# rclone google drive

Related: [[homelab]]

## Current setup

This machine (`lifebalance`) is configured to access Google Drive through `rclone`.

* Remote name: `gdrive`
* Config file: `~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf`
* Mount point: `~/gdrive`
* Auth flow used: local browser OAuth on the machine during `rclone config create`

## Installation

Installed from Debian packages:

```bash
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y rclone
```

## Remote configuration

The Google Drive remote was created with full-drive scope and verified successfully.

Useful commands:

```bash
rclone listremotes
rclone lsd gdrive:
rclone ls gdrive:docs
```

## Persistent mount

The Drive mount is managed by a user systemd service.

* Service file: `~/.config/systemd/user/rclone-gdrive.service`
* Mount command:

```bash
/usr/bin/rclone mount gdrive: /home/ben/gdrive --config=/home/ben/.config/rclone/rclone.conf --vfs-cache-mode=writes
```

Service contents:

```ini
[Unit]
Description=Rclone mount for Google Drive
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone mount gdrive: /home/ben/gdrive --config=/home/ben/.config/rclone/rclone.conf --vfs-cache-mode=writes
ExecStop=/usr/bin/fusermount3 -uz /home/ben/gdrive
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
```

## Service management

```bash
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now rclone-gdrive.service
systemctl --user status rclone-gdrive.service
systemctl --user restart rclone-gdrive.service
systemctl --user stop rclone-gdrive.service
systemctl --user start rclone-gdrive.service
```

Note: this mount starts automatically when the user session starts. If it should start before login after reboot, enable lingering for the user.

## Verification

These checks succeeded:

```bash
mountpoint ~/gdrive
ls ~/gdrive
```

## Troubleshooting

If the mount stops working:

```bash
systemctl --user status rclone-gdrive.service
journalctl --user -u rclone-gdrive.service -n 100 --no-pager
fusermount3 -uz ~/gdrive
systemctl --user restart rclone-gdrive.service
```