Cloud storage archive — auto-sync to OneDrive/Google Drive via rclone

[mphacker]

Cloud storage archive — auto-sync videos to OneDrive/Google Drive

Feature Request

Allow users to automatically archive dashcam footage to cloud storage providers for long-term preservation and off-device access.

Proposed Architecture

Approach: rclone-based sync
rclone is a mature, battle-tested tool that supports 40+ cloud providers including OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, S3, and more. It runs on ARM (Pi Zero 2 W compatible) and handles auth, chunked uploads, and resume.

Implementation Plan:

1. Config in config.yaml:

cloud_archive:
  enabled: false
  provider: onedrive          # onedrive, gdrive, dropbox, s3, etc.
  remote_path: TeslaUSB/Clips # Path on cloud storage
  sync_on_wifi: true          # Only sync when connected to home WiFi
  sync_folders:               # Which TeslaCam folders to sync
    - SavedClips
    - SentryClips
    - RecentClips
  max_upload_mbps: 5          # Bandwidth limit (Pi has limited upload)
  keep_local_after_upload: true

2. Setup flow:

   • Install rclone via setup_usb.sh (apt install rclone or ARM binary)
   • Web UI settings page: "Cloud Archive" section with provider selector
   • OAuth flow: rclone generates an auth URL, user visits it on phone/computer, pastes token back
   • Test connection button

3. Sync triggers:

   • On mode switch to Edit: Sync new clips while drive is mounted RW
   • Scheduled: Timer-based (e.g., every 6 hours if on WiFi)
   • Manual: "Sync Now" button in UI
   • On event detection: Auto-sync clips with detected events (hard brake, sentry)

4. Sync logic:

   • Track synced files in a local SQLite table (avoid re-uploading)
   • Upload newest files first (most likely to be wanted)
   • Skip files currently being written by Tesla
   • Resume interrupted uploads
   • Bandwidth throttle to avoid saturating home WiFi

5. UI in Settings:

   • Cloud provider selector + auth status
   • Last sync time + files synced count
   • Manual "Sync Now" button
   • Sync log/history
   • Storage usage on cloud

Considerations

• Pi Zero 2 W constraints: 512MB RAM, limited upload bandwidth. Must throttle and process one file at a time.
• WiFi dependency: Can only sync when connected to home WiFi (not Tesla's in-car WiFi)
• Auth token storage: rclone config stored securely, excluded from git
• Offline resilience: Queue files for upload, sync when connectivity returns

Alternative Approaches

• SMB/NFS mount: Mount a NAS share and rsync locally (faster, no cloud dependency)
• SFTP/SCP: Push to a home server via SSH
• USB-to-USB: When a second USB drive is connected, copy files to it

Related

See also #34 (preserve older trips from auto-deletion)
Ref #25