rclone

Configure a new remote interactively

$ rclone config

$ rclone listremotes

$ rclone ls [remote]:[path]

$ rclone copy [source] [remote]:[path]

$ rclone sync [source] [remote]:[path]

$ rclone mount [remote]:[path] [/local/mountpoint]

$ rclone check [source] [remote]:[path]

$ rclone sync --dry-run [source] [remote]:[path]

rclone command [options] source:path [dest:path]

rclone is a command-line program for managing files on cloud storage, often described as "rsync for cloud storage." It supports over 70 cloud storage providers including Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Backblaze B2, and standard protocols like SFTP, WebDAV, and FTP.
The sync command makes the destination identical to the source, including deleting files not present in the source. Use copy for one-way copying without deletion. Both commands transfer only modified files based on size and modification time (or checksums).
Configuration is stored in ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf and created interactively with rclone config. Each remote has a name used as a prefix (e.g., gdrive:) in commands.
The mount command exposes cloud storage as a local filesystem using FUSE, enabling standard file operations on remote storage.

config

Interactive configuration of remotes

Copy files from source to destination (no deletion)

Make destination identical to source (deletes extras)

Move files from source to destination

List objects with size and path

List directories only

Mount remote as FUSE filesystem

Check if source and destination match

Remove files in path

Preview changes without executing

Prompt before destructive operations

Show real-time transfer progress

Number of parallel file transfers (default 4)

Number of parallel checkers (default 8)

Increase verbosity (use -vv for more)

Specify config file location

sync deletes files on the destination that don't exist on the source. Always use --dry-run first to preview changes, especially when syncing to cloud storage.
Cloud-to-cloud transfers typically route through your local machine. For large transfers, running rclone on a cloud instance reduces latency and bandwidth usage.
API rate limits apply to most cloud providers. Google Drive limits uploads to approximately 2 files/second. Adjust --transfers and --checkers based on provider limits.
Encrypted remotes add a layer of client-side encryption but increase complexity. Test backup and restore procedures before relying on encryption.

Rclone was created by Nick Craig-Wood with the first release in 2012. The project started as a way to sync files with Google Drive and expanded to support dozens of cloud providers. It is written in Go and distributed as a single binary. The name combines "rsync" and "cloud."

rsync(1), aws(1), gsutil(1), s3cmd(1)