Automatically Recover ONLYOFFICE After Nextcloud AIO Nightly Backups

A complete workaround using systemd timers, bash scripting, logrotate,
and the removal of a problematic ONLYOFFICE background job.

After days of searching for a reliable way to automate the OnlyOffice availability in Nextcloud-AIO, i've decided to write my own guide. Feel free to propose edits and to use this guide however and wherever you'd like.

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TL;DR

ONLYOFFICE fails its first availability check after the AIO nightly backup (04:00 UTC).
This marks the integration as "broken" until clicking “Save” or running
occ onlyoffice:documentserver --check.
Here is a systemd-based automatic recovery workaround that fully fixes the issue.
This does not patch AIO or ONLYOFFICE, it's fully external and safe.

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Overview

When running Nextcloud AIO together with the ONLYOFFICE integration, nightly backups can cause ONLYOFFICE to be marked as broken in the Nextcloud admin UI.

Symptoms:

• ONLYOFFICE healthcheck works fine:

  curl https://<your-domain>/onlyoffice/healthcheck
  # → true
  

• But after the nightly backup, the ONLYOFFICE admin panel reports: “Document Server not available” or 404 Error
• Editing documents is disabled until you manually click “Save” in the ONLYOFFICE admin settings.
• Alternatively, running:

  php occ onlyoffice:documentserver --check
  

  instantly fixes the issue.

This happens because:

• the AIO backup stops and restarts containers at 04:00 UTC,
• Nextcloud performs an availability check too early,
• ONLYOFFICE is not yet ready,
• the failure is written into the configuration,
• and remains until manually cleared.

This document proposes a complete, reliable, automated workaround.

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Summary of the Solution

0. (Optional) Set “editors_check_interval” to 0 via OCC

There is no GUI option anymore for this in the ONLYOFFICE admin panel,
so you have to use the CLI (occ) inside the Nextcloud container:

docker exec -it nextcloud-aio-nextcloud \
  sudo -E -u www-data php occ config:system:set onlyoffice editors_check_interval --value=0

docker exec -it nextcloud-aio-nextcloud \
  sudo -E -u www-data php occ config:system:get onlyoffice editors_check_interval

This reduces periodic background checks,
BUT on its own it does not fix the nightly-backup issue.

It must be combined with the rest of this workaround.

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1. Disable ONLYOFFICE background cron job that incorrectly marks configuration as failed.

You will comment the EditorsCheck job from info.xml.

2. Create an automatic systemd timer on the Docker host

that runs:

occ onlyoffice:documentserver --check

• every 5 minutes between 04:10–04:40 UTC (right after backups)
• once per hour thereafter (safety)

3. Add log rotation with logrotate.

4. No modification of ONLYOFFICE PHP code required.

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1. Disable ONLYOFFICE EditorsCheck Job

Inside the nextcloud-aio-nextcloud container:

docker exec -it nextcloud-aio-nextcloud bash
cd /var/www/html/custom_apps/onlyoffice/appinfo
cp info.xml info.xml.bak.$(date +%s)
nano info.xml

Comment this block:

<!--
<background-jobs>
    <job>OCA\Onlyoffice\Cron\EditorsCheck</job>
</background-jobs>
-->

⚠ Note: Upgrading the ONLYOFFICE app will overwrite this file; the modification must be reapplied.

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2. Auto-Fix Script (host system)

Create the script:

/usr/local/sbin/onlyoffice-auto-fix.sh

#!/bin/bash

LOCK="/tmp/onlyoffice-check.lock"
LOG="/var/log/onlyoffice-auto-fix.log"

if [ -f "$LOCK" ]; then
    echo "$(date '+%F %T') : lock present, skipping" >> "$LOG"
    exit 0
fi

touch "$LOCK"

{
    echo " "
    echo "===== $(date '+%F %T') : Running OnlyOffice check ====="

    docker exec nextcloud-aio-nextcloud \
        sudo -E -u www-data php occ onlyoffice:documentserver --check

    STATUS=$?

    if [ $STATUS -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "$(date '+%F %T') : OK ✓"
    else
        echo "$(date '+%F %T') : ERROR – DocumentServer not ready ❌"
    fi

} >> "$LOG" 2>&1

rm -f "$LOCK"

Permissions:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/onlyoffice-auto-fix.sh
sudo touch /var/log/onlyoffice-auto-fix.log
sudo chmod 644 /var/log/onlyoffice-auto-fix.log

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3. Systemd Service

/etc/systemd/system/onlyoffice-fix.service

[Unit]
Description=Auto-fix OnlyOffice for Nextcloud AIO
After=docker.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/onlyoffice-auto-fix.sh

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4. Systemd Timer (UTC-based)

Backups run at 04:00 UTC.
We trigger checks 10–40 minutes after backup, then every hour.

/etc/systemd/system/onlyoffice-fix.timer

[Unit]
Description=Run OnlyOffice auto-fix after Nextcloud AIO backup

[Timer]
# Primary window: every 5 minutes between 04:10–04:40 UTC
OnCalendar=*-*-* 04:10:00..04:40:00/5 UTC

# Safety run: once per hour at minute 10 (UTC)
OnCalendar=*-*-* *:10:00 UTC

Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Enable it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now onlyoffice-fix.timer
systemctl list-timers | grep onlyoffice

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5. Log Rotation

Create:

/etc/logrotate.d/onlyoffice-auto-fix

/var/log/onlyoffice-auto-fix.log {
    daily
    rotate 90
    size 5M
    missingok
    notifempty
    compress
    delaycompress
    copytruncate
}

This keeps ~3 months of compressed logs.

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Final Result

• ONLYOFFICE no longer breaks after nightly backups
• The system auto-recovers as soon as DocumentServer becomes available
• Absolutely no need to manually click “Save” in the admin UI
• No patching of ONLYOFFICE PHP code
• Log size stays under control
• Timer works even if execution was missed (Persistent=true)

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Disclaimer

• This documentation was generated with the help of an AI assistant and validated through practical testing on a real Nextcloud AIO + ONLYOFFICE deployment.

• Docker host is a Debian 13 VPS.

• I use Zoraxy as reverse-proxy:
  aio.cloud.domain.tld ==> nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer:8080 (endpoint requires https/SSL + ignore cert validity)
  cloud.domain.tld ==> nextcloud-aio-apache:11000 (endpoint is plain http/no-SSL)

• I use Portainer to deploy my Nextcloud-AIO (see bellow for the docker-compose/stack yaml).

services:
  nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer:
    image: nextcloud/all-in-one:latest
    init: true
    restart: always
    container_name: nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer # This line is not allowed to be changed as otherwise AIO will not work correctly
    volumes:
      - nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer:/mnt/docker-aio-config # This line is not allowed to be changed as otherwise the built-in backup solution will not work
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro # May be changed on macOS, Windows or docker rootless. See the applicable documentation. If adjusting, don't forget to also set 'WATCHTOWER_DOCKER_SOCKET_PATH'!
#    network_mode: bridge # add to the same network as docker run would do
    networks:
      - proxy
#    ports:
#      - 80:80 # Can be removed when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else). See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
#      - 8081:8080
#      - 8443:8443 # Can be removed when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else). See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
    environment: # Is needed when using any of the options below
      # AIO_DISABLE_BACKUP_SECTION: false # Setting this to true allows to hide the backup section in the AIO interface. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-disable-the-backup-section
      # AIO_COMMUNITY_CONTAINERS: facerecognition # With this variable, you can add community containers very easily. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/tree/main/community-containers#community-containers
      APACHE_PORT: 11000 # Is needed when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else). See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      APACHE_IP_BINDING: 0.0.0.0 # Should be set when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else) that is running on the same host. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      APACHE_ADDITIONAL_NETWORK: proxy # (Optional) Connect the apache container to an additional docker network. Needed when behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else) running in a different docker network on same server. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      # BORG_RETENTION_POLICY: --keep-within=7d --keep-weekly=4 --keep-monthly=6 # Allows to adjust borgs retention policy. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-borgs-retention-policy
      # COLLABORA_SECCOMP_DISABLED: false # Setting this to true allows to disable Collabora's Seccomp feature. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-disable-collaboras-seccomp-feature
      # FULLTEXTSEARCH_JAVA_OPTIONS: "-Xms1024M -Xmx1024M" # Allows to adjust the fulltextsearch java options. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-fulltextsearch-java-options
      NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR: /mnt/ncdata # Allows to set the host directory for Nextcloud's datadir. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning: do not set or adjust this value after the initial Nextcloud installation is done! See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-change-the-default-location-of-nextclouds-datadir
      NEXTCLOUD_MOUNT: /mnt/ # Allows the Nextcloud container to access the chosen directory on the host. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-allow-the-nextcloud-container-to-access-directories-on-the-host
      NEXTCLOUD_UPLOAD_LIMIT: 16G # Can be adjusted if you need more. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-upload-limit-for-nextcloud
      NEXTCLOUD_MAX_TIME: 3600 # Can be adjusted if you need more. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-max-execution-time-for-nextcloud
      NEXTCLOUD_MEMORY_LIMIT: 2048M # Can be adjusted if you need more. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-php-memory-limit-for-nextcloud
      # NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_CACERTS_DIR: /path/to/my/cacerts # CA certificates in this directory will be trusted by the OS of the nextcloud container (Useful e.g. for LDAPS) See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-trust-user-defined-certification-authorities-ca
      # NEXTCLOUD_STARTUP_APPS: deck twofactor_totp tasks calendar contacts notes # Allows to modify the Nextcloud apps that are installed on starting AIO the first time. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-change-the-nextcloud-apps-that-are-installed-on-the-first-startup
      NEXTCLOUD_ADDITIONAL_APKS: imagemagick openjdk21-jre-headless openssl # This allows to add additional packages to the Nextcloud container permanently. Default is imagemagick but can be overwritten by modifying this value. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-add-os-packages-permanently-to-the-nextcloud-container
      NEXTCLOUD_ADDITIONAL_PHP_EXTENSIONS: tidy uuid xxtea gnupg gmagick imagick openssl # This allows to add additional php extensions to the Nextcloud container permanently. Default is imagick but can be overwritten by modifying this value. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-add-php-extensions-permanently-to-the-nextcloud-container
      # NEXTCLOUD_ENABLE_DRI_DEVICE: true # This allows to enable the /dev/dri device for containers that profit from it. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning: this only works if the '/dev/dri' device is present on the host! If it should not exist on your host, don't set this to true as otherwise the Nextcloud container will fail to start! See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-enable-hardware-acceleration-for-nextcloud
      # NEXTCLOUD_ENABLE_NVIDIA_GPU: true # This allows to enable the NVIDIA runtime and GPU access for containers that profit from it. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning: this only works if an NVIDIA gpu is installed on the server. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-enable-hardware-acceleration-for-nextcloud.
      # NEXTCLOUD_KEEP_DISABLED_APPS: false # Setting this to true will keep Nextcloud apps that are disabled in the AIO interface and not uninstall them if they should be installed. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-keep-disabled-apps
      # SKIP_DOMAIN_VALIDATION: false # This should only be set to true if things are correctly configured. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one?tab=readme-ov-file#how-to-skip-the-domain-validation
      TALK_PORT: 3478 # This allows to adjust the port that the talk container is using which is exposed on the host. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-talk-port
      # WATCHTOWER_DOCKER_SOCKET_PATH: /var/run/docker.sock # Needs to be specified if the docker socket on the host is not located in the default '/var/run/docker.sock'. Otherwise mastercontainer updates will fail. For macos it needs to be '/var/run/docker.sock'
    # security_opt: ["label:disable"] # Is needed when using SELinux

#   # Optional: Caddy reverse proxy. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/575
#   # Alternatively, use Tailscale if you don't have a domain yet. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/5439
#   # Hint: You need to uncomment APACHE_PORT: 11000 above, adjust cloud.example.com to your domain and uncomment the necessary docker volumes at the bottom of this file in order to make it work
#   # You can find further examples here: https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/588
#   caddy:
#     image: caddy:alpine
#     restart: always
#     container_name: caddy
#     volumes:
#       - caddy_certs:/certs
#       - caddy_config:/config
#       - caddy_data:/data
#       - caddy_sites:/srv
#     network_mode: "host"
#     configs:
#       - source: Caddyfile
#         target: /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
# configs:
#   Caddyfile:
#     content: |
#       # Adjust cloud.example.com to your domain below
#       https://cloud.example.com:443 {
#         reverse_proxy localhost:11000
#       }

volumes: # If you want to store the data on a different drive, see https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-store-the-filesinstallation-on-a-separate-drive
  nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer:
    name: nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer # This line is not allowed to be changed as otherwise the built-in backup solution will not work
  # caddy_certs:
  # caddy_config:
  # caddy_data:
  # caddy_sites:

networks:
  proxy:
    external: true

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