rclone

What it is

rclone is a command-line program for managing files on cloud storage. It works with dozens of providers — Google Drive, S3, Dropbox, OneDrive, Backblaze B2, and more — through a single, consistent set of commands, so syncing or copying data feels the same regardless of which backend is on the other end.

Why I use it

I use it to sync my Obsidian vault from Google Drive down to my local machine, so my notes stay available offline and in sync across devices without relying on a desktop sync client running in the background. It’s also handy for scripting backups straight to cloud storage from a server, the same way I’d use rsync for a local or SSH target.

Installation

# Official install script (recommended — keeps rclone up to date)
sudo -v ; curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install rclone

# RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux
sudo dnf install rclone

# Arch
sudo pacman -S rclone

Common usage

# Set up a new remote (interactive wizard — handles OAuth for Google Drive, etc.)
rclone config

# List configured remotes
rclone listremotes

# Sync a remote folder down to a local directory, with progress output
rclone sync gdrive:Obsidian ~/Obsidian --progress

# Preview what a sync would do without changing anything
rclone sync gdrive:Obsidian ~/Obsidian --dry-run

# Copy without deleting anything at the destination (safer than sync)
rclone copy gdrive:Obsidian ~/Obsidian --progress

Key flags

• -P, --progress — show live transfer progress
• --dry-run — show what would happen without making changes
• --exclude — skip files or paths matching a pattern
• --transfers — number of files to transfer in parallel (default 4)
• --checkers — number of checks to run in parallel when comparing files

Note: sync makes the destination match the source exactly, deleting extra files on the destination side. copy only adds/updates files and never deletes — good default when you’re not sure which one you want.