rclone
Command-line program for syncing, copying and mounting files across cloud storage providers.
HN commenters like rclone as a full-featured alternative to rsync and scp12 that syncs and backs up files to many cloud services such as Dropbox, B2, S3 and iCloud,3456 with FUSE mounting and built-in encryption.78910 Complaints are few: one commenter dislikes that it seems to require a config file,11 and another calls a Google Drive backup setup built on it clunky.12
Why people recommend it
Many backends · 3
Works with a wide range of storage services, including Dropbox, iCloud, B2, S3 and JottaCloud.
“Rclone supports Dropbox. That would be my go-to way.”
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“which is supported by rclone”
Mounting remotes · 3
Can mount remote storage locally through FUSE, which commenters use for music libraries and drives.
“Rclone supports Dropbox. That would be my go-to way.”
“Was able to mount my drive with RClone, which works”
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“my music storage mounted with Rclone”
Backups and sync · 3
Used for scheduled offsite backups and for syncing files to other devices.
“I backup with a scheduled rclone to B2 and rsync to my local storage at home so I have the required three copies.”
“which is supported by rclone”
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“so I can quickly sync everything via rclone to an SD card on devices like an Android tablet”
Replaces other tools · 3
Commenters use it instead of rsync, scp/sftp and AzCopy.
“rclone has been the real fully featured ultra power alternative to rsync over the past 4-5 years.”
“I love rclone. I use it in place of scp/sftp frequently.”
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“I recommend switching to “rclone” instead to avoid the frustration.”
Encryption · 2
Its built-in crypt feature encrypts data before storing it with a cloud provider.
“Rclone has a built in crypt library that can encrypt your data and store it in a cloud provider.”
“I use file-based remote to keep some repos encrypted on S3 using Rclone.”
Caveats and dissent
Config required · 1
One commenter says it seems to require a config file instead of accepting ad hoc remote paths.
“I love rclone. I use it in place of scp/sftp frequently.”
Clunky backups · 1
A Google Drive plus rclone plus borg/restic backup setup is described as rather clunky.
“You can probably get away with google drive+rclone+borg/restic/whatever, but it will be rather clunky.”
Mount dependencies · 1
The mount subcommand does not work without libfuse or WinFsp installed.
“I'll have to give that a try with rclone.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“We also use base32768 encoding in rclone which qntm invented”
Threads where it came up
- Phosphor Deck – one zellij session your phone and laptop share 1 mention
- Show HN: Syq – copy files between machines fast (better than rsync) 1 mention
- Bookshelf – Self-hosted eBook library that runs on object storage 1 mention
- Google Workspace thinks my domain is an email provider (2025) 1 mention
- Ask HN: How useful is Gemini for Google Apps? 1 mention
- Using Dropbox the Unix Way 1 mention
Also written as Rclone, RClone. Data: rclone.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 17
“glue around zellij/ssh/rclone”
“rclone has been the real fully featured ultra power alternative to rsync over the past 4-5 years.”
“so I can quickly sync everything via rclone to an SD card on devices like an Android tablet”
“I backup with a scheduled rclone to B2 and rsync to my local storage at home so I have the required three copies.”
“maybe if I mount my gdrive locally with something like rclone?”
“Rclone supports Dropbox. That would be my go-to way.”
“I use file-based remote to keep some repos encrypted on S3 using Rclone.”
“rclone[1] works great.”
“which is supported by rclone”
“I recommend switching to “rclone” instead to avoid the frustration.”
“Rclone has a built in crypt library that can encrypt your data and store it in a cloud provider.”
“I love rclone. I use it in place of scp/sftp frequently.”
“I use Navidrome [1] + an rclone'd S3 bucket”
“I'll have to give that a try with rclone.”
“Was able to mount my drive with RClone, which works”
“You can probably get away with google drive+rclone+borg/restic/whatever, but it will be rather clunky.”
“my music storage mounted with Rclone”