Best Cloud Storage with CLI for Linux Distributions
In today’s open-source world, command-line interfaces (CLI) offer power and flexibility that GUI clients simply can’t match. Whether you’re automating backups, syncing folders, or integrating cloud drives into server scripts, a robust CLI tool is indispensable. This article reviews the top cloud storage providers with Linux CLI support—covering pCloud, MEGA, Proton Drive, Filen, Tresorit, Icedrive—and adds a few more recommendations. We’ll compare them side by side, discuss selection criteria, show how to install and use each via CLI, and highlight common pitfalls and troubleshooting tips.
Top Recommendations for Popular Linux Distributions
- Ubuntu / Debian: pCloud, MEGA, Proton Drive (via rclone), Tresorit
- Fedora / CentOS: Icedrive, Filen (WebDAV), rclone for Proton Drive
- Arch / Manjaro: rclone with any provider, official MEGA-CMD, pcloudcc AUR
- Others (openSUSE, etc.): rclone integration, FUSE mounts for pCloud and Icedrive
Comparison Table
| Service | Website | Free Tier | Encryption | Official CLI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pCloud | pcloud.com | 10 GB | Client-side optional (“pCloud Crypto” add-on) | pcloudcc, pcloud-cli | FUSE mount, faster uploads |
| MEGA | mega.nz | 20 GB ( bonuses) | End-to-end | MEGAcmd | Full CLI shell, WebDAV bridge |
| Proton Drive | proton.me/drive | 3 GB | End-to-end | No official use rclone | Requires rclone v1.59 |
| Filen | filen.io | 5 GB | End-to-end | No official WebDAV/rclone | Supports WebDAV |
| Tresorit | tresorit.com | 3 GB | End-to-end | Tresorit CLI (beta) | Enterprise-grade |
| Icedrive | icedrive.net | 10 GB | Client-side | icedrive-cli | FUSE mounting |
| Dropbox | dropbox.com | 2 GB | Server-side | dropbox-cli | Widely adopted |
| Amazon S3 | aws.amazon.com/s3 | Free tier | Server-side / KMS | AWS CLI, s3cmd | Pay-per-use |
Which One to Choose?
Your choice depends on budget, security needs, integration complexity, and available space. For general-purpose syncing with strong free storage, MEGA and pCloud top the list. If end-to-end encryption is mandatory but you don’t mind smaller free quotas, Proton Drive and Tresorit are excellent. Filen and Icedrive blend ease of use with mid-tier encryption. For enterprise or object-storage workflows, Amazon S3 (or compatible) via AWS CLI or s3cmd is unbeatable.
How to Use Each Service via CLI
1. pCloud
pCloud offers pcloudcc (FUSE client) and pcloud-cli (REST wrapper).
- Install pcloudcc:
# Ubuntu / Debian sudo apt install pcloudcc # Arch pacman -S pcloudcc
- Authenticate amp mount:
pcloudcc -u your@email.com -p YourPassword --mountpoint ~/pcloud
Common issues: FUSE permissions (use fusermount -u to unmount before remount), rate-limits if syncing millions of small files.
2. MEGA
Use the official megacmd package.
# Debian / Ubuntu sudo apt update sudo apt install megacmd # Start the MEGA shell mega-login you@mega.nz YourPassword mega-sync ~/local_folder /Root/remote_folder
To list files:
mega-ls /Root
Common issues: two-factor logins require mega-login --authenticator use mega-export to create public links.
3. Proton Drive (via rclone)
Proton Drive doesn’t have an official CLI yet, but rclone supports it.
# Install rclone curl https://rclone.org/install.sh sudo bash # Configure Proton Drive rclone config # Choose: n) new remote, name: proton # Storage: protondrive # Follow prompts: log into browser, paste token # Sync example rclone sync ~/Documents proton:/MyDocs
Common issues: make sure rclone ≥ v1.59 check firewall for OAuth callback watch out for rate-limit errors (“429 Too Many Requests”).
4. Filen (WebDAV / rclone)
Filen supports WebDAV, so you can either use standard davfs2 or rclone.
# Using davfs2 sudo apt install davfs2 sudo mount -t davfs https://webdav.filen.io/ /mnt/filen -o uid=(id -u),gid=(id -g) # Or via rclone rclone config # Choose new remote, webdav, URL=https://webdav.filen.io/, vendor=other, user/pass rclone ls filen:
Common issues: WebDAV timeouts on large transfers, TLS certificate warnings (ensure ca-certificates is installed).
5. Tresorit
Tresorit CLI is currently in beta. For now, many users rely on TresoritDrive:
# Download the Linux tarball from: # https://tresorit.com/download/linux tar -xzf tresorit-cli-linux.tar.gz cd tresorit-cli ./tresorit-cli --login you@domain.com ./tresorit-cli --sync /local/folder MyTresor
Common issues: limited Linux support, some flags still experimental. Watch logs in ~/.tresorit/log.
6. Icedrive
Icedrive provides icedrive-cli with FUSE mounting:
# Ubuntu wget https://www.icedrive.net/download/cli/icedrive-cli-linux.zip unzip icedrive-cli-linux.zip sudo mv icedrive /usr/local/bin/ icedrive login you@domain.com YourPassword icedrive mount ~/icedrive
Common issues: ensure fuse kernel module is loaded, use icedrive umount ~/icedrive to unmount cleanly.
7. Dropbox
Dropbox offers an official headless CLI:
sudo apt install dropbox dropbox start -i # initial setup get OAuth link dropbox status
Common issues: older clients break on newer distros (use Flatpak if needed).
8. Amazon S3
For object storage, AWS CLI and s3cmd are industry standards:
# AWS CLI v2 curl https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip -o awscliv2.zip unzip awscliv2.zip sudo ./aws/install aws configure # enter Access Key, Secret, region # Copy local to S3 aws s3 cp myfile.txt s3://mybucket/myfile.txt
Common issues: IAM permissions, region mismatches, large file multipart uploads (use --expected-size).
Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Authentication Errors: Remove stale tokens/config files in ~/.config/ or ~/.rclone.
- FUSE Mount Failures: Check kernel FUSE support (lsmod grep fuse), run mount with sudo if needed.
- Rate Limiting: Introduce
--bwlimitor--transfersflags in rclone/CLI tools. - Large File Uploads: Use multipart capabilities (aws s3, megacmd’s chunking, rclone’s –multi-thread-streams).
- Firewall/Proxy: Ensure outbound TLS ports (443) are open configure proxy variables for CLI tools.
Conclusion
Choosing the right cloud storage CLI for Linux depends on your workflow: if you need lots of free space and straightforward syncing, pCloud and MEGA are top picks. For privacy-centric end-to-end encryption, lean toward Proton Drive, Tresorit, or Filen. Enterprise users and heavy-duty object workflows may prefer Amazon S3 or similar. No matter which provider you choose, Linux CLI tools like pcloudcc, MEGAcmd, rclone, and AWS CLI empower you to automate, script, and integrate cloud storage directly into your environment. Armed with the examples and troubleshooting tips above, you’ll be syncing like a pro in minutes.
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