Best cloud storage services with CLI for CRUX: (Tutorial)

Introduction

Secure, flexible and scriptable cloud storage is a must for any CRUX administrator or power user. While graphical clients abound, command-line tools integrate seamlessly into scripts, cron jobs and headless servers. In this article we evaluate six popular cloud providers with official or community-driven CLI tools—plus a couple of extra options—compare their features, and show you how to install and use each on Linux CRUX. We also cover common pitfalls and troubleshooting tips.

Top Recommendations for CRUX

• pCloud – native, open-source CLI (pcloud-cli)
• MEGA – full-feature MEGAcmd shell
• Proton Drive – unofficial CLI via community project
• Filen – open-source filen-cli
• Tresorit – access via rclone over WebDAV
• Icedrive – access via rclone or WebDAV
• Amazon S3 – AWS CLI
• Dropbox – community dbxcli

Comparison Table

Which One to Choose?

• pCloud – Best all-rounder with native CLI and generous free tier.
• MEGA – Top choice if you need built-in end-to-end encryption and large free allowances.
• Proton Drive – Ideal if privacy and zero-knowledge encryption are paramount, but storage is limited.
• Filen – Good compromise: unlimited devices, decent CLI, European servers.
• Tresorit / Icedrive – Suited to those already invested in these ecosystems use rclone as a universal client.
• AWS S3 – Enterprise-grade, pay-as-you-go, rock-solid CLI, fits advanced backup scripts.
• Dropbox – Simple, ubiquitous, scriptable via dbxcli limited free storage.

How to Use Each with CLI

1. pCloud (pcloud-cli)

Installation on CRUX:

# Install dependencies
prt-get depclean libssl-dev libcurl-dev cmake git
# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/pcloudcom/cli.git
cd cli
mkdir build  cd build
cmake ..
make
install -m755 pcloud /usr/local/bin/

Authorize and basic usage:

pcloud login your-email@example.com
pcloud ls /               # list root
pcloud upload /home/me/file.txt /RemoteDir/
pcloud download /RemoteDir/file.txt ./file.txt

Common issues:

• “SSL certificate” errors: install or update libssl.
• “No config found”: run pcloud login to regenerate ~/.config/pcloud.

2. MEGA (MEGAcmd)

Installation:

prt-get depclean gcc make openssl-dev cmake
git clone https://github.com/meganz/MEGAcmd.git
cd MEGAcmd
./configure.sh
make
make install       # puts mega- commands in /usr/local/bin

Usage:

mega-login username password
mega-ls
mega-put ~/report.pdf /backup/
mega-get /backup/report.pdf ~/report.pdf
mega-sync ~/proj /SyncFolder

• Ensure firewall rules allow mega.nz domains.
• Interactive login sometimes times out—use mega-login --auth for persistent sessions.

3. Proton Drive (unofficial)

Installation:

# Requires Go
prt-get depclean go git
go install github.com/d-ed/unofficial-proton-drive-cli@latest
# binary is in GOPATH/bin
mv GOPATH/bin/proton-drive /usr/local/bin/

Configuration and usage:

proton-drive login                # opens browser for OAuth
proton-drive list                 # list files
proton-drive upload myfile.txt /
proton-drive download /myfile.txt ./

• OAuth failures? Set PROTON_SKIP_SSL_CHECK=true for self-signed setups.
• Speed throttling may occur if region selection is off adjust via proton-drive config.

4. Filen (filen-cli)

Installation:

prt-get depclean rust cargo
git clone https://github.com/filen-io/filen-cli.git
cd filen-cli
cargo build --release
mv target/release/filen /usr/local/bin/

Usage:

filen login
filen ls
filen upload ./video.mp4 /Videos/
filen download /Videos/video.mp4 ./

• Requires ~/.filen/config.toml with token filen login creates it.
• Rust version mismatches can cause compile errors—use a recent stable Rust.

5. Tresorit via rclone (WebDAV)

Install rclone:

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

Configure Tresorit remote:

rclone config
# Choose: n) New remote
# name> tresorit
# Storage> webdav
# vendor> other
# url> https://webdav.tresorit.com
# user> your-email
# pass> (paste password)

Basic commands:

rclone ls tresorit:
rclone copy ~/docs/ tresorit:BackupDocs
rclone mount tresorit: ~/mnt/tresorit --daemon

• Watch out for 407 Proxy Authentication Required: unset http_proxy or configure proxy credentials.
• WebDAV timeouts: increase with --timeout 1m or --low-level-retries.

6. Icedrive via rclone (WebDAV)

Configuration:

rclone config
# name> icedrive
# storage> webdav
# vendor> other
# url> https://webdav.icedrive.net
# user> your-icedrive-email
# pass> your-password

Usage:

rclone ls icedrive:
rclone sync ~/photos icedrive:CameraUploads
rclone mount icedrive: ~/mnt/icedrive

• File size limits: split huge files or use --drive-chunk-size.
• Icedrive WebDAV sometimes drops large uploads—use --retries 5.

7. Amazon S3 (AWS CLI)

Installation:

prt-get depclean python3-pip
pip3 install awscli --upgrade

Configuration:

aws configure
# Enter AWS Access Key, Secret Key, region, output format

Usage:

aws s3 ls s3://mybucket
aws s3 cp file.txt s3://mybucket/backups/
aws s3 sync ~/projects s3://mybucket/projects

• “Unable to locate credentials”: re-run aws configure or set AWS_PROFILE.
• Large uploads: add --multipart-chunk-size-mb 100 to speed up.

8. Dropbox (dbxcli)

Installation:

prt-get depclean go git
go install github.com/dropbox/dbxcli/cmd/dbxcli@latest
mv GOPATH/bin/dbxcli /usr/local/bin/

Configuration and usage:

dbxcli account                 # shows account info and guides auth
dbxcli ls /
dbxcli upload notes.txt /Notes/notes.txt
dbxcli download /Notes/notes.txt .

• OAuth flow requires a browser use headless mode with device codes if needed.
• dbxcli v2 occasionally breaks—pin to stable release.

Typical Problems and Troubleshooting

• SSL / certificate errors: ensure ca-certificates and openssl are up to date.
• Rate limits throttling: use retry flags (--retries, --low-level-retries) or back-off settings.
• Mount instability with FUSE/WebDAV: add --timeout and --kernel-cache in rclone mount.
• Authentication failures: double-check tokens in ~/.config or environment variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, etc.).
• Dependency conflicts on CRUX: isolate builds in chroots or use prt-get depdir to avoid system library mismatches.

Conclusion

On Linux CRUX, lightweight, scriptable cloud storage hinges on robust CLI tools. For general use, pCloud and MEGA stand out with official binaries. Privacy advocates will favor Proton Drive and Filen’s end-to-end encryption. Enterprises can leverage AWS S3’s mature AWS CLI, while rclone bridges the gap for providers lacking native tools (Tresorit, Icedrive). Finally, dbxcli keeps Dropbox in play. Armed with these CLIs and our troubleshooting tips, you can automate backups, orchestrate file transfers and integrate cloud storage seamlessly into your CRUX workflows.