Configuring rclone on a remote / headless machine
Some of the configurations (those involving oauth2) require an internet-connected web browser.
If you are trying to set rclone up on a remote or headless machine with no browser available on it (e.g. a NAS or a server in a datacenter), then you will need to use an alternative means of configuration. There are three ways of doing it, described below.
Configuring using rclone authorize
On the headless machine run rclone config, but
answer N to the question Use web browser to automatically authenticate rclone with remote?.
Use web browser to automatically authenticate rclone with remote?
* Say Y if the machine running rclone has a web browser you can use
* Say N if running rclone on a (remote) machine without web browser access
If not sure try Y. If Y failed, try N.
y) Yes (default)
n) No
y/n> n
Option config_token.
For this to work, you will need rclone available on a machine that has
a web browser available.
For more help and alternate methods see: https://rclone.org/remote_setup/
Execute the following on the machine with the web browser (same rclone
version recommended):
rclone authorize "onedrive"
Then paste the result.
Enter a value.
config_token>
Then on your main desktop machine, run rclone authorize.
rclone authorize "onedrive"
NOTICE: Make sure your Redirect URL is set to "http://localhost:53682/" in your custom config.
NOTICE: If your browser doesn't open automatically go to the following link: http://127.0.0.1:53682/auth?state=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
NOTICE: Log in and authorize rclone for access
NOTICE: Waiting for code...
Got code
Paste the following into your remote machine --->
SECRET_TOKEN
<---End paste
Then back to the headless machine, paste in the code.
config_token> SECRET_TOKEN
--------------------
[acd12]
client_id =
client_secret =
token = SECRET_TOKEN
--------------------
y) Yes this is OK
e) Edit this remote
d) Delete this remote
y/e/d>
Configuring by copying the config file
Rclone stores all of its configuration in a single file. This can easily be copied to configure a remote rclone (although some backends does not support reusing the same configuration, consult your backend documentation to be sure).
Start by running rclone config to create the configuration file on your desktop machine.
rclone config
Then locate the file by running rclone config file.
$ rclone config file
Configuration file is stored at:
/home/user/.rclone.conf
Finally, transfer the file to the remote machine (scp, cut paste, ftp, sftp, etc.) and place it in the correct location (use rclone config file on the remote machine to find out where).
Configuring using SSH Tunnel
If you have an SSH client installed on your local machine, you can set up an SSH tunnel to redirect the port 53682 into the headless machine by using the following command:
ssh -L localhost:53682:localhost:53682 username@remote_server
Then on the headless machine run rclone config and
answer Y to the question Use web browser to automatically authenticate rclone with remote?.
Use web browser to automatically authenticate rclone with remote?
* Say Y if the machine running rclone has a web browser you can use
* Say N if running rclone on a (remote) machine without web browser access
If not sure try Y. If Y failed, try N.
y) Yes (default)
n) No
y/n> y
NOTICE: Make sure your Redirect URL is set to "http://localhost:53682/" in your custom config.
NOTICE: If your browser doesn't open automatically go to the following link: http://127.0.0.1:53682/auth?state=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
NOTICE: Log in and authorize rclone for access
NOTICE: Waiting for code...
Finally, copy and paste the presented URL http://127.0.0.1:53682/auth?state=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
to the browser on your local machine, complete the auth and you are done.
