How to use the command 'rclone' (with examples)

Rclone is a command-line tool used to copy, synchronize, or move files and directories to and from various cloud services. It provides a convenient and efficient way to manage your files and data across different remote storage platforms. This article will illustrate various use cases of the ‘rclone’ command with examples.

Use case 1: List contents of a directory on an rclone remote

Code:

rclone lsf remote_name:path/to/directory

Motivation: You may want to check the contents of a directory on an rclone remote storage service to ensure that the files you need are present before performing any further operations.

Explanation:

• rclone lsf is used to list the contents of a directory.
• remote_name:path/to/directory specifies the remote storage and the path to the directory you want to list.

Example output:

file1.txt
file2.jpg
subdirectory/

Use case 2: Copy file or directory from local source to remote destination

Code:

rclone copy path/to/source_file_or_directory remote_name:path/to/destination_directory

Motivation: You may need to back up important files or transfer locally stored files to a remote storage service for safekeeping or sharing purposes.

Explanation:

• rclone copy is used to copy files or directories from a local source to a remote destination.
• path/to/source_file_or_directory specifies the local file or directory you want to copy.
• remote_name:path/to/destination_directory specifies the remote storage and the destination directory where you want to copy the files or directory.

Example output:

Transferred:    5.682M / 5.682 MBytes, 100%, 3.789 MBytes/s, ETA 0s

Use case 3: Copy file or directory from remote source to local destination

Code:

rclone copy remote_name:path/to/source_file_or_directory path/to/destination_directory

Motivation: You may want to retrieve files or directories from a remote storage service and copy them to your local machine for further processing or offline access.

Explanation:

• rclone copy is used to copy files or directories from a remote source to a local destination.
• remote_name:path/to/source_file_or_directory specifies the remote storage and the file or directory you want to copy.
• path/to/destination_directory specifies the local directory where you want to copy the files or directory.

Example output:

Transferred:    3.428M / 3.428 MBytes, 100%, 2.285 MBytes/s, ETA 0s

Use case 4: Sync local source to remote destination, changing the destination only

Code:

rclone sync path/to/file_or_directory remote_name:path/to/directory

Motivation: You may want to synchronize the contents of a local directory to a remote storage service, ensuring that the destination matches the source. This is particularly useful when updating files or performing backups.

Explanation:

• rclone sync is used to synchronize the contents of a local source to a remote destination, changing the destination only.
• path/to/file_or_directory specifies the local file or directory you want to sync.
• remote_name:path/to/directory specifies the remote storage and the destination directory for the sync operation.

Example output:

Transferred:    5.682M / 5.682 MBytes, 100%, 3.789 MBytes/s, ETA 0s

Use case 5: Move file or directory from local source to remote destination

Code:

rclone move path/to/file_or_directory remote_name:path/to/directory

Motivation: You may need to move files or directories from a local source to a remote destination. This is particularly useful when you want to reorganize your files or clean up your local machine while keeping a backup on the remote storage.

Explanation:

• rclone move is used to move files or directories from a local source to a remote destination.
• path/to/file_or_directory specifies the local file or directory you want to move.
• remote_name:path/to/directory specifies the remote storage and the destination directory where you want to move the files or directory.

Example output:

Transferred:    3.428M / 3.428 MBytes, 100%, 2.285 MBytes/s, ETA 0s

Use case 6: Delete remote file or directory (use --dry-run to test, remove it to actually delete)

Code:

rclone --dry-run delete remote_name:path/to/file_or_directory

Motivation: You may want to delete a file or directory from a remote storage service. It is good practice to use the --dry-run option first to test the operation without actually deleting anything.

Explanation:

• rclone --dry-run delete is used to simulate the deletion of a file or directory from a remote storage service without actually performing the deletion.
• remote_name:path/to/file_or_directory specifies the remote storage and the file or directory you want to delete.

Example output:

This is a DRY-RUN, actual changes will not be made.

Use case 7: Mount rclone remote (experimental)

Code:

rclone mount remote_name:path/to/directory path/to/mount_point

Motivation: You may want to mount a remote storage service as a local directory to access and interact with the remote files and directories seamlessly.

Explanation:

• rclone mount is used to mount a remote storage service as a local directory.
• remote_name:path/to/directory specifies the remote storage and the directory you want to mount.
• path/to/mount_point specifies the local directory where you want to mount the remote storage.

Example output:

The remote storage is mounted at 'path/to/mount_point'.

Use case 8: Unmount rclone remote if CTRL-C fails (experimental)

Code:

fusermount -u path/to/mount_point

Motivation: You may encounter situations where the CTRL-C command fails to unmount a remote storage that has been mounted using the ‘rclone mount’ command. In such cases, you can use this command to forcefully unmount the remote storage.

Explanation:

• fusermount -u is used to unmount a remote storage that was previously mounted.
• path/to/mount_point specifies the local directory where the remote storage is mounted.

Example output:

The remote storage is unmounted from 'path/to/mount_point'.

Conclusion:

In this article, we explored several useful use cases of the ‘rclone’ command. From listing directory contents to copying, syncing, moving, and managing remote storage, ‘rclone’ proves to be a reliable and versatile tool for interacting with cloud services. Whether you need to backup files, transfer data, or mount remote storage as a local directory, ‘rclone’ can streamline your file management tasks effectively.