How to auto-mount rclone on boot with systemd on Fedora
- Enable user_allow_other in FUSE (without it, it will not work)
The --allow-other flag (which lets other users access the mount) requires explicit permission in /etc/fuse.conf. sed command:
bashsudo sed -i 's/# user_allow_other/user_allow_other/' /etc/fuse.conf
Verify:
bashgrep user_allow_other /etc/fuse.conf
should output: user_allow_other
- Create the log file directory
The service runs as your user, so it can't write to /var/log/. Use a user-owned directory instead:
bashmkdir -p ~/.local/log - Create the systemd service file
bashsudo nano /etc/systemd/system/rclone-gdrive.service
Paste the following, adjusting the remote name and paths to match yours:
ini[Unit]
Description=rclone Google Drive
AssertPathIsDirectory=/home/YOUR_USER/google_drive
After=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=notify
User=YOUR_USER
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone mount
--config=/home/YOUR_USER/.config/rclone/rclone.conf
--vfs-cache-mode full
--vfs-cache-max-age 4h
--vfs-fast-fingerprint
--vfs-refresh
--allow-other
--log-file=/home/YOUR_USER/.local/log/rclone_gdrive.log
--log-level INFO
"YourRemote:" /home/YOUR_USER/google_drive
ExecStop=/bin/fusermount3 -u /home/YOUR_USER/google_drive
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
Key notes vs. other guides you may find:
Type=notify instead of Type=simple — rclone supports sd_notify, so systemd will know when the mount is actually ready (I saw another guide recommending simple)
fusermount3 instead of fusermount — Fedora uses FUSE3
Log file under ~/.local/log/ instead of /var/log/ — the service runs as a regular user and has no write access to /var/log/
- Enable and start the service
bashsudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now rclone-gdrive.service - Verify
bashsystemctl status rclone-gdrive.service
You should see Active: active (running).
If the service fails, check the log file directly rather than relying solely on journalctl:
bashcat ~/.local/log/rclone_gdrive.log
(It is more detailed this way)