maestral

Start the GUI

$ maestral gui

$ maestral status

$ maestral pause

$ maestral resume

$ maestral filestatus [path/to/file_or_directory]

maestral [options] [arguments]

--version
    Show program's version number and exit.

--help
    Show help message and exit.

gui
    Starts the Maestral GUI if installed.

start
    Starts Maestral daemon.

stop
    Stops Maestral daemon.

status
    Shows the current status of Maestral.

pause
    Pauses syncing.

resume
    Resumes syncing.

unlink
    Unlinks Maestral from your Dropbox account. Clears all settings.

autostart
    Configures Maestral to start automatically on login.

excluded
    Lists or manages excluded folders and files.

config
    Access and manage Maestral's configuration settings.

account-info
    Retrieves information about the linked Dropbox account.

notify
    Sends desktop notifications about sync events.

Maestral is an open-source Dropbox client for Linux and macOS. It aims to provide a feature-rich alternative to the official Dropbox client, particularly useful on platforms where the official client support is limited or problematic.

Maestral does not rely on the official Dropbox client and instead uses the public Dropbox API. This allows for a lightweight installation with fewer dependencies and better control over syncing behavior.

Key features typically include selective sync, file sharing, command-line interface (CLI) for scripting and automation, and integration with desktop environments. It offers a more configurable and privacy-focused Dropbox experience for users. Compared to other tools, Maestral stands out for its ability to work without a graphical user interface, which makes it well-suited for headless servers. It is a useful tool for accessing Dropbox files on resource-constrained systems.

Maestral relies on the Dropbox API and may be affected by changes to the API. Some advanced Dropbox features may not be fully supported. File conflict resolution behavior may differ from the official client.

If you encounter issues with Maestral, check the log files for error messages. Ensure that you have sufficient disk space and network connectivity. Verify that your Dropbox API key is valid and has the necessary permissions.

Maestral's performance can be affected by the number of files being synced and the speed of your internet connection. Adjust the selective sync settings to exclude large or rarely used folders to improve performance.

Maestral was developed to address limitations of the official Dropbox client, particularly on Linux. It gained popularity for its lightweight nature and CLI capabilities. It continues to be actively maintained.

dropbox(1), rsync(1)