# rclone

> Command-line program to sync files and directories to and from 70+ cloud storage providers

Stars: 60.7k · Language: Go · License: MIT · Categories: File Management

- Repository: https://github.com/rclone/rclone
- Website: https://rclone.org
- Page: https://www.trmn.sh/tools/rclone

## Overview

Rclone is a command-line file synchronization tool that connects to over 70 cloud storage providers including Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and many others. It functions as "rsync for cloud storage" with support for one-way sync, two-way bidirectional sync (bisync), and simple copy operations between local filesystems and cloud services or between different cloud providers.

The tool provides multiple operational modes including `rclone copy` for transferring new/changed files, `rclone sync` for making directories identical, and `rclone check` for verifying file integrity using MD5/SHA-1 hashes. It supports multi-threaded downloads, preserves file timestamps, and can handle partial syncs on a whole-file basis.

Rclone includes virtual storage backends that modify or adapt other providers, such as encryption (Crypt), compression (Compress), and file chunking (Chunker). It can serve files over HTTP/WebDAV/FTP/SFTP/DLNA protocols and supports FUSE mounting on compatible systems. The tool is particularly useful for DevOps engineers, system administrators, and developers who need reliable cloud storage synchronization with extensive provider support and advanced file handling capabilities.

## Alternatives

- [croc](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/croc.md): Secure file transfer tool that enables any two computers to transfer files using end-to-end encryption and relay servers (Go, 40.8k stars)
- [syncthing](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/syncthing.md): Continuous file synchronization program that syncs files between multiple computers using peer-to-peer connections (Go, 90.0k stars)
- [superfile](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/superfile.md): Terminal-based file manager with dual-pane interface, written in Go (Go, 24.0k stars)
- [lf](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/lf.md): Terminal file manager written in Go inspired by ranger with vi-style keybindings and shell integration (Go, 9.6k stars)
- [pdfcpu](https://www.trmn.sh/tools/pdfcpu.md): PDF processing library and CLI written in Go for validating, merging, splitting, encrypting, stamping, signing and extracting content from PDFs. (Go, 8.9k stars)

## Guides

- [Back up a directory with restic](https://www.trmn.sh/guides/restic-backups): Back up a directory to a local disk or S3-compatible storage with restic: init a repo, exclude files, restore, prune old snapshots and schedule runs.
- [Best CLI File Transfer Tools](https://www.trmn.sh/best/file-transfer-tools): Compare croc, qrcp, rclone: workflows, strengths and tradeoffs.

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Canonical: https://www.trmn.sh/tools/rclone