Send (Firefox Send)

intermediate

Simple private file sharing with encryption.

Overview

Send is a fork of Mozilla's discontinued Firefox Send service, providing secure temporary file sharing with client-side encryption. This implementation uses end-to-end encryption where files are encrypted in the browser before upload, ensuring that even the server never has access to unencrypted content. Users can set expiration limits based on time duration or download count, making it ideal for sharing sensitive documents that shouldn't persist indefinitely. This Docker stack combines Send with Redis to provide a complete file sharing platform. Redis serves as the backend data store for managing file metadata, download counters, expiration tracking, and user sessions. The combination ensures fast lookup times for file information while maintaining the temporary nature of shared files through Redis's built-in expiration capabilities. This configuration suits organizations needing secure internal file sharing, developers requiring temporary asset distribution, and privacy-conscious teams who want control over their file sharing infrastructure. Unlike cloud-based alternatives, this self-hosted approach keeps all file metadata and encrypted content within your infrastructure, providing complete data sovereignty while maintaining the convenience of web-based file sharing.

Key Features

Client-side AES-128-GCM encryption before upload ensures server-side privacy
Configurable file expiration by download count and time limits
Redis-backed metadata storage for fast file lookup and session management
Support for ffsend CLI client enabling command-line file sharing workflows
Configurable maximum file size limits via MAX_FILE_SIZE environment variable
One-time download URLs that automatically expire after access
Browser-based interface requiring no client software installation
Automatic cleanup of expired files and associated Redis metadata

Common Use Cases

1Secure document sharing between legal teams with automatic expiration
2Temporary distribution of software builds and deployment artifacts
3Privacy-focused file sharing for healthcare organizations handling sensitive data
4Internal corporate file sharing avoiding external cloud services
5Developer collaboration for sharing logs, configs, and debug information
6Educational institutions distributing assignment materials with access limits
7Homelab enthusiasts creating personal secure file sharing for family use

Prerequisites

Docker host with minimum 640MB RAM (512MB for Redis, 128MB for Send)
Port 1234 available for Send web interface access
Understanding of Redis data persistence implications for file metadata
Basic knowledge of environment variable configuration for file size limits
Network access planning for users accessing the web interface

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  send: 
3    image: registry.gitlab.com/timvisee/send:latest
4    container_name: send
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      REDIS_HOST: redis
8      FILE_DIR: /uploads
9    volumes: 
10      - send_uploads:/uploads
11    ports: 
12      - "1234:1234"
13    depends_on: 
14      - redis
15    networks: 
16      - send
17
18  redis: 
19    image: redis:alpine
20    container_name: send-redis
21    restart: unless-stopped
22    networks: 
23      - send
24
25volumes: 
26  send_uploads: 
27
28networks: 
29  send: 
30    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1# Files auto-expire after download

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://github.com/timvisee/send#readme
2Access at http://localhost:1234 - Firefox Send fork
3End-to-end encryption in browser before upload
4Set expiration: time limit and/or download count
5Max file size configurable via MAX_FILE_SIZE env var
6CLI client: ffsend (pip install ffsend)

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

send

send:
  image: registry.gitlab.com/timvisee/send:latest
  container_name: send
  restart: unless-stopped
  environment:
    REDIS_HOST: redis
    FILE_DIR: /uploads
  volumes:
    - send_uploads:/uploads
  ports:
    - "1234:1234"
  depends_on:
    - redis
  networks:
    - send

redis

redis:
  image: redis:alpine
  container_name: send-redis
  restart: unless-stopped
  networks:
    - send

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  send:
5    image: registry.gitlab.com/timvisee/send:latest
6    container_name: send
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      REDIS_HOST: redis
10      FILE_DIR: /uploads
11    volumes:
12      - send_uploads:/uploads
13    ports:
14      - "1234:1234"
15    depends_on:
16      - redis
17    networks:
18      - send
19
20  redis:
21    image: redis:alpine
22    container_name: send-redis
23    restart: unless-stopped
24    networks:
25      - send
26
27volumes:
28  send_uploads:
29
30networks:
31  send:
32    driver: bridge
33EOF
34
35# 2. Create the .env file
36cat > .env << 'EOF'
37# Files auto-expire after download
38EOF
39
40# 3. Start the services
41docker compose up -d
42
43# 4. View logs
44docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/send/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Upload fails with large files: Increase MAX_FILE_SIZE environment variable and check available disk space in send_uploads volume
Redis connection errors in Send logs: Verify redis container is running and accessible via 'send' network, check Redis container logs
Files not expiring automatically: Confirm Redis container has sufficient memory and isn't evicting keys, check Redis maxmemory-policy setting
Browser encryption errors: Clear browser cache and cookies, ensure JavaScript is enabled for client-side encryption
Download links not working: Check Redis key expiration settings and verify file still exists in uploads volume
Send container fails to start: Verify /uploads directory permissions and ensure send_uploads volume is properly mounted

Community Notes

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