-press context menu (share, permissions, move, copy, rename, delete, upload-request, sub-folder).
• Signatures: request creation, visual field placement, and signing via PencilKit.
• Favourites, Trash, Activity, Shared-with-me, Bookmarks — parity with the web UI.
• Custom server URL configurable per user; default https://nimshare.com.
• Localised in de/en/fr/it/es/nl; explicit Accept-Language so the KI greeting always matches the app UI.
• Two-factor sign-in (TOTP) supported end-to-end.

Admin tools

• User management — invite via email, disable/enable, change role, delete, per-user quota, "last login" column.
• Backup & Restore — full DB export (JSON, all 35 entity types, topological FK ordering, IDENTITY-safe on SQL Server), one-click download, upload+restore with typed "RESTORE" confirmation. Self-lockout protection: aborts before wipe if the acting admin isn't in the incoming backup.
• Email gateway — SMTP or Resend.
• AI gateway — provider, model, temperature, status-page URL + product filter.
• Office gateway — OnlyOffice URL.
• Signature certificates — upload PKCS#12, view details.
• API tokens (scoped) and webhooks for integrations.
• Landing templates (global admin default + per-user override).
• Content moderation — flagged uploads inbox.
• Blocked users and user-reporting workflow.

Auth & multi-tenancy

• Local email + password, always available. First user gets the Admin role via first-run setup wizard.
• Microsoft Entra ID optional, layered on top. Existing local accounts auto-link by email on first Entra sign-in.
• Two-factor auth (TOTP) with QR-code setup.
• Session cookies for web, JWT bearer for API/iOS — every /api/v1/* endpoint accepts both.
• Roles: User and Administrator.
• Safety rails prevent demoting/deleting the last active admin.

Custom domains

• Add share.your-company.com to your account under Settings → Domains.
• Verify via TXT record (checked via Google DoH, one-click "Verify" button with real result).
• Azure App Service Managed Certificate is issued automatically once DNS is aligned.
• Configure a canonical App__PublicBaseUrl so generated links always use your custom host, regardless of which host the request came in on.

Localisation — EFIGS + NL by default

Every user-facing string ships in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch from day one. Public share landings respect the visitor's Accept-Language; the app's own UI has a language switcher that persists per user. AI-generated content (summaries, chat responses, greetings) is produced in the caller's language via ISO code.

Tungsten-branded UI

Follows the Tungsten Automation Brand Book: primary navy #002854, accent blue #00A0FB, yellow CTAs #FFC600, Red Hat Display, blue-domain gradient sidebar. Consistent look-and-feel with sibling internal projects like printix-tonerwatch.

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Architecture at a glance

                        ┌──────────────────────────┐
    Web · iOS · Public  │       NimShare API       │
    link visitors       │  ASP.NET Core 8          │
   ────────────────────►│  MVC + Web API + Razor   │
                        └────────────┬─────────────┘
                                     │  1) Auth (cookie or JWT)
                                     │  2) Access rules (scope, DirectShare, IsPrivate)
                                     │  3) Link rules (pw, expiry, count, allowlist, revoked)
                                     │  4) Issue SAS (≤ 60 s TTL)
                                     ▼
                       ┌──────────────────────────────┐
   Direct ────────►    │  Azure Blob Storage           │
   upload/download     │  files/users/{uid}/{fid}/...  │
                       └──────────────────────────────┘

    ┌──────────────────┐   ┌──────────────────┐   ┌────────────────┐
    │  SQLite (default)│   │  App Insights +  │   │  AI Provider   │
    │  or Azure SQL    │   │  Log Analytics   │   │  (Gemini/OpenAI│
    │  (metadata)      │   │                  │   │   /Anthropic)  │
    └──────────────────┘   └──────────────────┘   └────────────────┘

• Provider-agnostic EF Core — same code path against SQLite (Azure Files mount) or Azure SQL. Handwritten migrations for both providers.
• API-first: every feature has an /api/v1/* JSON twin; the iOS app and the Razor MVC UI both use the same endpoints.
• Streamed uploads/downloads direct browser/app ↔ Blob Storage via short-lived SAS — mobile data plans aren't burned tunneling through the server.
• Custom-domain middleware looks up the incoming host to pick per-tenant branding for share landings.

Deep-dive in docs/ARCHITECTURE.md and docs/CONCEPT.md.

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Deploy

1-click on Azure

Click the Deploy to Azure button at the top. Only one parameter is required:

Parameter	Default	Meaning
siteName	(required)	Globally unique App Service name → https://<siteName>.azurewebsites.net
sku	B1	Plan SKU. B1 ≈ 10 EUR/month, always-on. F1 free but sleeps. S1+ needed for free managed TLS on custom domains.
location	resource-group region	Azure region
containerImage	ghcr.io/mnimtz/nimshare:latest	Or pin a specific tag for reproducibility
tz	Europe/Berlin	IANA timezone for link timestamps
defaultLang	en	Fallback UI language (en/de/fr/it/es/nl)

What the template provisions:

• Linux App Service running the container from GHCR (ghcr.io/mnimtz/nimshare)
• Storage Account with a files Blob container for user uploads and a nimshare-data File share mounted at /data for the SQLite metadata DB
• Managed identity with Storage Blob Data Contributor — no connection strings, no account keys in app settings

No SQL Database, no Key Vault, no Entra ID parameters up front. The app boots and the welcome page renders immediately.

First run

Open your site → NimShare shows a First-run setup wizard. Enter your email, name and password → that account is the first Administrator, you're signed in and land on the dashboard.

Optional: Entra ID sign-in on top

For "Sign in with Microsoft" alongside the local login, set two App Service application settings:

• AzureAd__TenantId — your tenant GUID (or common for multi-tenant)
• AzureAd__ClientId — the app registration's Application (client) ID

Restart the App Service. The login page then shows both.

Optional: canonical link host

If you serve NimShare on nimshare.com but Azure keeps the *.azurewebsites.net host active as a fallback, set an app setting so every generated link uses your domain regardless of which host the request came in on:

App__PublicBaseUrl = https://nimshare.com

Optional: connectors (OneDrive Business import)

Since v1.10.163, users can connect an external cloud storage and import folders/files directly into their NimShare Personal area (cloud-to-cloud streaming, no local download). Currently supported: OneDrive Business via Microsoft Graph.

1. Register the app in Entra ID: https://entra.microsoft.com → App registrations → New → Web client. Redirect URI: https://YOUR-HOST/settings/connectors/onedrive/callback.
2. Delegated API permissions: Files.Read + User.Read + offline_access. Grant admin consent for your tenant if you want tenant-wide.
3. Create a Client Secret and copy its value.
4. In Azure App Service → Configuration:

   Connectors__OneDrive__ClientId = <client-id>
   Connectors__OneDrive__ClientSecret = <secret-value>
   Connectors__OneDrive__Tenant = common     # or a specific tenant GUID
   

5. Restart. Users see 🔌 Connectors in the sidebar and can add a OneDrive connection.

Without those settings the app runs normally; only the "Connect OneDrive" button responds with a config-missing error.

iOS app

The iOS app is a SwiftUI project under ios/. It's distributed via the App Store (bundle email.nimtz.nimshare). To build locally:

cd ios
xcodegen generate   # regenerates NimShare.xcodeproj from project.yml
open NimShare.xcodeproj

The default server URL is https://nimshare.com; each user can change it in Profil → Server ändern.

Cost estimate

• App Service B1: ~10 EUR/month
• Storage account (100 GB Blob + 5 GB File share): ~2 EUR/month
• Optional Azure SQL Basic: ~5 EUR/month (recommended for heavier workloads)
• Total: ~12–17 EUR/month at personal-use volumes

See docs/COSTS.md.

GHCR image visibility

First deploy: make the container package public at https://github.com/users/mnimtz/packages/container/nimshare/settings → Change visibility → Public. Without this, App Service can't pull the image.

Local development

git clone https://github.com/mnimtz/nimshare.git
cd nimshare
~/.dotnet/dotnet restore   # SDK 8.0.423 required; check `dotnet --list-sdks`
~/.dotnet/dotnet run --project src/NimShare.Api

Open http://localhost:5099. Uploads use an Azurite local Blob emulator:

docker run -d --name azurite -p 10000:10000 -p 10001:10001 -p 10002:10002 mcr.microsoft.com/azure-storage/azurite

For pure UI/CSS work, the public share landing (/s/{slug}) and the welcome page render without auth.

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API

Full OpenAPI spec is served at /swagger in Development, JSON at /openapi/v1.json in any environment. Quick reference in docs/API.md.

All /api/v1/* endpoints accept both the web session cookie AND a JWT bearer token — the iOS app uses the same endpoints as the web UI.

Notable public (unauthenticated) endpoints:

• GET /s/{slug} — download-share landing page
• POST /s/{slug} — password submit; 302 to a short-lived Blob SAS URL
• GET /u/{slug} — upload-request landing page
• POST /u/{slug} — receive file via per-request SAS write URL
• GET /sign/{participantId}?t={token} — signature-signer flow
• GET /privacy · GET /support · GET /imprint — required legal pages

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Repo layout

src/
  NimShare.Core/                # entities, DbContext, migrations (SQLite)
  NimShare.Migrations.SqlServer/# handwritten SqlServer migrations
  NimShare.Api/                 # ASP.NET Core app (MVC + Web API + Razor)
    Controllers/                # /api/v1/*, /settings/*, share/upload landings
    Services/                   # AiProvider, BlobStorage, FileAccess, Backup, …
    Views/                      # Razor MVC UI (Tungsten-branded)
    Resources/                  # 6 .resx files (en/de/fr/it/es/nl)
    wwwroot/                    # site.css, JS, static assets
ios/
  project.yml                   # xcodegen source of truth
  NimShare/Sources/*.swift      # SwiftUI iOS app
docs/                           # ARCHITECTURE, CONCEPT, API, COSTS, DEV_SETUP
infra/azuredeploy.json          # 1-click ARM template
VERSION                         # single source of truth for the app footer

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Trademark note: Tungsten Automation, the Tungsten logo, and product names referenced in the design system are property of Tungsten Automation Corporation. This project uses their brand tokens for internal look-and-feel consistency only.