Connecting via Rclone¶

Rclone is an open-source command-line tool for managing files across cloud storage platforms. It supports syncing, copying, and transferring files of virtually any size.

When to use Rclone

Use Rclone for large datasets (10+ GB) or when you need scripted/automated transfers. For smaller uploads, the browser interface may be simpler.

The Command Line¶

The command line (interface) allows you to interact with a computer through text commands.

The command line has different names, depending on the software platform.

Operating system	Term
Windows	Command Prompt
Mac	Terminal
Linux	Terminal

Accessing the Command Line¶

Windows¶

Click the Start menu or press the windows key
Type cmd or Command Prompt
Click the result

Mac (macOS)¶

Press Command (⌘) + Space bar
Type Terminal
Press Enter

Linux¶

Press the windows key (Start menu)
Type Terminal
Press Enter

Obtaining a folder path¶

rclone commands such as copy & sync require you to specify a local folder path. This is the location of a folder on your machine that you wish to act on.

Drag your desired folder onto the terminal, the terminal automatically receives the path.

Choosing the Right Method¶

Method	Best for	Considerations
Copy	One-time uploads, archiving data	Files are transferred once; no ongoing sync
Sync	Keeping folders in sync	Deletes files at destination that don't exist at source
Mount	Interactive work, browsing files	Requires stable connection; slower for large operations

Copy vs Sync¶

Copy: Transfers files from source to destination. Safe for uploads - won't delete anything.
Sync: Makes destination identical to source. Use with caution - files only at destination will be deleted.

# Copy: safe, additive
rclone copy /local/data "cropxr:study_folder"

# Sync: makes destination match source (destructive)
rclone sync /local/data "cropxr:study_folder"

Sync deletes files

rclone sync will delete files at the destination that don't exist at the source. Always use --dry-run first to preview changes.

When to Mount¶

Mounting is useful when you need to:

Browse files interactively
Work with software that expects local file paths
Make small edits without downloading entire files

Mounting is not recommended for:

Large batch uploads (use copy instead)
Unreliable network connections
Long-running operations

Working with Permissions¶

Research Drive permissions affect what you can access via Rclone. See Sharing Data for details on managing permissions.

What You Can See¶

Rclone can only access folders that are:

Owned by you, or
Shared with you (appears in your root directory)

Upload Permissions¶

Before uploading, ensure you have write access to the destination folder. If you only have read access, uploads will fail. See Getting Access if you need to request permissions.

Best Practice Workflow¶

Request folder access from the folder owner or data team
Verify access by listing the folder: rclone lsd cropxr:folder_name
Upload data using copy or sync
Notify the data team if permissions need adjustment after upload

Permissions after upload

Once you upload data to a shared folder, the folder owner controls access. Coordinate with your team about who should have read/write access. See Sharing Data for sharing guidelines.

Quickstart¶

Once configured, use these commands:

# Copy files to Research Drive
rclone copy /local/path "cropxr:destination/folder"

# Mount Research Drive as a local folder
rclone mount "cropxr:folder" /mount/point --vfs-cache-mode writes

Requirements¶

Version Requirement

Rclone version 1.63.1 or newer is required for Nextcloud compatibility. Earlier versions will fail with a chunked upload error.

Downloading rclone¶

Download rclone from rclone.org/downloads

Refer to the table below to easily identify the correct download for your machine.

Your device	What to download
Windows	Intel/AMD - 64 Bit
Mac (2020 or newer, M1/M2/M3 chip)	ARM - 64 Bit
Mac (2019 or older, Intel chip)	Intel/AMD - 64 Bit
Linux	Intel/AMD - 64 Bit

Installation¶

Tip

If downloading and extracting rclone, place the extracted folder on the local drive or OneDrive. Do not place it on a university network drive e.g. //WURNET.

Windows¶

Extract the download to a folder (e.g., C:\rclone)
Open the rclone folder in File Explorer
Click the address bar at the top and type 'cmd'
Press Enter. This opens a command prompt window with the rclone folder set as the working directory
Run rclone commands from that folder.

When running commands from inside the rclone folder, you must start your command with .\rclone. The .\ tells your terminal to run the rclone program inside the folder.

Example:

.\rclone copy "C:\local\dataset" "cropxr:destination/folder"

Linux/macOS (with admin access)¶

sudo -v ; curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

This is a system-wide install of rclone, which means that rclone can be run from any location within the terminal. You can therefore run rclone commands without the "./" prefix.

Example:

rclone copy /local/dataset "cropxr:destination/folder"

Linux/macOS (without admin access)¶

Open your Files app and go to your Downloads folder.
Right-click the downloaded file and choose Extract Here.
Open the extracted folder (it will have a name like rclone-v1.xx.x-linux-amd64).
Inside this folder, you should see a file called rclone.
Right-click inside the folder and choose Open in Terminal
Make rclone executable by running:
```
chmod +x rclone
```
You can now run rclone commands from this terminal window.

When running commands from inside the rclone folder, you must start your command with ./rclone. The ./ tells the terminal to run the rclone program inside the folder.

Verify installation:

rclone --version

Configuration¶

Step 1: Generate App Password¶

Log in to Research Drive
Go to Settings (top right) > Security
Under "Devices & sessions", click Create new app password
Copy the password immediately (it is only shown once)

Step 2: Get Your WebDAV URL¶

In Research Drive, go to Files
Click Settings (bottom left corner) > WebDAV
Copy the URL (format: https://cropxr.data.surf.nl/remote.php/dav/files/your@email.com/)

Step 3: rclone configuration¶

Open the command line in the rclone folder.
Run rclone config (This starts the built-in config setup tool)
Create a new connection by typing n
Enter the name for the remote connection e.g. cropxr
Scroll through the list for your desired storage type e.g. webdav and enter its number.
Enter the connection details
URL: https://cropxr.data.surf.nl/remote.php/dav/files/your@email.com
Vendor: nextcloud or 2
User: enter your login email address
Password: enter your app password
Confirm the settings when prompted and save the configuration.
Enter No for editing advanced config
Enter Yes when asked about keeping the newly configured remote connection.

Step 4: Test Connection¶

rclone lsd cropxr:

This should list the folders in your Research Drive.

Usage¶

Copying Files¶

rclone copy /local/source "cropxr:destination/folder"

For large files, add a timeout (approximately 10 minutes per GB):

rclone copy --timeout 60m /local/source "cropxr:destination/folder"

Commands for verifying successful file transfer¶

rclone ls cropxr:destination/folder"

This command shows a list of files stored in the remote destination. You can use this to check that your files appear in the list and that the file names look correct.

rclone check "C:\path\to\your\files" cropxr:destination/folder

This command compares files between your computer and the remote destination.

The absence of errors means that everything matches. Errors indicate that files did not transfer correctly or are missing. In such a case, try repeating the copy and check commands.

Mounting as Local Drive¶

Linux/macOSWindows

rclone mount "cropxr:folder" /local/mount/point --vfs-cache-mode writes --use-cookies -v

First install WinFsp (requires admin privileges).

rclone mount "cropxr:folder" K: --vfs-cache-mode writes --use-cookies -v

Path formats

Paths can be either the full path or the shared folder name:

Full path: cropxr:cropxr (Projectfolder)/investigations/inv_folder/study_folder
Shared folder: cropxr:study_folder

Best practice

Mount a specific folder (e.g., your study folder) rather than the root. This improves performance and simplifies navigation.

Command Flags Explained¶

Flag	Purpose
`--vfs-cache-mode writes`	Caches files during upload for reliable transfers
`--use-cookies`	Maintains session with Nextcloud/WebDAV servers
`-v`	Verbose output for monitoring progress
`--timeout`	Maximum time for a single operation

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Solution
"chunked upload" error	Update rclone to version 1.63.1 or newer
Connection timeout	Add `--timeout 60m` or increase the value
Permission denied	Verify your app password and username
Mount not working (Windows)	Ensure WinFsp is installed

When reporting issues

Include the rclone command you ran, the error message, and your rclone version (rclone --version). For Research Drive platform issues, see SURF servicedesk.

External References¶

SURF Research Drive¶

Rclone¶

Rclone documentation
Rclone WebDAV - WebDAV backend configuration
Rclone copy - Copy command reference
Rclone sync - Sync command reference
Rclone mount - Mount command reference
Rclone flags - Global flags reference

Connecting via Rclone¶

The Command Line¶

Accessing the Command Line¶

Windows¶

Mac (macOS)¶

Linux¶

Obtaining a folder path¶

Choosing the Right Method¶

Copy vs Sync¶

When to Mount¶

Working with Permissions¶

What You Can See¶

Upload Permissions¶

Best Practice Workflow¶

Quickstart¶

Requirements¶

Downloading rclone¶

Installation¶

Windows¶

Linux/macOS (with admin access)¶

Linux/macOS (without admin access)¶

Configuration¶

Step 1: Generate App Password¶

Step 2: Get Your WebDAV URL¶

Step 3: rclone configuration¶

Step 4: Test Connection¶

Usage¶

Copying Files¶

Commands for verifying successful file transfer¶

Mounting as Local Drive¶

Command Flags Explained¶

Troubleshooting¶

See Also¶

External References¶

SURF Research Drive¶

Rclone¶