Rclone is a command-line tool that syncs, copies, and mounts files across more than seventy cloud storage services. It behaves like rsync for the cloud, with checksum verification, encryption, and scheduling that slot neatly into scripts and backups.
Rclone is a command-line program for managing files on cloud storage, offering the familiar verbs of rsync and cp for services that have no usable command line of their own. You configure a remote once with a short interactive setup, then run commands such as copy, sync, move, check, and delete against it. Verification is built in: hashes and timestamps are compared as files move, and a transfer can be resumed if a connection drops midway. Mounting exposes any remote as a disk, while server mode publishes it over HTTP or SFTP. Everything is scriptable, which is why it underpins so many backup routines.
The clever part is the virtual backend layer, which wraps one remote inside another. A crypt remote encrypts file names and contents before anything leaves the machine, a compress backend shrinks what is stored, and a union or combine remote presents several accounts as a single folder tree. Because every Rclone backend speaks the same interface, these wrappers work with any provider. Over seventy services are supported directly, from S3-compatible object stores and Azure Blob to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Backblaze B2, SFTP, WebDAV, and remote SSH machines. That breadth makes migrations practical, since a single command can copy between two unrelated providers without staging files locally. Interactive clients such as SmartFTP Client cover the same ground visually when a graphical workflow is easier.
The reason Rclone turns up in so many backup setups is that it behaves predictably under automation. Every operation reports what it would do with a dry run, logs what it did, and can be narrowed to specific files with include and exclude patterns. Timestamps and hashes are preserved, so a restored tree matches the original rather than carrying copy artefacts; checking a remote for missing or extra files is a single command. Bandwidth can be capped during working hours, and transfers resume from the last completed file, which matters on connections that drop. Bandwidth-heavy migrations benefit from server-side copies that never touch the local disk. Bidirectional synchronisation keeps two locations current, and mounting or serving a remote makes the same data available as a drive or over SFTP for applications that cannot speak to the provider directly.
Key capabilities and highlights.
Rclone's core verbs mirror rsync: copy adds new and changed files, sync makes a destination identical to a source, and move transfers then deletes the original after verification. Each has a dry-run mode so mistakes show up before they touch a server.
The bisync command keeps two directories in step in both directions, tracking state between runs so changes on either side propagate. It is an advanced option that rewards reading the manual, and it suits users who edit files in two places.
A crypt remote encrypts file names, folder names, and contents before upload, using the same wrapper approach for any provider. The result is end-to-end privacy that does not depend on the storage vendor, and the configuration is portable across machines.
Remote storage can be mounted as a local filesystem, so ordinary applications can open and save files without knowing a cloud service is involved. Files are fetched on demand and cached, which keeps large libraries off the disk until they are needed.
Rclone can publish a remote over HTTP, WebDAV, FTP, SFTP, or DLNA, turning cloud storage into something a browser, media player, or legacy application can read. That is handy for sharing a folder without moving the data anywhere first.
MD5 and SHA1 hashes are compared throughout transfers, timestamps are preserved, and a separate check command reports missing or differing files. A restore can therefore be trusted rather than spot-checked, which matters for archival copies.
Include and exclude patterns limit an operation to the files that matter, bandwidth limits keep transfers from saturating a working connection, and interrupted jobs resume at the last completed file. Logging records everything for later auditing.
A remote control mode exposes Rclone over an HTTP API, so other applications and scripts can drive synchronisations and report progress back. An experimental web interface adds a graphical view of jobs for people who prefer not to work in a terminal.
Browse historical releases and previous builds.
Common questions about Rclone.
It is a command-line program that manages files on cloud storage, with commands modelled on rsync and the usual Unix file tools. It supports more than seventy providers, and it can copy between two of them without routing data through your computer.
The command line is the primary interface, and scripting is where it shines, but a remote control API and an experimental web interface let other tools and graphical front ends drive it. The standard command patterns are learned quickly.
You can layer a crypt remote over any provider, which encrypts file names and contents with your own password before upload. The provider then stores data it cannot read, and the same configuration restores it on another machine.
Yes, using the bisync command. It records state between runs so additions and changes on either side are propagated. Two-way synchronisation is more delicate than a one-way mirror, so the documentation is worth reading carefully first.
Operations resume from the last file that completed successfully, and hashes are rechecked as transfers continue. That behaviour is why Rclone is often chosen for large migrations over connections that cannot be trusted to stay up.
Yes. A mount command exposes any remote as a local filesystem, so ordinary applications can open and save files. Alternatively, the serve command publishes the same storage over HTTP, WebDAV, FTP, SFTP, or DLNA.
Rclone is a command-line tool that syncs, copies, and mounts files across more than seventy cloud storage services. It behaves like rsync for the cloud, with checksum verification, encryption, and scheduling that slot neatly into scripts and backups.
Box is a cloud content management platform that stores, secures, and shares files for teams and organisations. The Box Drive desktop app makes that content appear like a local folder, so people work in familiar applications while permissions and version history stay enforced centrally.
Seafile is a file sync and share platform you can run on your own server, with desktop and mobile clients that keep libraries identical across devices. Delta sync transfers only changed chunks, and sharing, versioning, and encrypted libraries are built in.
Microsoft OneDrive is a Windows cloud storage client that synchronizes files across devices, supports folder backup and sharing, and provides on-demand access to personal or organizational documents.
WinSCP is an open source Windows file transfer client for uploading, downloading, and managing remote files through SFTP, SCP, FTP, FTPS, WebDAV, and S3, with synchronization and automation tools.
Comments