Best cloud storage services with CLI for Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System): (Guide)

Best Cloud Storage with CLI for Tails

Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System) is designed for privacy-focused, ephemeral sessions. When working with cloud storage on Tails, a command-line interface (CLI) is often the only practical way to connect without a GUI or persistent packages. Below is a deep dive into the top CLI-friendly cloud providers—covering installation, usage, comparison and troubleshooting.

Top Recommendations for Tails

• pCloud (pcloudcc)
• MEGA (MEGAcmd)
• Proton Drive via rclone
• Filen (filen-cli)
• Tresorit (tresorit-cli)
• IceDrive (icedrive-cli)
• Nextcloud (WebDAV via davfs2)

Comparison Table

Which One to Choose?

• If you need strong zero-knowledge encryption with a friendly CLI: MEGA or IceDrive.
• When free space matters and you prefer a native binary: pCloud (10 GB free).
• For maximum privacy and Proton ecosystem: Proton Drive via rclone.
• Enterprise-grade sync with end-to-end encryption: Tresorit.
• Self-hosting or private instance: Nextcloud over WebDAV.
• Emerging Europe-based zero-knowledge: Filen.

How to Use Each with CLI

1. pCloud (pcloudcc)

Download the static client, then mount and sync.

cd /tmp
wget https://download.pcloud.com/pcloudcc_2.0.4_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
tar zxvf pcloudcc_2.0.4_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
cd pcloudcc
./pcloudcc --user you@example.com --password YourPassword --mountpoint ~/pcloud
# Now your cloud files live under ~/pcloud

2. MEGA (MEGAcmd)

Install megacmd, then login and mount.

# On a Debian-based Tails with persistent apt:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install megacmd
# Login
mega-login you@example.com YourPassword
# Mount (requires FUSE)
mega-fs ~/mega
# Or use:
mega-sync /mega ~/mega

3. Proton Drive via rclone

Use the official rclone binary to configure Proton Drive.

# Download rclone
curl -O https://downloads.rclone.org/v1.60.0/rclone-v1.60.0-linux-amd64.zip
unzip rclone-v1.60.0-linux-amd64.zip
sudo cp rclone-v1.60.0-linux-amd64/rclone /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/rclone

# Configure Proton Drive
rclone config
#   -> New remote
#   -> Name: proton
#   -> Storage: protondrive
#   -> Enter Proton credentials as prompted

# Mount
rclone mount proton: ~/protondrive --vfs-cache-mode writes

4. Filen (filen-cli)

Install via npm (Node.js required) and mount.

# Ensure Node.js is installed in Tails (via persistent packages)
sudo apt update  sudo apt install nodejs npm
npm install -g filen-cli

# Login
filen login you@example.com

# Mount (FUSE)
filen mount / ~/filen

5. Tresorit (tresorit-cli)

Use the official CLI to authenticate and sync.

# Install via npm
npm install -g tresorit-cli

# Authenticate
tresorit auth --email you@example.com

# List Tresors
tresorit ls

# Sync a Tresor
tresorit sync my-tresor ~/tresorit-mine

6. IceDrive (icedrive-cli)

Grab the static binary from GitHub releases and run.

# Download latest
wget https://github.com/Icedrive/icedrivecli/releases/latest/download/icedrive-linux
chmod  x icedrive-linux

# Login
./icedrive-linux login you@example.com

# Mount root to a folder
./icedrive-linux mount / ~/icedrive

7. Nextcloud WebDAV (davfs2)

Mount any Nextcloud (or ownCloud) instance over WebDAV.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install davfs2

mkdir ~/nextcloud
echo https://cloud.example.com/remote.php/webdav/ /home/amnesia/nextcloud davfs noauto,user 0 0  sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

# Mount when needed
mount ~/nextcloud

Typical Problems Troubleshooting

• FUSE errors: Ensure fuse and fuse3 modules are loaded. On Tails, you may need to enable persistence for additional packages.
• Authentication failures: Check two-factor prompts or app-specific passwords.
• Mountpoint busy: Unmount stale sessions with fusermount -u or umount.
• Ephemeral installs: Tails resets on reboot. Use the Persistent Storage feature or copy binaries to a USB drive.
• Slow uploads/downloads: Enable caching flags (e.g., --vfs-cache-mode writes in rclone) and choose nearby server regions.

By selecting the right CLI tool and configuring persistence cautiously, you can comfortably integrate robust, encrypted cloud storage into your Tails workflow—staying both anonymous and organized.