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Rclone Automation

Automated scripts and configurations for Rclone on TrueNAS SCALE.

Description

Rclone is a command-line program to manage files on cloud storage. This service focuses on automated backups and syncs between local ZFS pools and remote cloud providers (S3, B2, Drive).

Where it fits in the stack

Category: Service / Infrastructure / Backup

Typical use cases

  • Automated off-site backups to cloud providers.
  • Synchronizing data between different cloud storages.
  • Mounting cloud storage as a local filesystem.

Strengths

  • Supports 40+ cloud storage providers.
  • Highly efficient and battle-tested CLI.
  • Preserves timestamps and supports checksum verification.

Limitations

  • Command-line only (GUI is experimental).
  • Requires careful configuration of API keys and secrets.

When to use it

  • For robust, automated cloud sync tasks.
  • When you need a "Swiss Army knife" for cloud storage.

When not to use it

  • For simple drag-and-drop file transfers (use a web UI or dedicated sync client).
  • If you are uncomfortable with the command line.

Getting started

Installation

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

Configuration

rclone config

CLI examples

Sync local folder to remote

rclone sync /path/to/local remote:backup -P

Mount a remote as a filesystem

rclone mount remote:path /path/to/mountpoint &

API examples

Rclone has an internal RC (Remote Control) API.

List files via RC (curl)

curl -u user:pass localhost:5572/operations/list -d '{"fs": "remote:", "remote": "path"}'

Backlog

  • Implement bandwidth throttling during business hours.
  • Set up healthcheck notifications for failed syncs.

Sources / References

Contribution Metadata

  • Last reviewed: 2026-04-26
  • Confidence: high