Nextcloud Hub 26 Winter extends federation and optimized performance

Nextcloud has released version Hub 26 Winter (Server 33.0.0). The release extends federation capabilities to Deck and Calendar, enables comprehensive migration tools by default, and brings numerous improvements to Talk, Office, and Whiteboard. According to the developers, Nextcloud is in use on over 500,000 servers, some with millions of users.

Federation enables collaboration between users across different Nextcloud servers without the need to move data. With Hub 26 Winter, Deck boards can now also be shared this way – external users can view them and add cards and stacks. For calendars, entries in shared calendars are now visible to all participants. Teams can also be formed across organizational boundaries, with members retaining their existing identities. This reduces the need for duplicated user directories and complex infrastructure consolidation.

The migration app, enabled by default, now supports not only files but also emails, contacts, calendars, Tables (the no-code platform), and Deck data. With this, Nextcloud aims to make it easier for users to switch between different hosting providers or migrate to their infrastructure and fundamentally prevent vendor lock-in. “Since the beginning of Nextcloud ten years ago, our core principle has always been clear: organizations and individuals retain control over their data rather than switching to a provider-controlled ecosystem,” explained Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud GmbH, based in Stuttgart.

Nextcloud Talk receives new chat features such as pinning messages and scheduled messages. The layout has been redesigned to be dialog-oriented. For meetings, real-time translations, intelligent audio processing with auto-gain, echo cancellation and noise suppression, as well as live transcription are now available. The Mail app displays attachment overviews in threads, automatically processes calendar invitations, and offers favorites, a compact mode, and advanced filter functions.

End-to-end encryption in the browser

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) can now be set up and managed directly in the browser, including public sharing links and encrypted file requests. However, Nextcloud points out that this browser-based variant is less secure than using desktop clients for encrypted workflows. Additionally, automatic labels for confidential files have been introduced and restrictions for external calendar invitations have been implemented.

Nextcloud Office receives a document comparison feature that displays versions side-by-side or in a special “Manage Changes” view. New Sheet Views allow for different views of spreadsheets, and a “Table Design” tab simplifies design. Presentations can be synchronized using “Present to All” without relying on screen sharing. Nextcloud Text now supports LaTeX formulas. The Whiteboard has been expanded with timers, polls, reactions, comments, tables, and a version history.

The smartphone apps now offer QR code login, AI assistant integration, improved auto-upload for photos and files, and dynamic menus. Furthermore, the GUI performance of the apps has been improved and the design has been revised.

ADA Engine increases performance

The Nextcloud Assistant receives AI content labeling and a memory (Memories) for contextual information across chats. Additional models are now supported: Olmo 3 and IBM watsonx. A central element of Hub 26 Winter is the new ADA Engine (Accelerated Direct Access, named after Ada Lovelace), which significantly improves Nextcloud's performance.

Further details on Nextcloud Hub 26 Winter can be found in the official release notes.

(fo)