Best cloud storage services with CLI for FreeBSD: (Guide)

Introduction

Choosing the right cloud storage with a robust command-line interface (CLI) is essential for Linux and FreeBSD users who prefer automation, scripting, or headless servers. In this article, we review the best services available—pCloud, MEGA, Proton Drive, Filen, Tresorit, Icedrive—and add Dropbox and Google Drive for completeness. We’ll compare key features, recommend options per distribution, show CLI installation and usage examples, and highlight common issues and solutions.

Top Recommended Services

• pCloud
• MEGA
• Proton Drive
• Filen
• Tresorit
• Icedrive
• Dropbox
• Google Drive (via gdrive CLI)

Comparison Table

Which One to Choose?

• Privacy-minded: Proton Drive, Tresorit, Filen
• Generous free storage: MEGA, Icedrive, pCloud
• Business use: Tresorit, Dropbox
• Budget-friendly: pCloud (lifetime plans)
• Cross-platform/community: Google Drive via gdrive CLI
• FreeBSD users: Prefer native ports (Dropbox) or Linux-compat tools

How to Use Each with CLI

pCloud

Install via repository or download binary:

# Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
wget -qO - https://uploads.pcloud.com/linux/pcloud_pubkey.asc  sudo apt-key add -
echo deb http://repo.pcloud.com/apt/ focal main  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pcloud.list
sudo apt update  sudo apt install pcloud

# Initialize and mount
pcloudcc --login your@email.com --pass YourPassword
pcloudcc --mount ~/pcloud

FreeBSD: enable Linux compatibility, install pcloudcc from downloaded .deb via dpkg, then mount.

MEGA

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install megatools

# Configure
echo [Login] > ~/.megarc
echo Username = you@email.com >> ~/.megarc
echo Password = YourPassword >> ~/.megarc

# Download a file
megatools dl --path /remote/folder/filename.txt
# Upload
megatools put --path /remote/folder/ --local /path/to/file

Or use official megacli (install instructions) and mount with megafs.

Proton Drive

# Download binary for Linux
wget https://github.com/ProtonMail/proton-drive-cli/releases/download/v0.1.0/proton-drive-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xzf proton-drive-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv proton-drive /usr/local/bin/

# Login
proton-drive login

# List files
proton-drive list

# Download
proton-drive download --path /drive/path/file.txt

For FreeBSD, compile from source (Go) or run under Linux compat.

Filen

# Download CLI
wget https://cdn.filen.io/cli/filen-linux-amd64.zip
unzip filen-linux-amd64.zip
chmod  x filen
sudo mv filen /usr/local/bin/

# Login
filen login

# Sync folder
filen sync --upload /local/folder /remote/folder

Tresorit

# Ubuntu
sudo apt install apt-transport-https
wget -qO - https://apt.tresorit.com/tresorit_gpg.key  sudo apt-key add -
echo deb https://apt.tresorit.com/ stable main  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tresorit.list
sudo apt update  sudo apt install tresorit-client

# Initialize
tresorit login
tresorit sync-folder /local /Tresorit/Remote

FreeBSD: Linux compat layer, or use SFTP gateway.

Icedrive

# Download
wget https://download.icedrive.net/linux/icedrive-cli.tar.gz
tar xzf icedrive-cli.tar.gz
sudo mv icedrive /usr/local/bin/

# Setup
icedrive login
icedrive upload /path/to/file /DriveFolder/
icedrive download /DriveFolder/file /path/to/local

Dropbox

# Linux
sudo apt install python3-gpg python3-requests
wget -O dropbox.py https://www.dropbox.com/download?dl=packages/dropbox.py
chmod  x dropbox.py

# Start
~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd 
./dropbox.py status
./dropbox.py filestatus ~/Dropbox/file.txt

# Or use headless CLI
./dropbox.py start -i

Google Drive (gdrive CLI)

# Download
wget https://github.com/prasmussen/gdrive/releases/download/2.1.1/gdrive-linux-x64
chmod  x gdrive-linux-x64
sudo mv gdrive-linux-x64 /usr/local/bin/gdrive

# Authenticate (opens browser)
gdrive about

# Upload
gdrive upload --parent  myfile.txt

# Download
gdrive download 

Typical Problems and Solutions

• Linux–FreeBSD compatibility: Many CLIs are Linux binaries. Use linuxulator or compile from source on FreeBSD.
• Mount failures: Ensure fuse (Linux) or fusefs (FreeBSD) is installed and loaded.
• Authentication errors: Remove stale tokens (e.g. ~/.config/ltservicegt) and re-login.
• Rate limits: Avoid mass parallel requests. Add sleeps in scripts or batch uploads.
• Incomplete uploads/downloads: Verify checksum if supported retry or use –resume flags.

With this guide, you can select and deploy the best cloud storage solution with CLI support on Linux and FreeBSD, automate workflows, and troubleshoot common pitfalls.