Alist Admin

AList Administration

AList is a file listing program that supports multiple storage providers. This skill covers deployment, user management, security hardening, and API usage.

Deployment (Docker)

# Standard Docker deployment
docker run -d --name alist \
  -p 5244:5244 \
  -v /opt/alist/data:/opt/alist/data \
  xhofe/alist:latest

# Check status
docker ps | grep alist

Database Structure

AList uses SQLite with x_ prefix for tables:

• Database path: /opt/alist/data/data.db
• Users table: x_users
• Key columns: id, username, password, disabled, permission, role

# Query users from host (sqlite3 not in container)
sqlite3 /opt/alist/data/data.db "SELECT id, username, disabled, permission, role FROM x_users;"

User Management

Reset Admin Password (CLI)

# Generate random password
docker exec alist ./alist admin random

# ⚠️ PITFALL: `alist admin set` does NOT accept piped input in Docker
# Use the API instead for setting specific passwords

Reset Admin Password (API)

# Step 1: Get admin token (use current or random password)
docker exec alist ./alist admin token <current-password>

# Step 2: Login to get auth token
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:5244/api/auth/login" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"admin","password":"<current-password>"}'

# Step 3: Update password via API
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:5244/api/admin/user/update" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: <token>" \
  -d '{"id":2,"username":"admin","password":"<new-password>","base_path":"/","role":[2],"disabled":false,"permission":65535}'

Disable Guest User

# Update database directly
sqlite3 /opt/alist/data/data.db "UPDATE x_users SET disabled=1 WHERE username='guest';"

# Or via API
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:5244/api/admin/user/update" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: <token>" \
  -d '{"id":1,"username":"guest","base_path":"/","role":[1],"disabled":true,"permission":0}'

Security Hardening

Full Lockdown (Admin-Only Access)

1. Disable guest user: disabled=1 in database
2. Set restrictive permissions: permission=0 for guest
3. Verify anonymous access blocked:

   curl -s -X GET "http://localhost:5244/api/fs/list" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"path":"/"}'
   # Should return: {"code":401,"message":"Guest user is disabled, login please"}
   

Permission Bits

• 0: No permissions (view only when logged in)
• 1: Can see hides
• 2: Can access without password
• 4: Can add offline download tasks
• 8: Can mkdir
• 16: Can rename
• 32: Can move
• 64: Can copy
• 128: Can remove
• 256: Can webdav read
• 512: Can webdav manage
• 1024: Can see hidden files
• 65535: All permissions (admin)

Role Values

• [1]: Guest (unauthenticated)
• [2]: Admin

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/login — Login, returns token
• POST /api/auth/login/hash — Login with password hash

User Management (Admin)

• GET /api/admin/user/list — List all users
• POST /api/admin/user/update — Update user (requires full user object)
• POST /api/admin/user/create — Create new user
• POST /api/admin/user/delete — Delete user

File Operations

• POST /api/fs/list — List directory contents
• POST /api/fs/get — Get file info
• POST /api/fs/dirs — List directories only

Common Pitfalls

1. alist admin set in Docker: Does not accept piped stdin. Use API instead.
2. Wrong API endpoint: /api/me/update-password returns HTML (frontend route). Use /api/admin/user/update.
3. Role format: Must be array [2], not number 2.
4. Empty password field: If password is empty in database, user cannot login. Use alist admin random to reset.
5. Guest access: Must set disabled=1 AND permission=0 to fully block anonymous access.
6. alist admin set defaults to username: Running docker exec alist ./alist admin set without piping input sets the password to the username (e.g., password becomes "admin"). Always use the API to set specific passwords.

Troubleshooting

Can't Login After Changes

# Check if user exists and is enabled
sqlite3 /opt/alist/data/data.db "SELECT id, username, disabled FROM x_users;"

# Reset to random password
docker exec alist ./alist admin random

# Login with random password and change via API

Files Not Visible / Storage Not Found

Root cause: Docker only mounts /opt/alist/data, so storage must be INSIDE that path.

# ⚠️ PITFALL: Default storage path `/opt/alist/storage` is WRONG for Docker
# Docker only mounts /opt/alist/data, so use /opt/alist/data/storage instead

# Fix: Create correct storage directory
sudo mkdir -p /opt/alist/data/storage
sudo chmod 777 /opt/alist/data/storage

# Move files from old location if they exist
sudo mv /opt/alist/storage/* /opt/alist/data/storage/ 2>/dev/null

# Update storage configuration in database
sqlite3 /opt/alist/data/data.db "UPDATE x_storages SET addition='{\"root_folder_path\":\"/opt/alist/data/storage\",\"thumbnail\":false,\"thumb_cache_folder\":\"\",\"show_hidden\":true,\"mkdir_perm\":\"777\",\"recycle_bin_path\":\"delete permanently\"}' WHERE id=1;"

# Restart container
docker restart alist

Storage Disappears After User Changes

When updating users via API, storage config can get corrupted. Always verify after:

# Check storage list
curl -s -X GET "http://localhost:5244/api/admin/storage/list" \
  -H "Authorization: <token>"

# If empty, recreate storage
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:5244/api/admin/storage/create" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: <token>" \
  -d '{
    "mount_path": "/",
    "order": 0,
    "driver": "Local",
    "cache_expiration": 30,
    "status": "work",
    "addition": "{\"root_folder_path\":\"/opt/alist/data/storage\",\"thumbnail\":false,\"thumb_cache_folder\":\"\",\"show_hidden\":true,\"mkdir_perm\":\"777\",\"recycle_bin_path\":\"delete permanently\"}"
  }'

Quick Reference