Twake Drive is an open-source alternative to Google Drive, designed for teams and organizations that need full control over their file storage infrastructure. It enables users to upload, organize, share, and search files and folders with end-to-end encryption and collaborative features—all while being self-hosted on private servers. Built as part of the Cozy Cloud ecosystem, it leverages Cozy-stack for backend services and Cozy-ui for its interface, making it ideal for privacy-conscious businesses and developers.
Technically, Twake Drive is a React application built with Yarn, integrated with Cozy-client for API communication and Cozy-ui for UI components. It supports deployment via Docker or direct server installation, and integrates with OnlyOffice for in-browser document editing. File sharing is handled via encrypted URLs and email-based collaboration, with MailHog used for testing email workflows in development. The platform is fully open-source under AGPL v3 and supports internationalization via Transifex.
What You Get
- File Tree Navigation - Browse and manage files and folders in a hierarchical tree structure with drag-and-drop support.
- File and Folder Upload - Directly upload files and folders via web interface with progress indicators and bulk support.
- URL-Based File Sharing - Generate shareable links for files and folders with configurable access permissions (public or protected).
- Shared Drive Collaboration - Create centralized team spaces where multiple users can access, edit, and manage shared folders and files.
- OnlyOffice Integration - Create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly in the browser using the embedded OnlyOffice suite.
- Advanced File Search - Search files by name, content, or sender with fast indexing and real-time results across all stored data.
Common Use Cases
- Running a secure internal document repository - A legal firm uses Twake Drive on its private server to store client files with end-to-end encryption and granular access controls, avoiding cloud vendors.
- Team collaboration with encrypted file sharing - A remote design agency shares PSDs and PDFs via shared drives, using URL links with password protection to ensure only clients can access deliverables.
- On-premise document editing with office suite - A university department uses Twake Drive with OnlyOffice to allow faculty to create and edit Word and Excel files without leaving the platform or relying on Microsoft 365.
- Privacy-focused file storage for compliance - A healthcare provider hosts Twake Drive internally to meet GDPR and HIPAA requirements, ensuring patient records are never stored on third-party clouds.
Under The Hood
Architecture
- Modular React architecture organized around domain-based modules that encapsulate business logic, UI components, and utilities with clear separation of concerns
- Dependency injection via higher-order action factories that decouple business logic from global state by accepting dependencies as parameters
- Deep integration with Cozy ecosystem libraries, extended through custom wrappers and type-safe interfaces to ensure composability and consistency
- Layered data flow with CozyClient for data persistence, Redux for application state, and scoped hooks for localized state access without global pollution
- Convention-over-configuration patterns enforced through path aliases, consistent folder structures, and declarative exports for predictable navigation
Tech Stack
- React 18 with Redux and Cozy Client forming the core frontend stack, tightly integrated with Cozy Cloud APIs for seamless file and permission management
- Modern build system powered by Rsbuild and SWC for fast transpilation, replacing traditional toolchains with optimized performance
- TypeScript with extended Cozy-specific configurations ensuring robust type safety across components, hooks, and test suites
- Comprehensive testing infrastructure using Jest with custom mocks for SVGs, CSS, and workers to ensure isolated, reliable unit tests
- Cozy UI and related libraries provide a unified design system, while deployment pipelines leverage automated localization and dependency updates
Code Quality
- Extensive test coverage across components, hooks, and utilities with realistic mocking of external dependencies to ensure reliability
- Clean, modular code organization using React hooks and context providers that promote reusability and maintainability
- Strong type safety enforced through comprehensive TypeScript declarations and precise annotations, reducing runtime errors
- Consistent, descriptive naming aligned with React and Cozy patterns, enhancing readability and team collaboration
- Defensive programming in utility functions with input validation, though structured error handling could be further enhanced
What Makes It Unique
- Seamless, native integration with the Cozy Platform enables unified file operations, sharing, and permissions without external dependencies
- Context-aware right-click menus that dynamically adapt to file types and user permissions through intelligent conditional rendering
- Virtualized file list with performance-optimized rendering that defers heavy operations until after initial paint
- Declarative action system allowing plugins to extend file operations without modifying core logic
- Breakpoint-aware UI components that adapt fluidly between mobile and desktop with minimal boilerplate
- Native Nextcloud integration via dedicated views and hooks, enabling hybrid cloud workflows without third-party plugins