Why Personal Cloud Storage is so bad on Linux?
The main cloud services don't even work natively (GoogleDrive, OneDrive, iCloud) basically the only mainstream choice is Dropbox. I tried to use Google Drive in Mint, and it's a pain to get it to work, and usually it stops working after computer restarts.
Someone has a recommendation about how to handle these services?
I keep seeing this question pop up. "Why doesn't [closed/proprietary technology] work well in Linux?"
This question should be asked at whoever makes said technology. You are their client, why don't they support your operating system?
That responsibility should not fall on the shoulders of the thankless volunteers that do their best to create an awesome OS.
Alternatively you can buy one of the commercial distributions and become a client. Then you can ask your supplier why don't they support that technology.
Case in point, Mega.nz offers a native GUI client for Linux and went out of their way to also make a full command line client.
Support those services that don't treat you like ass, y'know?
I agree! But it's surprising that even Google doesn't have a native app for Drive. There's one for android, but not for Linux? I'm guessing it all boils down to number of users,, but still...
For personal use, i use FreeFileSync.
Really awesome, works like a charm.
If you want cloud storage I'd recommend Nextcloud as a service (I'm not affiliated with them, just a customer)
Works like a charm. You can even install plugins. Also, there are other companies that provide hosting so there is no vendor-lock-in.
Can't recommend Nextcloud enough. I also recommend checking out self-hosting! It's ridiculously easy to setup with the example docker-compose files they have in their git repo. If you have a NAS or a machine at home, you can basically create your own online storage that's completely private.
You can use rclone
I second that.
With the additional advantage that rclone has modules like crypt and join, which allows you to keep your data encrypted no matter which cloud you use, gaining more cloud space by joining clouds, etc.
Google drive integrates simply into the file manager on Gnome for cloud storage. It doesn't do offline file-sync between devices, however.
The Microsoft and Apple products don't support Linux because... Microsoft and Apple.
Google drive also works great on kde
Does it work offline? Last time I tried it only works when you are online
No, the Google Drive implementation is just for cloud storage. It doesn't do offline file-sync. I'll update my earlier comment.
I managed to get one drive working on linux, able to mount it onto the filesystem using rclone.
Yes, it's often possible to get unsupported services working, but it's rarely simple and it's prone to breakage over time with changes to the system as well as to the service. I do not recommend it to anyone seeking a simple solution and I will not do it for someone I need to support.
I sick of seeing Google Drive recommended as an alternative to dropbox. (Because I am looking for an alternative to dropbox and so far nothing has feature parity with it and the features I value.) If an app forces me to be logged in to a graphical environment locally on Linux then it has already failed to understand why people use *nix. Google Drive doesn't keep offline copies and it doesn't work on CLI. So basically useless on my server. If the files aren't natively and transparently accesible as a local filesystem while they are synced to the cloud, it's not a viable Linux Dropbox alternative. I want my files on my machine and a copy on the cloud, not the other way round.
I have not and do not recommend it. I simply responded to the claim that it doesn't work, because it does. OP has something else going on that's causing Google Drive problems.
I use both Dropbox and Mega and recommend either for someone seeking a simple cloud-sync solution.
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Rclone is awesome. Mega and PCloud got native clients that works great. Nextcloud is an alternative.
Nextcloud works great! Includes integrations with GNOME and KDE including taskbar icons etc. and you can pay a service to host Nextcloud for you if you'd prefer that to selfhosting.
I have a self-hosted Nextcloud and my Nextcloud account connected via GNOME as an Online Account. It integrates seamlessly with Calendar, gives me a webdav mount for my files etc. I don't have any issues. I have not added any Google accounts, and definitely no Microsoft accounts. I don't use public clouds for private stuff.
I have a self-hosted Nextcloud and my Nextcloud account connected via GNOME as an Online Account.
The self-hosted bit is the problem. I have yet to find a Nextcloud provider that offers the service truly ready to go. The ones I found try to make it somewhat easy by offering Install buttons in web interfaces but if you have absolutely no clue about such things, even that is a hurdle to overcome.
Here is the official list of nextcloud providers that do the setup and maintenance for you: https://github.com/nextcloud/providers#providers
rclone for cloud backup
Syncthing is pretty good. I've got a raspberry pi running it on my local network with an old usb hard drive I had kicking around and it works great
Just to be clear, Syncthing is not cloud storage but file syncing. It can be used in a similar way but it does have different strengths and weaknesses.
MEGA is an optiom, rclone is the option. Supports next to anything.
Still waiting for rclone to support megainn Debian. Then it'll be perfect.
rsync/ rclone just works! Have not tried rsync with cloud yet, I use rclone for encrypted backups. Most cloud services are supported including google drive.
Use pCloud.
Life time subscriptions, it's so cheap.
idrive package is cheaper, if you talk cheapnest...
The linux client worst fine, eventhough I rarely use it.
I haven't had any issues with pCloud's linux client either, although it is definitely not as quick to sync as Dropbox. It might take 30 seconds to pick up changes instead of 3. Something about block-level change tracking I think.
For command line sync to the cloud you can use rclone. It's FOSS and works with many different cloud providers.
For a constant sync experience you can use insync. It's closed source and requires a license though, but works reasonably well.
Sorry for the lack of direct links since I'm on the phone.
You don't need insync - most people just automate rclone sync commands using whatever task scheduler their system runs by default (cronjobs or systemd units, typically). For those who prefer a GUI, KDE has a Scheduled Tasks app.
On Android, you can use Round Sync which is a wrapper around rclone and can import the same configs.
Mega and syncthing work perfectly fine for me
I had a problem with Mega using Fedora. Trying to update from Fedora 37 to 38, I had a dependency problem with the Megasync app. I tried uninstalling but the problem persisted and I couldn't upgrade, so I had to make a clean install.
Other than that, Mega and Syncthing worked perfect for me.
@necrxfagivs @ryannathans Pedorra users are beta testers, change so to Devuan, void, slack, antix ... and finish the problems.
Most people I know who use Linux wouldn't trust Cloud services cause that's just storing your stuff on somebody else machine. You can self hosted service like Next cloud on a raspberry pi or just get comfortable with networking enough to setup VPN and ssh into your home computer from the net to get your stuff.
A huge part of disaster recovery is storing things in separate geographic locations. That's not easily don't with self hosting. If all my stuff is on a file server at my house and my house burns down then I've lost all my files.
@JackbyDev @besbin my personal solution for this is an encrypted 16tb external storage drive I keep in my car. A copy of my server drive is made once a week. not perfect solution but doesn't require much effort on my part
Well the thing is, I’m still not comfortable in opening up an attack surface like that. I would much rather pay for someone else to do that. Preferably someone who really knows what they are doing and keeps an eye on the constantly evolving security environment. There’s a bunch of other stuff happening in my life, so finding the time to play server admin isn’t that easy right now.
There are many professional Nextcloud holsters, for example: https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-share
If you need the online storage (or whatever self hosted service) just for yourself (and maybe some few people), it's very simple to set up a Wireguard instance. My server doesn't even show open ports to the outside world, but with Wireguard I can access my git, wiki, etc in my home LAN.
I haven't really tried any of the second tier Solutions like Tailscale. But when you have more users or a more complex environment, that could help.
Still, sharing stuff with "outsiders" would still be tricky, I guess - at least I haven't found a solution...
Uh what? Lots of Linux users also use cloud services.
Pretty easy to use something like Cryptomator with almost any service and maintain privacy.
Self hosting can be great; it can also be a pain.
Mega (Mega Upload) ain't bad, 30gb free. Worth a look!
I used them all, so I get plenty of cloud storage for free
I also say that pCloud is possibly the best option. Simple install, free storage, and a cheap lifetime purchase for more storage. My only complaint is that they don't support aarch64 yet, but I don't need think there's really anyone that does yet so I'm living with offline backups.
Too many horror stories with pDrive about people getting locked out and never seeing their data again, and their terms lay it out that they own what you upload not you. That scared me away from pDrive.
I moved to kDrive and it has done everything I need so far. It's a little slow to transfer if you are in the US since their servers are in the EU, but that's a minor complaint and only a hurdle I had to worry about once during initial sync... It's hardly noticeable with everyday changed to individual files.
The Google drive integrations in dolphin / KDE work well enough but it doesn't have an option to "sync" folders in a local drive like the windows client did, and that was my main use case. Same with dropbox, you get one sync folder on your main OS drive. I have 8 storage drives in my computer and I have more data that needs synced and backed up than will fit on my main OS drive.
While I've never had a problem in my 5 years of use, I only really used it as an automatic phone backup that my laptop could then pull the files in and work with. Not a lot of use, or devices. I don't doubt that pCloud has their privacy issues, and I don't doubt the horror stories. Like I said I'm not using my account anymore, and would love to try Nextcloud if I had the time to figure it out and the money to buy the hardware to do it with.
rsync is your friend
Don't. Use Nextcloud.
My recommendation is to not use them, for privacy reasons.
I don't understand those questions. Google Drive is webdav to the best of my knowledge. Anyway, it works out of the with Gnome/Ubuntu. When you connect a Google account, a drive icon appears. Doesn't get more "native".
I get the problem that most vendors don't have an app for Linux, so some functionality is lacking compared to what you may be used to. And cross-platform anything can be a problem, i.e if you really need Linux Desktop + Android + Windows + Apple stuff. (I do and learned to use web-based applications for work.)
What do you really expect from a "Personal Cloud Storage"? not a clearly defined term.
Seafile (needs a paid server as the backend) works nice for syncing files. Google Drives works as network drive. There are tons of backup solutions that work with tons of storage backends (aka professional cloud storage).
Googledrive works as network drive and that's a problem. Have you tried to run MATLAB scrips with a virtual drive? Or open an obsidian vault in a virtual drive?
What I mean by "personal cloud services" is actually trying to avoid those professional cloud storage that you mention, not everyone wants to selfhost or pay for teras of storage. I just want my personal files to be accessible from my work computers (has to be windows, not my choice) and my personal computers (Linux based).
Have you tried to run MATLAB scrips with a virtual drive?
Why would I? Git exists.
Really, you'll get better answers if you describe what you are trying to do.
Syncthing has never failed me.
the file manager integration with gnome and google drive worked well for me.
I use Google Drive with InSync. It's not free, but it's a good piece of software I've been using for years and it does everything I need.
If only they would listen to the hundreds of requests for a flatpak…
I use it too and have for years.
I have a Backblaze B2 account I use for other things, I recently created a new bucket on it and attached it as a drive using s3fs. Works fine as far as I can tell (I've not used it much - prefer to keep things locally and just back them up off-site, which is actually what I have my B2 account for), so you certainly can do this with an S3 (AWS) compatible service.
I use Backblaze B2 buckets too, just use a cron job to sync stuff once a day (using it for backups). It's not expensive and it just seems to keep on working. I also like their disc reliability reports they send out.
That's what I use for backups of all my stuff. Restic runs and manages the backup process.
Is it encrypted prior to sending?
That's what I do, too. Only thing is, I'm trying to figure out how to speed s3fs up because it's pretty pokey. How well does it run for you?
Because Linux is not a platform moneymaking capitalists choose to develop their apps for?
You have Nextcloud for all distros, Flatpak, Appimage. You have Syncthing which doesnt exist on iOS.
Chiming in, is there a solid OneDrive client for linux that just works? No collaboration stuff needed for it or other fluff, just simple file sync. I pay for OneDrive family and would be nice to be able to sync files with other ecosystems (Synology, Windows, Android).
There’s a commercial Linux client I was using called Insync and it was perfect. Only stopped using it because I switched away from Linux
@talizorah @desconectado @potemkinhr I'm using OneDriver and it seems to work pretty well! Search it on Github.
I use this, it's great and does seem to do automatic sync too.
This is the one I'm using as well. I use it to keep my work laptop running Linux in sync with the various Windows desktops I use in our offices. Works great for keeping my work keepass vault in sync.
Someone has a recommendation about how to handle these services?
You don't. Apple is notorious for their walled garden approach. Microsoft has no interest in supporting Linux (why should they?). Don't know about Google.
I am pretty happy with pcloud. They offer lifetime licenses that are really worth it if you intend to stick with them long term. The automatic Backup works great and AFAIK they have clients for all major platform's. The android client could be better, but Windows and Linux works great. Don't miss any functionality and the connection (at least here in Germany) is fast.
i have multiple google drives synced right into my file manager...like i just click it, it mounts it, and drag stuff in and out as if it were local...i'm on debian with gnome. dropbox works the same way. obviously icloud and onedrive may be more difficult, but i'm pretty sure there is something formsyncing up onedrive, but i choose to disable one drive on all my windows devices.
Seafile works well on linux
Indeed. Quicker and more stable than Next loud or OneDrive for me.
Has anyone tried cryptpad.fr. I'm considering it, but I have yet to try it.
Because it's a disproportionate amount of effort to natively support an extra OS (particularly one as fragmented as Linux), especially one with such a small userbase that largely isn't interested in using proprietary cloud services in the first place because of data privacy and security concerns.
Obviously not all Linux users are super worried about that stuff (I mean, I use Linux and have a google pixel), but on average the Linux userbase is way way more aware of that stuff than most users who just want their photos backed up without having to worry about it.
They could easily provide a cli tool or a docker app (which would work on every OS).
Tresorit has a Linux client.
I use kDrive and it works well with Fedora. Infomaniak, the company behind kDrive, is from my country, Switzerland. It uses a lot of renewable energy and the heat from their servers is used to heat buildings in my city.
I switched to linux (POP OS) as daily driver recently. Using selfhosted nextcloud and had 0 issues installing client and syncing. Didnt try google and other big guys yet
Pop OS had me log into Google and I believe my Google Drive space was automatically mounted. Too easy :)
It is too easy, but It probably got mounted as network drive so you dont have files stored on pc (bonus if you are low on storage). At least that was case with my nextcloud, so I removed that account and installed app from store. Both ways are super easy, iphone dificulty
Network drive is perfectly fine if you are ok with that (no internet = no files and it will open files bit longer), but OP was asking for synced files on local drive. I selfhost cloud and I prefer sync so I can have one more copy stored on desktop
I am currently using InSync on 64-bit devices and Overgrive on 32-bit devices. Overgrive works just fine on 64-bit devices tol but Insync is slightly more userfriendly.
Last time I tried, Dropbox has the best linux app. It even supports LAN syncing and integration with nautilus (ubuntu default file manager). However I need to move to onedrive because dropbox is just too expensive
with rclone you can mount cloud storage as a folder
I use my own NAS along with syncthing to backup and sync stuff across my phone, laptop, and desktop. Before that I was using mega.nz with its native Linux client, which worked fine sans a weird issue where it'd repeatedly transfer the same file forever.
Way back I also saw a paid 3rd party Linux-native app that supposedly works with all the major personal cloud carriers, though I never ended up using it and have long since forgotten what it's even called.
I use Google cloud with nautilus, and before that I used google-drive-ocamlfuse on my Chromebook with custom firmware. All this just so I don't have to use their stupid website.
Koofr
kdrive or nextcloud.
If you only need data storage, then seafile is your tool of choice.
Dropbox works pretty well for me, however I'm planning on building my own home server with nextcloud setup as soon as I can.
Try nextcloud
Not to endorse, but Dropbox always seemed to work without issue. Again, several years since I used it.
But more seriously, Ubuntu One should never have folded.
I created filen account using https://filen.io/r/d5a92a596e8518e27b0db303e73e8107 so i got 20 GB storage. And it has linux appimage also.