Best cloud storage services with CLI for GParted Live: (Comparison)

Introduction

GParted Live is a specialized, minimal Debian-based distribution designed for partitioning tasks. Although its primary purpose is disk management, you may sometimes need to access or back up data directly to cloud storage without rebooting into a full desktop environment. A command-line interface (CLI)–only setup means you need tools that are:

• Lightweight and portable
• Available as static binaries or easy to install via a small package
• Secure and reliable
• Compatible with common cloud services

This article reviews the top cloud-storage providers offering CLI or easy rclone integration on GParted Live, compares their features, helps you choose the right one, and walks you through installation and common issues.

Top Recommended Cloud Storage Providers

• pCloud (https://www.pcloud.com)
• MEGA (https://mega.nz)
• Proton Drive (https://proton.me/drive)
• filen (https://filen.io)
• Tresorit (https://tresorit.com)
• Icedrive (https://icedrive.net)
• Dropbox (https://dropbox.com)
• Google Drive (https://drive.google.com)

Feature Comparison

Service	Official CLI	rclone Support	End-to-End Encryption	Free Tier	Link
pCloud	No (community pcloudcc)	Yes	Client-side (optional Crypto)	10 GB	pcloud.com
MEGA	Yes (MEGAcmd)	Yes	Built-in	20 GB	mega.nz
Proton Drive	No	Yes (beta)	Built-in	1 GB	proton.me/drive
filen	No	Yes	Built-in	10 GB	filen.io
Tresorit	No	Via WebDAV	Built-in	3 GB	tresorit.com
Icedrive	No	Yes	Client-side	10 GB	icedrive.net
Dropbox	No	Yes	No	2 GB	dropbox.com
Google Drive	No	Yes	No	15 GB	drive.google.com

Which One to Choose?

• pCloud is great if you want a large free tier and optional client-side encryption via Crypto.
• MEGA offers the highest free quota and an official CLI, but it can be bandwidth-limited.
• Proton Drive prioritizes privacy and security, suitable for small transfers and highly confidential data.
• filen and Icedrive provide modern UIs and decent free tiers both are well supported by rclone.
• Tresorit is enterprise-grade with mandatory end-to-end encryption, but setup is slightly more involved via WebDAV.
• Dropbox and Google Drive are universal and well tested by rclone, but encryption is not built in at the client side.

Prerequisite: Install rclone on GParted Live

Most cloud services integrate seamlessly via rclone. To get rclone:

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

Or download a static binary:

wget https://downloads.rclone.org/v1.61.1/rclone-v1.61.1-linux-amd64.zip
unzip rclone-v1.61.1-linux-amd64.zip
cp rclone-v1.61.1-linux-amd64/rclone /usr/local/bin/

Service-Specific CLI Setup and Usage

pCloud

Use rclone to configure:

rclone config create pcloud pcloud user YOUR_EMAIL pass YOUR_PASSWORD

Mount or sync:

rclone mount pcloud: /mnt/pcloud --vfs-cache-mode writes
# or
rclone sync /path/to/local pcloud:backup

Typical issues:

• “vfs cache” errors: mount with --vfs-cache-mode full
• Two-factor auth: generate an app password in pCloud web settings.

MEGA

Install MEGAcmd (static AppImage):

wget https://megatools.megous.com/builds/MEGAcmd-64bit.AppImage
chmod  x MEGAcmd-64bit.AppImage
./MEGAcmd-64bit.AppImage --help

Login and mount:

./MEGAcmd-64bit.AppImage login your@email.com YOUR_PASSWORD
./MEGAcmd-64bit.AppImage mount /mnt/mega

Or via rclone:

rclone config create mega mega user YOUR_EMAIL pass YOUR_PASSWORD

Common problems:

• “quota exceeded”: free tier limits reset after some inactivity
• Performance dips: add -vv to monitor transfers

Proton Drive

Proton Drive support in rclone is in beta. Configure with a token:

rclone config create protondrive protondrive
# Follow the interactive prompts to obtain OAuth2 token

Mount or sync:

rclone mount protondrive: /mnt/proton --vfs-cache-mode writes

Watch for:

• Token expiration: re-run rclone config reconnect
• Slow uploads due to encryption

filen

Configure filen via rclone:

rclone config create filen filen user YOUR_EMAIL pass YOUR_PASSWORD

Usage:

rclone ls filen:
rclone copy /path/to/img filen:backups

Notes:

• filen may block large concurrent uploads—use --transfers 1

Tresorit (WebDAV)

Tresorit does not offer a native CLI. Use WebDAV in rclone:

rclone config create tresorit webdav 
  url https://trescend.tresorit.com 
  vendor other user YOUR_EMAIL pass YOUR_APP_PASSWORD

Mount:

rclone mount tresorit: /mnt/tresorit

Common hurdles:

• Generate an app password in Tresorit settings
• WebDAV timeouts—add --timeout 1m

Icedrive

Icedrive CLI isn’t official, so use rclone:

rclone config create icedrive icedrive
# Follow prompts for OAuth

Mount or sync:

rclone mount icedrive: /mnt/icedrive

Tips:

• Enable --fast-list for large folder trees

Dropbox

Configure:

rclone config create dropbox dropbox

Mount or copy:

rclone mount dropbox: /mnt/dropbox

Issues:

• Bandwidth throttling—use smaller chunks: --chunk-size 16M

Google Drive

Configure:

rclone config create gdrive drive

Mount or sync:

rclone mount gdrive: /mnt/gdrive --vfs-cache-mode full

Watch out for:

• API quota limits—enable your own Google Cloud project

Conclusion Recommendations

If you need a full-featured, official CLI on a minimal system, MEGA stands out. For the broadest choice of providers, unified by one tool, use rclone. Prioritize pCloud or Icedrive for large free storage and optional client-side encryption. Choose Proton Drive or Tresorit for maximum privacy. Finally, remember that GParted Live may require mounting a persistent medium (USB) to store tokens or configs in /etc/rclone or ~/.config/rclone so you can reconnect after reboots.