Best cloud storage services with CLI for Exe GNU/Linux: (Comparison)

Best Cloud Storage Services with CLI for GNU/Linux

Managing cloud storage directly from the command line is a must for many GNU/Linux users and administrators. In this article, we review the top services offering CLI tools or seamless integration via open-source utilities, compare their features, and provide step-by-step usage examples. We cover:

• pCloud
• MEGA
• Proton Drive
• Filen
• Tresorit
• Icedrive
• Dropbox (official CLI)
• Google Drive (via rclone)
• Amazon S3 (AWS CLI)

Comparison Table

Free tier valid 12 months.

Which Service to Choose?

• Personal backups: pCloud, MEGA or Icedrive for generous free plans and ease of setup.
• Privacy Security: Proton Drive, Tresorit or Filen, all offering zero-knowledge E2E encryption.
• Business Scripting: AWS S3 or rclone with Google Drive/Dropbox for advanced automation.
• Budget conscious: Filen and pCloud have low entry cost and solid CLI support.

General CLI Integration Tips

• Always install the official package or use your distro’s repository.
• Authenticate once store tokens in your user’s secure directory.
• Test uploads/downloads on a small directory before bulk transfers.
• Monitor rate limits and API quotas to avoid service suspension.

Setup and Usage Examples

pCloud (pcloudcc)

Install on Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install pcloudcc
pcloudcc -u your@email.com -p YourPassword
# Mount to ~/pcloud
pcloudcc -m ~/pcloud

Typical issues:

• “Mount point busy” rarr unmount with fusermount -u ~/pcloud.
• Auth failures rarr re-run login command or remove ~/.config/pcloudcc/config.

MEGA (megacmd)

Install on Fedora:

sudo dnf install megacmd
# Login
mega-login your@email.com YourPassword
# List remote
mega-ls /
# Upload a folder
mega-put ~/projects /RemoteBackup/projects

Typical issues:

• Network timeouts rarr increase –timeout parameter.
• MAC mismatch rarr ensure correct version of megacmd for your distro.

Proton Drive (proton-drive-cli)

Install via pip:

pip3 install proton-drive-cli
# Authenticate
proton-drive-cli login
# Sync a folder
proton-drive-cli sync ~/Documents ProjDocs

Typical issues:

• 2FA prompt not showing rarr set PROTON_2FA env variable or use –2fa flag.
• Rate limiting rarr add –sleep-between-requests 1.

Filen (filen-cli)

Download binary from official release page and make it executable:

wget https://github.com/filen-io/filen-cli/releases/latest/download/filen-linux
chmod  x filen-linux  sudo mv filen-linux /usr/local/bin/filen
# Authenticate
filen login
# Upload
filen upload ~/backup /backup

Typical issues:

• “API key missing” rarr check ~/.filen/config.json.

Tresorit (tresorit)

Install via .deb/.rpm:

sudo apt install ./tresorit_.deb
tresorit login
# Sync
tresorit sync ~/MyFolder TresoritVault/MyFolder

Typical issues:

• Insufficient permissions rarr run with sudo if necessary or fix folder ownership.

Icedrive (icedrive-cli)

Install via package:

sudo apt install icedrive-cli
icedrive-cli auth login
# Mount via FUSE
icedrive-cli mount ~/icedrive

Typical issues:

• “fuse: device not found” rarr install fuse or fuse3.

Dropbox (dropbox-cli)

Install official CLI:

sudo apt install python3-gpg dropbox
dropbox start -i
dropbox status
# To sync:
cp ~/file.txt ~/Dropbox/

Typical issues:

• “Daemon failed to start” rarr reinstall or upgrade to latest dropbox package.

Google Drive (via rclone)

sudo apt install rclone
rclone config
# Choose drive, follow OAuth prompts
rclone ls remote:MyDrive
# Copy local to drive
rclone copy ~/myfolder remote:Backup

Typical issues:

• “invalid_client” rarr create your own OAuth credentials in Google Cloud Console.

AWS S3 (AWS CLI)

sudo apt install awscli
aws configure
# Enter Access Key, Secret, region
aws s3 cp ~/data s3://mybucket/data --recursive

Typical issues:

• “AccessDenied” rarr verify IAM permissions and bucket policies.

Conclusion

Select the service that matches your storage needs, budget, and desired security level. Each tool comes with its own quirks—familiarize yourself with the CLI documentation and community forums to overcome common pitfalls. With the right setup, CLI-based cloud storage becomes an integral part of any GNU/Linux workflow.