Best cloud storage services with CLI for Container Linux: (Comparison)

Introduction

Container Linux (formerly CoreOS) is designed for immutable infrastructure and minimal host intervention. When you need reliable cloud storage integrated via command-line, selecting a service with robust CLI support is essential. This article reviews the top cloud storage providers with CLI options on Container Linux, compares their features, and shows how to set up and use each one. Typical pitfalls and troubleshooting tips are included.

Top Recommended Cloud Storage Providers for Container Linux

• pCloud
• MEGA
• Proton Drive
• Filen
• Tresorit
• Icedrive
• Dropbox (additional)
• Google Drive (additional)

Comparison Table

Which One to Choose?

• Best for price/performance: pCloud offers lifetime plans and a native CLI.
• Maximum free storage: MEGA’s 20 GB free tier is generous.
• Privacy-focused: Proton Drive and Tresorit provide end-to-end encryption.
• Lightweight encrypted: Icedrive’s Zero-Knowledge encryption via rclone.
• Simplicity ecosystem: Dropbox or Google Drive if you need broad third-party integrations.

Using Each Service with CLI on Container Linux

pCloud

pCloud offers pcloudcc, a command-line client with mount support.

Installation (static binary):

# Download and extract
wget -qO /opt/pcloudcc.tar.gz https://downloads.pcloud.com/console/pcloudcc.tar.gz
tar xzf /opt/pcloudcc.tar.gz -C /opt
# Move binary to PATH
mv /opt/pcloudcc /usr/local/bin/
chmod  x /usr/local/bin/pcloudcc

Login and mount:

# Authenticate
pcloudcc -u you@example.com -p yourpassword

# Mount at /mnt/pcloud
mkdir -p /mnt/pcloud
pcloudcc -m /mnt/pcloud

Typical problems:

• FUSE dependencies missing – installfuse3.
• Two-factor auth – generate an app-specific password in web settings.

MEGA

MEGA’s megacmd client provides a shell, API and sync daemon.

# Download and install
wget -qO - https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Debian_10/Release.key  apt-key add -
echo deb https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Debian_10/ ./ > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mega.list
apt-get update  apt-get install megacmd

# Login
mega-login you@example.com yourpassword

# List remote files
mega-ls /

# Download a file
mega-get /remote/path/file.txt /local/path/

Typical problems:

• Rate limits – use mega-sync --exclude to limit traffic.
• Shell quoting – wrap remote paths in quotes if they contain spaces.

Proton Drive

Proton Drive doesn’t yet offer an official CLI. Use rclone with the Proton Drive backend.

# Download rclone static
curl -O https://downloads.rclone.org/v1.58.0/rclone-v1.58.0-linux-amd64.zip
unzip rclone--linux-amd64.zip  mv rclone--linux-amd64/rclone /usr/local/bin/

# Configure Proton Drive
rclone config
# Choose n for new remote, name it proton
# Select 42 Proton Drive from list, follow prompts to authenticate.

# Mount Proton Drive
mkdir -p /mnt/proton
rclone mount proton: /mnt/proton --daemon

Typical problems:

• OAuth auth loops – ensure your Container Linux host has a browser-based route or use the --browserless flag.
• Directory caching – tweak --dir-cache-time.

Filen

Filen can be accessed via rclone or community scripts.

# rclone approach:
rclone config
# Name filen, select 57 Filen, input API key from https://filen.com
# Sync a folder
rclone sync /data filen:backup

Typical problems:

• API rate limits – add --tpslimit.
• Large file uploads – use --transfers to parallelize.

Tresorit

Tresorit provides an official tresorit-cli tool.

# Download and install
curl -s https://download.tresorit.com/cli/tresorit-cli-latest-linux.tar.gz  tar xz -C /usr/local/bin
chmod  x /usr/local/bin/tresorit

# Login
tresorit login you@example.com

# List tresors (encrypted folders)
tresorit ls

# Sync a tresor locally
tresorit download YOUR_TRESOR_ID /data/tresor

Typical problems:

• Permission errors – run under the same user who created the tresor.
• Missing dependencies – install libcurl4 and related SSL libs.

Icedrive

Use rclone with the Icedrive backend.

# Configure
rclone config
# Name icedrive, choose 96 Icedrive, supply token from web.

# Copy files
rclone copy /backup icedrive:backup --progress

Typical problems:

• Token expiration – regenerate periodically.
• Chunked uploads – adjust --drive-chunk-size style flags for large files.

Dropbox (Additional)

Dropbox offers dropboxd daemon but works better via rclone on minimal hosts.

# rclone config (choose Dropbox)
# Sync a folder
rclone sync /data dropbox:project-backup

Typical problems:

• App permissions – create your own API app to raise rate limits.
• File size limits – use chunked uploads in rclone.

Google Drive (Additional)

Google Drive CLI is only via rclone or gdrive third-party tool.

# rclone config (select Google Drive)
# List files
rclone ls gdrive:

# Mount drive
mkdir -p /mnt/gdrive
rclone mount gdrive: /mnt/gdrive --vfs-cache-mode writes --daemon

Typical problems:

• OAuth redirects – run rclone config on a system with GUI or use headless flow.
• API quotas – monitor via Google Cloud Console.

Conclusion

For Container Linux, lightweight static binaries and FUSE/rclone-based mounts are the go-to methods. pCloud’s native pcloudcc and MEGA’s megacmd offer the smoothest experience, while privacy-minded users will appreciate Proton Drive and Tresorit. If you need a unified approach, rclone supports all major providers. Always test authentication flows and adjust cache settings to suit your workload and network conditions.