rclone-google-drive

Rclone Google Drive Plugin

Set up and manage Google Drive access via rclone CLI with installation, configuration verification, and guided OAuth2 authentication. Includes homebrew installation for macOS and step-by-step setup for individual accounts or service accounts.

Features

• Installation: Automatic rclone installation via Homebrew (macOS) or package managers (Linux)
• Configuration: Step-by-step OAuth2 configuration with browser-based authentication
• Verification: Setup checker to verify installation and Google Drive connectivity
• Safety Guidelines: Critical usage guidelines to prevent accidental large-scale downloads
• Multiple Operations: Download, upload, sync, search, and export Google Docs/Sheets
• Format Conversion: Export Google Docs/Sheets to PDF, CSV, DOCX, Markdown, and more
• Service Accounts: Support for automated access via service accounts
• Advanced Workflows: Complete examples for backup, sync, recovery, and automation

Use Cases

• Backup & Recovery: Backup important files to/from Google Drive with incremental updates
• File Management: Search, organize, and deduplicate files on Google Drive
• Automation: Schedule automated backups and sync operations
• Cloud Storage: Seamless command-line access to Google Drive

Installation

/plugin install rclone-google-drive@pmunin-plugins

Quick Start

The plugin includes the rclone-google-drive skill that walks you through:

1. Installing rclone - Automatic installation via Homebrew or package manager
2. Configuring OAuth2 - Browser-based authentication with your Google account
3. Verifying setup - Checking installation and Google Drive connectivity
4. Using rclone commands - Essential commands for common tasks

Skill Location: skills/rclone-google-drive/SKILL.md

Critical Usage Guidelines

⚠️ NEVER download or sync the entire Google Drive. Always specify:

❌ Unacceptable Operations

rclone copy gdrive: ~/backup              # Entire drive!
rclone sync gdrive: ~/backup              # Entire drive!
rclone ls gdrive:                         # List entire drive!

✅ Safe Operations

# Specific folder by name
rclone copy gdrive:"MyFolder" ~/backup --drive-export-formats pdf

# Entire folder by ID (restricted scope)
rclone copy gdrive: ~/backup --drive-root-folder-id="FOLDER_ID" --drive-export-formats pdf

# Specific file by name
rclone copy gdrive:"Document" ~/context/ --drive-export-formats pdf

# Specific file by ID
rclone backend copyid gdrive: FILE-ID ./ --drive-export-formats pdf

Essential Commands

Setup & Verification

# Check installation and configuration
bash skills/rclone-google-drive/scripts/check-rclone-setup.sh

# Configure Google Drive access
rclone config

# List configured remotes
rclone listremotes

Navigation (Limited Scope)

# List directories in specific folder only
rclone lsd gdrive:"MyFolder"

# Search efficiently without listing entire drive
rclone backend query gdrive: "name contains 'document'"

Downloads & Uploads

# Download specific folder
rclone copy gdrive:MyFolder /local/path

# Download specific file by name
rclone copy gdrive:"Document.pdf" ./context/

# Download specific file by ID
rclone backend copyid gdrive: FILE-ID ~/downloads/

# Upload local folder
rclone copy /local/path gdrive:backup

Format Conversion

# Export Google Docs to PDF (default)
rclone copy gdrive:"MyDocument" ~/context/ --drive-export-formats pdf

# Export Google Sheet to CSV
rclone backend copyid gdrive: SHEET-ID ~/data/ --drive-export-formats csv

# Export with multiple format options
rclone copy gdrive:"MyFolder" ~/docs/ --drive-export-formats markdown,csv,pdf

Backup & Sync

# One-way backup (keeps remote files)
rclone copy ~/Documents gdrive:Backups/Documents

# Two-way sync (use with caution!)
rclone sync ~/Documents gdrive:Documents

# Verify sync status
rclone check ~/Documents gdrive:Backup

License

MIT

References

• Rclone Official Documentation
• Google Drive API Documentation
• Skill Documentation