Cannot start web remote control on 1.70.0 as systemd service

Suspected Bug
1

What is the problem you are having with rclone?

After updating the rclone executable to 1.70.0 my systemd service that launches rclone rcd stopped serving the remote control and remote GUI.

The command still works if launched from the shell, but it does not work if it is run from a systemd service.

Run the command 'rclone version' and share the full output of the command.

rclone v1.70.0

  • os/version: ubuntu 24.04 (64 bit)
  • os/kernel: 6.8.0-60-generic (x86_64)
  • os/type: linux
  • os/arch: amd64
  • go/version: go1.24.4
  • go/linking: static
  • go/tags: none

last version that works for me is as follows:
rclone v1.69.3

  • os/version: ubuntu 24.04 (64 bit)
  • os/kernel: 6.8.0-60-generic (x86_64)
  • os/type: linux
  • os/arch: amd64
  • go/version: go1.24.3
  • go/linking: static
  • go/tags: none

Which cloud storage system are you using? (eg Google Drive)

SMB and AWS S3, but the problem is not related with cloud storage functionality.

The command you were trying to run (eg rclone copy /tmp remote:tmp)

rclone rcd --rc-addr 0.0.0.0:5572 --rc-user **** --rc-pass "*******" --config /home/*****/.config/rclone/rclone.conf --rc-enable-metrics --rc-web-gui

The rclone config contents with secrets removed.

{
    "AWS": {
        "remote": "AWSroot:********",
        "type": "alias"
    },
    "AWSroot": {
        "access_key_id": ""*****",
        "location_constraint": "EU",
        "provider": "AWS",
        "region": "eu-south-1",
        "secret_access_key": ""*****",
        "type": "s3"
    },
    "NETAPP": {
        "domain": "****",
        "hide_special_share": "false",
        "host": "172.30.0.5",
        "idle_timeout": "0s",
        "pass": "*****",
        "type": "smb",
        "user": ""*****"
    },
    "PROXY01": {
        "domain": "",
        "host": "172.30.0.31",
        "pass": "*****",
        "smb": "user=*****",
        "type": "smb",
        "user": "*****"
    },
    "PROXY02": {
        "domain": "",
        "host": "172.30.0.32",
        "pass": "*****",
        "smb": "user=*****",
        "type": "smb",
        "user": "*****"
    },
    "PROXY03": {
        "domain": "",
        "host": "172.30.0.33",
        "pass": "*****",
        "smb": "user=*****",
        "type": "smb",
        "user": "*****"
    },
    "PROXY04": {
        "domain": "",
        "host": "172.30.0.34",
        "pass": "*****",
        "smb": "user=*****",
        "type": "smb",
        "user": "*****"
    }
}

A log from the command with the -vv flag

as I said, the issue only occurs if the command is executed from a systemd service. Below is the output I get from systemctl status rclone (which is the name of the service I created)

● rclone.service - Rclone Remote Server
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/rclone.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2025-06-18 12:13:42 CEST; 4min 35s ago
   Main PID: 1964 (rclone)
      Tasks: 13 (limit: 7014)
     Memory: 14.5M (peak: 15.3M)
        CPU: 169ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/rclone.service
             └─1964 rclone rcd --rc-addr 0.0.0.0:5572 --rc-user ***** --rc-pass "*****" --config /home/*****/.config/rclone/rclone.conf --rc-enable-metrics --rc-web-gui

Jun 18 12:13:42 blindati-proxy04 systemd[1]: Started rclone.service - Rclone Remote Server.

please note that if I execute the command from the shell this is the output I get. This is also the output I was getting with version 1.69.3 from the systemd service

2025/06/18 12:39:00 DEBUG : rclone: Version "v1.70.0" starting with parameters ["rclone" "rcd" "--rc-addr" "0.0.0.0:5572" "--rc-user" "****" "--rc-pass" "****" "--config" "/home/****/.config/rclone/rclone.conf" "--rc-enable-metrics" "--rc-web-gui" "-vvv"]
2025/06/18 12:39:00 DEBUG : Current tag: v2.0.5, Release tag: v2.0.5
2025/06/18 12:39:00 NOTICE: Web GUI exists. Update skipped.
2025/06/18 12:39:00 NOTICE: Serving Web GUI
2025/06/18 12:39:00 INFO  : Using --user **** --pass XXXX as authenticated user
2025/06/18 12:39:00 NOTICE: Serving remote control on http://[::]:5572/
2025/06/18 12:39:00 DEBUG : login_token "****"
2025/06/18 12:39:00 ERROR : Failed to open Web GUI in browser: exec: "xdg-open": executable file not found in $PATH. Manually access it at: http://****:****@[::]:5572/?login_token=****

This is the systemd service I have created that is perfectly working on v1.69.3 but stops working on v1.70.0

[Unit]
Description=Rclone Remote Server
After=multi-user.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=rclone rcd \
  --rc-addr 0.0.0.0:5572 \
  --rc-user ***** \
  --rc-pass ***** \
  --config /home/*****/.config/rclone/rclone.conf \
  --rc-enable-metrics \
  --rc-web-gui \
  -vvv
User=*****

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

I tried rolling back to version 1.69.3 and the systemd service started working again.
I also tried updating again to 1.70.0 and the systemd service started presenting this behaviour again.
This behaviour is present in all four of my machines running this systemd service.

2

welcome to the forum,

maybe i missed it, but did not see the full rclone debug log?

3

Hello asdffdsa! Thanks for the reply.
the only log message I get when executing the rclone command in the systemd service is

Jun 18 12:13:42 blindati-proxy04 systemd[1]: Started rclone.service - Rclone Remote Server.

notice that the systemd service is already configured with the -vvv flag to make the output as verbose as possible.
In version 1.69.3 and earlier, the output was

Jun 18 12:08:23 blindati-proxy01 systemd[1]: Started rclone.service - Rclone Remote Server.
Jun 18 12:08:24 blindati-proxy01 rclone[1282]: NOTICE: Web GUI exists. Update skipped.
Jun 18 12:08:24 blindati-proxy01 rclone[1282]: NOTICE: Serving Web GUI
Jun 18 12:08:24 blindati-proxy01 rclone[1282]: NOTICE: Serving remote control on http://[::]:5572/
Jun 18 12:08:24 blindati-proxy01 rclone[1282]: ERROR : Failed to open Web GUI in browser: exec: "xdg-open": executable file not found in $PATH. Manually access it at: http://*****:*****@[::]:5572/?login_token=*****

I hope to have made it clear enough that the issue presents itself only when the rclone command is executed through a systemd service, it works if I run the command from the shell.
Also please excuse me for any bad wording but English is not my main language :slight_smile:

4

try to fix that.

did you try that or what?

keep in mind that the web gui is experimental, has not been updated in many years and has bugs not getting fixed.

5 
executable file not found in $PATH

this error is actually OK. It says that because it is a Ubuntu Server OS, and I access it via SSH as it doesn't have a Desktop environment. This error says it does not have a Web Browser installed to open the web UI, but as I said it's fine.
Also, this error was present before the issue began to occur with version 1.70.0

Manually access it at: http://:@[::]:5572/?login_token=*****
did you try that or what?

Yes I did. In fact, I use rclone on these machines exclusively by using the rcd remote commands via http. I get no response from the rclone http server, it seems like the http server does not start at all.
If I execute the same rclone rcd command from the shell, the http server is instantiated and responds as it should.

I know the web GUI is experimental, but I don't use it at all. I run a rclone rcd command and use rclone remotely from another system, by using the http remote interface with rclone rc.

To explain the situation more clearly:

  • There are 4 machines with rclone installed, they run a systemd service at startup (all details about the systemd service in original post). Basically these machines run rclone rcd and nothing else
  • There is 1 machine with rclone installed, that commands the other rclone instances by using rclone rc. This machine uses rclone only to use the rc command to command the other rclone instances, remotely
6

then, why did you add --rc-web-gui ?

7

you know what... you're right.
the --rc-web-gui flag had no purpose in my case, and removing it also fixed the issue.
that's strange still, because the command -as it was- worked fine until v1.70.0
but anyway, I don't need the web GUI, so I'm fine with that.

Thanks a lot!

8

I'm not sure why it did work and now it doesn't from 1.69 to 1.70 - the library in use didn't seem to have changed. Will keep an eye on it!

9

so far, not able to reproduce?

[Unit]
Description=Rclone Remote Server
After=multi-user.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=rclone rcd \
  --rc-addr=0.0.0.0:5572 \
  --rc-user=user \
  --rc-pass=pass \
  --rc-enable-metrics \
  --rc-web-gui \
  --log-level=DEBUG --log-file=/home/user01/rclone/logs/rclone.log
User=user01

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

systemctl status rclone.service
● rclone.service - Rclone Remote Server
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/rclone.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2025-06-18 11:15:41 EDT; 21s ago
   Main PID: 1040423 (rclone)
      Tasks: 9 (limit: 4524)
     Memory: 14.6M
        CPU: 253ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/rclone.service
             └─1040423 rclone rcd --rc-addr=0.0.0.0:5572 --rc-user=user --rc-pass=pass --rc-enable-metrics --rc-web-gui --log-level=DEBUG --log-file=/home/>
Jun 18 11:15:41 hetz05 systemd[1]: Started Rclone Remote Server.

2025/06/18 11:15:41 DEBUG : rclone: Version "v1.70.0" starting with parameters ["rclone" "rcd" "--rc-addr=0.0.0.0:5572" "--rc-user=user" "--rc-pass=pass" ">2025/06/18 11:15:41 DEBUG : Current tag: v2.0.5, Release tag: v2.0.5
2025/06/18 11:15:41 NOTICE: Web GUI exists. Update skipped.
2025/06/18 11:15:41 NOTICE: Serving Web GUI
2025/06/18 11:15:41 INFO  : Using --user user --pass XXXX as authenticated user
2025/06/18 11:15:41 NOTICE: Serving remote control on http://[::]:5572/
2025/06/18 11:15:41 DEBUG : login_token "dXNlcjpwYXNz"

rclone rc rc/noop param1=one param2=two -vv --user=user --pass=pass
2025/06/18 11:19:31 DEBUG : rclone: Version "v1.70.0" starting with parameters ["rclone" "rc" "rc/noop" "param1=one" "param2=two" "-vv" "--user=user" "--pass=pass"]
{
        "param1": "one",
        "param2": "two"
}
10

the systemd service you created works as is on my machines too, but if you remove the --log-level and --log-file parameters it stops working again.
Can you replicate this behaviour?

12

I had the exact same issue after updating to 1.70.0. Removing -v and adding a --log-systemd flag to the rclone command fixes my issue (without using the --log-level and --log-file flags).

13

This topic was automatically closed 3 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.

14

This is fixed in v1.70.2 I think