The Use Case

You have files in Google Drive but need them accessible locally:

  • Edit documents with local tools
  • Backup local files to cloud
  • Sync across multiple machines
  • Access without browser

Rclone is the best tool for this. It’s like rsync for cloud storage.

Installation

Option 1: Package Manager

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install rclone

# macOS
brew install rclone

# Arch
sudo pacman -S rclone

Option 2: Install Script

curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

Verify installation:

rclone version

Google Drive Setup

Step 1: Create Rclone Config

rclone config

Interactive prompts:

  1. n (new remote)
  2. Name: gdrive
  3. Type: 18 (Google Drive)
  4. Client ID: (press Enter for default)
  5. Client Secret: (press Enter for default)
  6. Scope: 1 (Full access)
  7. Root folder: (press Enter)
  8. Service account: n
  9. Edit advanced config: n
  10. Use auto config: y

Step 2: Authenticate

A browser window opens automatically. If not:

rclone authorize "drive"

Copy the token and paste back in the terminal.

Step 3: Verify

rclone listremotes
# Output: gdrive:

rclone lsd gdrive:
# Lists your Drive folders

Mounting Google Drive

Basic Mount

# Create mount point
mkdir -p ~/GoogleDrive

# Mount
rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive

Keep terminal open. Press Ctrl+C to unmount.

Background Mount

rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive --daemon

rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive \
  --daemon \
  --vfs-cache-mode writes \
  --vfs-cache-max-size 1G \
  --vfs-read-chunk-size 16M \
  --buffer-size 32M \
  --poll-interval 30s \
  --dir-cache-time 72h

Options explained:

  • --vfs-cache-mode writes – Cache files being written
  • --vfs-cache-max-size 1G – Limit cache to 1GB
  • --vfs-read-chunk-size 16M – Read in 16MB chunks
  • --buffer-size 32M – Read ahead buffer
  • --poll-interval 30s – Check for changes every 30s
  • --dir-cache-time 72h – Cache directory listings

Auto-Mount on Boot

Using Systemd

Create ~/.config/systemd/user/rclone-gdrive.service:

[Unit]
Description=Mount Google Drive with Rclone
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=notify
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone mount gdrive: %h/GoogleDrive \
  --vfs-cache-mode writes \
  --vfs-cache-max-size 1G \
  --buffer-size 32M \
  --poll-interval 30s \
  --dir-cache-time 72h
ExecStop=/bin/fusermount -u %h/GoogleDrive
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Enable and start:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable rclone-gdrive.service
systemctl --user start rclone-gdrive.service

Check status:

systemctl --user status rclone-gdrive.service

Using fstab (Alternative)

Add to /etc/fstab:

# Google Drive via rclone
gdrive: /home/warwick/GoogleDrive rclone rw,noauto,user,_netdev,x-systemd.automount,args2env,vfs_cache_mode=writes,vfs_cache_max_size=1G 0 0

Then:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
mount ~/GoogleDrive

Common Operations

Sync Local to Drive

# Upload local folder to Drive
rclone sync ~/Documents/Important gdrive:Backup/Documents

# Dry run first (see what would happen)
rclone sync ~/Documents/Important gdrive:Backup/Documents --dry-run

Sync Drive to Local

# Download from Drive
rclone sync gdrive:Photos ~/Pictures/DrivePhotos

Copy with Progress

rclone copy ~/LargeFile.zip gdrive:Uploads --progress

Check Differences

rclone check ~/LocalFolder gdrive:RemoteFolder

Mount Specific Folder

rclone mount gdrive:Documents/Work ~/WorkDrive

Performance Tuning

For Large Files

rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive \
  --vfs-cache-mode full \
  --vfs-cache-max-size 5G \
  --vfs-read-chunk-size 128M \
  --buffer-size 256M \
  --drive-chunk-size 128M

For Many Small Files

rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive \
  --vfs-cache-mode writes \
  --vfs-cache-max-size 500M \
  --transfers 8 \
  --checkers 16

Troubleshooting

“Transport endpoint is not connected”

Drive got disconnected. Remount:

fusermount -u ~/GoogleDrive
rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive --daemon

Slow Performance

Check cache settings and connection:

rclone mount gdrive: ~/GoogleDrive --vfs-cache-mode full --log-level INFO

Authentication Expired

Re-authenticate:

rclone config reconnect gdrive:

Permission Denied

Check mount point ownership:

ls -la ~/GoogleDrive
sudo chown $USER:$USER ~/GoogleDrive

Security Notes

  1. Config file contains tokens – Keep ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf secure
  2. Use scope-limited access – Don’t use “full access” if unnecessary
  3. Regular token rotation – Re-authenticate periodically
  4. Backup your config – Lose it, lose access

Backup rclone config:

cp ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf.backup

Unmounting

# Normal unmount
fusermount -u ~/GoogleDrive

# Force unmount if stuck
fusermount -uz ~/GoogleDrive

Summary

You now have:

  • ✅ Google Drive mounted locally
  • ✅ Auto-mount on boot
  • ✅ Optimized performance settings
  • ✅ Sync/copy operations ready

Your cloud files are now just files in ~/GoogleDrive.

References: