I had meant to post this as a follow-up to my question here, but was too slow and it got closed. Basically, I'm a new migrant to Linux from Windows, and wanted to duplicate the functionality of Google's native drive-syncing app. With the help I got elsewhere on this forum (thanks Ole Frost!), I was able to get it all working well, and I'm documenting what I did here, in case it helps any equally clueless newcomers.
1. Set up the first Remote:
-
First remote was created using the “rclone config” command in a terminal window.
-
The remote was named “gdrive-[XXX]1”
-
All default options were accepted, except:
--Chose “1 Full access” for scope --(under advanced config) Chose “true” for “skip_gocs” -
An empty folder /media/[USERNAME]/Disk2/gdrive-[XXX]1 was created on a local drive.
-
All files in the target google drive directory were BACKED UP.
-
Manually ran:
rclone bisync --resync gdrive-[XXX]1:/ /media/[USERNAME]/Disk2/gdrive-[XXX]1 -
(resync runs usually took 5-10 minutes)
-
Verified everything synchronized correctly.
-
Created/tested the script rclone_batch.sh for just the one sync pair (script given below*).
-
After creating, gave user account execute privileges by running “chmod u+x rclone_batch.sh”
2. Set up additional Remotes:
-
Repeated steps above to create/test second and third remote+local pairs.
-
Note: After creating a first remote, the menu called by “rclone config” offers a new option for creation of additional remotes.
-
Added an entry in rclone_batch.sh for the additional sync pairs.
-
Tested/verified all working.
3. Set up automation:
-
Set up a cron job to run the script every 15 minutes by adding the following line to my crontab:
*/15 * * * * /home/[username]/bin/rclone_batch.sh -
Similarly set up cron job to run script at boot by adding this line:
@reboot /home/[username]/bin/rclone_batch.sh -
Added an entry to my .bash_logout script to get a final synchronization at logout:
/home/[username]/bin/rclone_batch.sh
4. Added my own Client ID and Client Secrect
-
Followed directions (at the end of the “Google drive” documentation page) to create a client_id and client_secret. (much of what I did here was unfamiliar to me)
-
Ran rclone config again, chose to edit my first (of the 3) remotes, and pasted in the id and secret at the appropriate prompts. This triggered another google login page in my browser, which came with a warning, and I had to click an "Advanced” option in order to proceed.
-
Tested/verified this setup.
-
Edited the /home/[username]/.config/rclone/rclone.conf file, copy/pasting the client_id and client_secret entries into appropriate places for the other remotes.
5. Things I chose not to do:
-
Encrypt the config file:
I decided I’m too lazy to enter my credentials every time rclone runs. I will instead learn how to maintain good security on my Linux box in general. -
Generate alerts when rclone encounters an error:
Given that rclone can be made to send messages to syslog (the –syslog and –verbose options), I will instead set up a cron job to monitor syslog and make me aware of (any) new errors during my session. -
Preclude long-running calls to rclone from colliding with one another:
I stopped pursuing this when I learned that rclone already handles this issue, as documented in the “Lock File” section of the “Bisync” documentation page.
*rclone_batch.sh:
#!/bin/bash
path1=gdrive_[XXX]1:/
path2=/mnt/Disk2/gdrive_[XXX]1/
rclone bisync --syslog --verbose $path1 $path2 &path1=gdrive_[XXX]2:/
path2=/mnt/Disk2/gdrive_[XXX]2/
rclone bisync --syslog --verbose $path1 $path2 &path1=gdrive_[XXX]3:/
path2=/mnt/Disk2/gdrive_[XXX]3/
rclone bisync --syslog --verbose $path1 $path2 &
