How to use rclone to create Google Drive based drive on your computer.
Setting up Rclone with Google Drive involves configuring Rclone to access your Google Drive account and then optionally mounting it as a local drive.
1. Install Rclone:
- Download the appropriate Rclone executable for your operating system from the official Rclone website.
- Extract the downloaded archive and place the rclone executable in a directory included in your system’s PATH, or a location you can easily access.
2. Configure Rclone with Google Drive:
- Open your terminal or command prompt.
- Execute the command: rclone config
- Follow the prompts:
- Type n for “New remote”.
- Provide a name for your remote (e.g., gdrive).
- Select drive from the list of storage providers (the number may vary). [1]
- Accept the default options for Client ID and Client Secret by pressing Enter.
- Choose the desired scope for Rclone’s access (e.g., 1 for full access).
- Press Enter for the root folder ID and service account credentials.
- Press Enter to skip advanced config.
- When prompted for “Use auto config”, type n and press Enter.
- A link will be provided in the terminal; copy and paste this link into your web browser.
- Log in to your Google account and grant Rclone access. You will receive a success message in your browser.
- Return to the terminal and confirm the setup by typing y and pressing Enter.
- Type q to quit the configuration wizard.
3. (Optional) Mount Google Drive:
- To mount your Google Drive as a local drive (e.g., Z: on Windows or a specific directory on Linux):
- Windows: rclone mount gdrive: Z: –vfs-cache-mode full (replace gdrive with your remote name and Z: with your desired drive letter).
- Linux: rclone mount gdrive: /mnt/gdrive –vfs-cache-mode full (replace gdrive with your remote name and /mnt/gdrive with your desired mount point).
- For persistent mounts on Linux, consider using systemd services or fstab entries.
Note: Using your own Google Drive API Client ID is recommended for better performance and reliability, especially for heavy usage. Refer to the Rclone documentation for instructions on creating one.
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