Best cloud storage services with CLI for ForLEx: (Comparison)

Introduction

Managing files in the cloud from a Linux terminal can streamline workflows, automate backups and provide seamless integration with scripts and cron jobs. Below is an extensive overview of the best cloud-storage providers offering CLI support on Linux (including ForLEx), a comparative table, guidance on selecting the right service, usage examples for each CLI, and troubleshooting tips.

Top Cloud Storage Solutions with CLI for Linux (ForLEx)

Feature Comparison

• Privacy Encryption: Proton Drive and Tresorit use end-to-end encryption by default, while pCloud offers client-side encryption as an add-on (pCloud Crypto).
• Storage Capacity: Mega (20 GB) and pCloud (10 GB) lead in free space Google Drive offers 15 GB but shared with Gmail/Photos.
• CLI Maturity: megacmd and aws-cli are very stable. rclone support for all providers is mature dedicated CLIs like proton-drive-cli or filen-cli may still be evolving.
• Performance: Amazon S3, Backblaze B2 (not shown above) and commercial providers often have higher throughput and SLA guarantees.
• Platform Support: All listed services support Linux. ForLEx users (Arch‐derived or custom) can install via AUR or compile from source for dedicated clients.

Which Service Should You Choose?

• If privacy is paramount, choose Proton Drive or Tresorit for built-in zero-knowledge encryption.
• For maximum free space, go with MEGA or pCloud (with referral boosts).
• For broad ecosystem integration and scripting, consider Google Drive via rclone or Amazon S3 with aws-cli.
• For cost-effective paid plans, pCloud lifetime plans or Icedrive offer one-time payments.
• Enterprises may prefer Dropbox or Amazon S3 due to advanced admin features and compliance.

Using Each Service via CLI

1. pCloud

Install and configure with rclone:

# Install rclone (example for ForLEx/Arch)
sudo pacman -S rclone

# Configure pCloud remote
rclone config
# n) New remote
# name> pcloud
# type> pcloud
# client_id> (leave blank for default)
# client_secret> (leave blank)
# Edit advanced? n
# Scope? full access
# Use auto config? y

Usage examples:

# List files
rclone ls pcloud:

# Upload local directory
rclone copy /home/user/Docs pcloud:Backup/Docs

# Mount pCloud (requires fusermount)
rclone mount pcloud: ~/mnt/pcloud --daemon

Typical issues: mount hangs—install fuse2 or ensure user in fuse group API rate limits—throttle transfers via --bwlimit.

2. MEGA (megacmd)

Install megacmd or use rclone:

# For megacmd on Debian/Ubuntu
wget https://mega.nz/linux/MEGAsync/xUbuntu_20.04/amd64/megacmd.deb
sudo dpkg -i megacmd.deb

# Login
mega-login user@example.com

# List files
mega-ls /

# Upload
mega-put /home/user/file.txt /MyCloud/file.txt

Or via rclone:

rclone config
# name> mega
# type> mega
# user> user@example.com
# pass> yourpassword

Issues: two-factor auth—generate an app-specific password character encoding—set --transfers to 1 for large batch uploads.

3. Proton Drive

Using proton-drive-cli (requires Node.js):

npm install -g proton-drive-cli

# Login
proton-drive login

# List
proton-drive ls

# Download
proton-drive download /Documents/report.pdf

# Upload
proton-drive upload report.pdf /Documents/report.pdf

Or via rclone:

rclone config
# name> proton
# type> protondrive
# Choose interactive login

Common problems: session expiry—re-run login slow sync—check your network or use --drive-chunk-size in rclone.

4. Filen

Using filen-cli:

# Download release and extract
wget https://github.com/filen-io/filen-cli/releases/download/v1.0.0/filen-cli-linux
chmod  x filen-cli-linux
mv filen-cli-linux /usr/local/bin/filen

# Authenticate
filen login

# Upload
filen upload /home/user/photo.jpg /photos/photo.jpg

# List
filen list /photos

Or via rclone:

rclone config
# name> filen
# type> filen
# token> (from filen-cli)

5. Tresorit

Currently best accessed with rclone:

rclone config
# name> tresorit
# type> tresorit
# client_id> (from Tresorit App Console)
# client_secret> (from Console)
# Use auto config? y

Usage:

rclone copy ~/Letters tresorit:Archive/Letters

Issues: you must register an OAuth app in Tresorit for client_id/client_secret folder paths are case-sensitive.

6. Icedrive

Using icedrive-cli:

# Install Go, then:
go install github.com/IceDrive/cli@latest

# Login
icedrive login

# Upload
icedrive upload local.txt /root/uploads/local.txt

# List
icedrive ls /

Or rclone:

rclone config
# name> icedrive
# type> icedrive
# token> (from API)

Troubleshooting Tips

• Authentication Failures: clear credentials (rclone config or ~/.config/filen), re-login.
• Rate Limits: add --bwlimit or --tpslimit to rclone commands.
• Mount Problems: ensure fuse3 or fuse2 installed run sudo modprobe fuse.
• Permissions: check CLI binary is executable and located in /usr/local/bin or in PATH.
• Data Integrity: use rclone md5sum or sha256sum to verify uploads/downloads.

Conclusion

Each cloud-storage provider brings unique advantages. ForLEx users should consider the CLI maturity, privacy features and ecosystem integration when choosing. rclone offers a unified way to manage multiple remotes, while dedicated CLIs often provide provider-specific features. Evaluate your storage needs, budget and scripting requirements to select the best fit.