CLI

CLI Reference

Cloud Drive Sync includes a full command-line interface for managing the daemon, accounts, sync pairs, and conflicts without the desktop UI. All management commands communicate with the running daemon over a Unix socket.

Quick Reference

cloud-drive-sync [OPTIONS] COMMAND

Daemon:
  start [--foreground] [--demo]    Start the sync daemon
  stop                             Stop the running daemon
  status                           Check if daemon is running
  auth                             Run OAuth2 flow (legacy, for Google Drive)

Accounts:
  account add [--provider P]       Add a new cloud account
  account remove <email>           Remove an account
  account list                     List all accounts

Sync Pairs:
  pair add --local PATH --remote ID [--account EMAIL] [--provider P]
  pair remove <pair_id>            Remove a sync pair
  pair list                        List all sync pairs

Sync Control:
  sync [pair_id]                   Trigger an immediate sync
  pause [pair_id]                  Pause syncing
  resume [pair_id]                 Resume syncing

Monitoring:
  activity [--limit N]             Show recent sync activity
  conflicts                        Show unresolved conflicts
  resolve <conflict_id> <resolution>   Resolve a conflict

Global Options

These options apply to all commands:

--config PATH       Path to config.toml (default: ~/.config/cloud-drive-sync/config.toml)
--log-level LEVEL   Set log level: debug, info, warning, error
--help              Show help for any command

Daemon Management

`start`

Start the sync daemon. Must be running before any other management command can work.

# Start as background daemon
cloud-drive-sync start

# Start in foreground (logs to stdout, Ctrl+C to stop)
cloud-drive-sync start --foreground

# Start in demo mode (no real cloud account needed)
cloud-drive-sync start --demo

# Inspect and resolve deletions the fail-safe blocked
cloud-drive-sync deletions list
cloud-drive-sync deletions approve 0
cloud-drive-sync deletions reject 0

# Generate a token, then require it on the API and web UI
cloud-drive-sync gen-token
cloud-drive-sync start --foreground --http-port 8080 --http-token "$TOKEN"

# Stop ALL activity immediately, cancelling transfers in progress
cloud-drive-sync stop-activity
cloud-drive-sync stop-activity --account you@example.com
cloud-drive-sync resume-activity

# Start with HTTP REST API and web UI
cloud-drive-sync start --foreground --http-port 8080

# Also expose the MCP server so an AI assistant can inspect sync (read-only)
cloud-drive-sync start --foreground --http-port 8080 --mcp-port 8081

# Start with debug logging
cloud-drive-sync --log-level debug start --foreground

Flag	Description
`--http-host ADDR`	Address the HTTP server binds to. Default `0.0.0.0`; use `127.0.0.1` to restrict to this machine. Env: `CDS_HTTP_HOST`.
`--http-token TOKEN`	Require this token on `/api/*` and the web UI. Overrides `[http] token` in the config. A new install generates one automatically; an existing install without one is unauthenticated. Env: `CDS_HTTP_TOKEN`.
`--mcp-token TOKEN`	Require this bearer token on the MCP endpoint. Env: `CDS_MCP_TOKEN`.
`--http-port PORT`	Enable HTTP REST API and web UI on the given port. Default 0 (disabled). Docker containers default to port 8080.
`--mcp-port PORT`	Enable the MCP server for AI assistants. Default 0 (disabled), containers included. Env: `CDS_MCP_PORT`.
`--mcp-host ADDR`	Address the MCP server binds to. Default `0.0.0.0`; use `127.0.0.1` to restrict to this machine. Env: `CDS_MCP_HOST`.
`--mcp-allow-writes`	Also expose MCP tools that change state. Read-only without it. Env: `CDS_MCP_ALLOW_WRITES`.
`--mcp-allowed-host HOST`	`Host` header the MCP server accepts, e.g. `nas.local:`. Repeatable, defaults to localhost only, `` accepts any. Env: `CDS_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS`.

The daemon creates a PID file at $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/cloud-drive-sync/cloud-drive-sync.pid and listens on a Unix socket at $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/cloud-drive-sync/cloud-drive-sync.sock — typically /run/user/<uid>/cloud-drive-sync/.

`stop`

Send a graceful shutdown signal (SIGTERM) to the running daemon.

cloud-drive-sync stop

`status`

Check whether the daemon is running.

cloud-drive-sync status
# Output: "Daemon is running (PID 12345)" or "Daemon is not running."

`auth`

Run the Google Drive OAuth2 authorization flow directly (legacy command). For multi-provider setups, use account add instead.

cloud-drive-sync auth

Account Management

All account commands require the daemon to be running.

`account add`

Add a new cloud storage account. Opens a browser for OAuth authorization (or prompts for credentials for Nextcloud).

# Add a Google Drive account (default)
cloud-drive-sync account add

# Add a Dropbox account
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider dropbox

# Add a OneDrive account
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider onedrive

# Add a Nextcloud account
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider nextcloud

# Add a Box account
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider box

# Use console-based auth (no browser, for headless servers)
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider gdrive --headless

Options:

Option	Default	Description
`--provider`	`gdrive`	Cloud provider: `gdrive`, `dropbox`, `onedrive`, `nextcloud`, `box`
`--headless`	off	Use console-based auth flow (paste URL instead of opening browser). Required for Docker and SSH sessions.

What happens:

For OAuth providers (Google, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box): opens your browser for sign-in
For Nextcloud: prompts for server URL, username, and app password
Credentials are encrypted at rest and stored per-account, readable only by your user (0600). A file written by an older version is upgraded to encrypted storage the first time it is read
The account appears in account list and can be assigned to sync pairs

Docker usage: When running in a container, use docker exec with --headless:

docker exec -it cloud-drive-sync \
  python -m cloud_drive_sync account add --provider gdrive --headless

`account remove`

Remove an account and delete its stored credentials.

cloud-drive-sync account remove user@gmail.com

Any sync pairs still referencing this account lose their account binding and stop syncing until reassigned. The pair itself is kept — its local path, sync mode, ignore patterns and rules survive, so you can point it at another account.

If the same address is registered with more than one provider, say which one:

cloud-drive-sync account remove user@gmail.com --provider dropbox

Without --provider an ambiguous address is refused, and the error lists the candidates. Only the named provider's account and credentials are removed; the others are untouched.

`account list`

List all configured accounts with their provider and connection status.

cloud-drive-sync account list

Example output:

  ● user@gmail.com [gdrive] (connected)
  ● user@dropbox.com [dropbox] (connected)
  ○ user@nextcloud.example.com [nextcloud] (disconnected)

Legend: ● = connected, ○ = disconnected

Sync Pair Management

Sync pairs map a local folder to a remote folder on a specific cloud account.

`pair add`

Create a new sync pair.

# Basic: sync ~/Documents to Google Drive root
cloud-drive-sync pair add --local ~/Documents --remote root

# Sync to a specific Google Drive folder (use folder ID from URL)
cloud-drive-sync pair add --local ~/Work --remote 1A2B3C4D5E6F

# Bind to a specific account
cloud-drive-sync pair add --local ~/Photos --remote root --account user@gmail.com

# Sync to Dropbox (path-based remote)
cloud-drive-sync pair add --local ~/Shared --remote /Team --account user@dropbox.com --provider dropbox

# Sync to Nextcloud
cloud-drive-sync pair add --local ~/Projects --remote /dev --account user@nextcloud.example.com --provider nextcloud

Options:

Option	Required	Description
`--local`	Yes	Absolute path to local folder
`--remote`	Yes	Remote folder ID or path (use `root` or `/` for the root)
`--account`	No	Account email to bind this pair to
`--provider`	No	Provider name (inferred from account if omitted)

Remote folder ID formats by provider:

Provider	Format	Example
Google Drive	Folder ID from URL, or `root`	`1A2B3C4D5E6F`, `root`
Dropbox	Path starting with `/`, or empty for root	`/Documents`, `""`
OneDrive	Item ID, or `root`	`root`
Nextcloud	WebDAV path	`/`, `/Documents`
Box	Numeric folder ID, or `0` for root	`0`, `123456789`

`pair remove`

Remove a sync pair by its ID (shown in pair list).

cloud-drive-sync pair remove 0

`pair list`

List all configured sync pairs.

cloud-drive-sync pair list

Example output:

  [0] /home/user/Documents <-> My Drive (two_way) [gdrive]
  [1] /home/user/Photos <-> /Photos (upload_only) [dropbox]
  [2] /home/user/Projects <-> /dev (two_way) [nextcloud]

Sync Control

`sync`

Trigger an immediate full sync. Without arguments, syncs all pairs. Pass a pair ID to sync a specific pair.

# Sync all pairs
cloud-drive-sync sync

# Sync only pair_0
cloud-drive-sync sync pair_0

`pause`

Pause syncing. The daemon stays running but stops processing changes.

# Pause all pairs
cloud-drive-sync pause

# Pause a specific pair
cloud-drive-sync pause pair_0

`resume`

Resume syncing after a pause.

# Resume all pairs
cloud-drive-sync resume

# Resume a specific pair
cloud-drive-sync resume pair_0

Monitoring

`activity`

Show recent sync activity (uploads, downloads, errors, etc.).

# Show last 20 entries (default)
cloud-drive-sync activity

# Show last 50 entries
cloud-drive-sync activity --limit 50

Example output:

  ✓ 2026-03-21 14:32:00  File uploaded: 1.2 KB at 45.3 KB/s  notes.md
  ✓ 2026-03-21 14:31:45  File downloaded: 3.4 MB at 2.1 MB/s  budget.xlsx
  ✗ 2026-03-21 14:30:12  Sync error: Rate limit exceeded
  · 2026-03-21 14:28:00  Sync complete: 3 uploaded, 1 downloaded

Legend: ✓ = success, ✗ = error, · = info

`conflicts`

List all unresolved file conflicts.

cloud-drive-sync conflicts

Example output:

  [1] report.docx (detected 2026-03-21T14:28:00)
  [3] presentation.pptx (detected 2026-03-21T12:15:00)

`resolve`

Resolve a conflict by its ID.

# Keep the local version
cloud-drive-sync resolve 1 keep_local

# Keep the remote version
cloud-drive-sync resolve 1 keep_remote

# Keep both (remote file is renamed with a conflict suffix)
cloud-drive-sync resolve 1 keep_both

Resolution strategies:

Strategy	What happens
`keep_local`	Overwrite the remote file with the local version
`keep_remote`	Overwrite the local file with the remote version
`keep_both`	Keep both; the remote copy is renamed (e.g. `file (conflict).txt`)

Cross-Cloud Sync via CLI

You can use the CLI to set up cross-cloud sync between two providers. The pattern is: one pair downloads from provider A, another uploads to provider B, both pointing to the same local directory.

Example: Google Drive to Dropbox

# 1. Add both accounts
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider gdrive
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider dropbox

# 2. Create the bridge directory
mkdir -p ~/cloud-bridge

# 3. Add download-only pair from Google Drive
cloud-drive-sync pair add \
  --local ~/cloud-bridge \
  --remote root \
  --account user@gmail.com \
  --provider gdrive

# 4. Add upload-only pair to Dropbox
cloud-drive-sync pair add \
  --local ~/cloud-bridge \
  --remote /backup \
  --account user@dropbox.com \
  --provider dropbox

# 5. Set sync modes (edit config.toml or use the UI)
# pair_0: sync_mode = "download_only"
# pair_1: sync_mode = "upload_only"

# 6. Trigger sync
cloud-drive-sync sync

Example: Nextcloud to Box

cloud-drive-sync account add --provider nextcloud
cloud-drive-sync account add --provider box

mkdir -p ~/nc-to-box

cloud-drive-sync pair add \
  --local ~/nc-to-box \
  --remote /shared \
  --account user@nextcloud.example.com \
  --provider nextcloud

cloud-drive-sync pair add \
  --local ~/nc-to-box \
  --remote 0 \
  --account user@box.com \
  --provider box

Systemd Integration

For always-on syncing, run the daemon as a systemd user service:

# Install the service file
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp installer/cloud-drive-sync-daemon.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
systemctl --user daemon-reload

# Enable and start
systemctl --user enable --now cloud-drive-sync-daemon

# Check logs
journalctl --user -u cloud-drive-sync-daemon -f

# Restart after config changes
systemctl --user restart cloud-drive-sync-daemon

# Disable
systemctl --user disable --now cloud-drive-sync-daemon

The CLI commands (account, pair, sync, etc.) work while the systemd service is running since they communicate over the Unix socket.

Troubleshooting

"Daemon socket not found"

The daemon isn't running. Start it first:

cloud-drive-sync start
# or
systemctl --user start cloud-drive-sync-daemon

"Not authenticated"

No accounts are configured. Add one:

cloud-drive-sync account add --provider gdrive

"Connection refused"

The socket file may be stale. Stop and restart:

cloud-drive-sync stop
cloud-drive-sync start --foreground  # check for errors

Debug logging

Run with verbose output to diagnose issues:

cloud-drive-sync --log-level debug start --foreground

Or check the systemd journal:

journalctl --user -u cloud-drive-sync-daemon --since "5 min ago"

Cloud Drive Sync | Report an Issue | Releases

Cloud Drive Sync

Home

Getting Started

Reference

Project

CLI

CLI Reference

Quick Reference

Global Options

Daemon Management

start

stop

status

auth

Account Management

account add

account remove

account list

Sync Pair Management

pair add

pair remove

pair list

Sync Control

sync

pause

resume

Monitoring

activity

conflicts

resolve

Cross-Cloud Sync via CLI

Example: Google Drive to Dropbox

Example: Nextcloud to Box

Systemd Integration

Troubleshooting

"Daemon socket not found"

"Not authenticated"

"Connection refused"

Debug logging

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Clone this wiki locally

`start`

`stop`

`status`

`auth`

`account add`

`account remove`

`account list`

`pair add`

`pair remove`

`pair list`

`sync`

`pause`

`resume`

`activity`

`conflicts`

`resolve`