Backends
CloudMount runs rclone v1.75.2, with every one of its backends built in. A backend is rclone’s name for a kind of storage: Google Drive, S3, SFTP and so on. Each drive you add uses one backend.
Backends differ a lot in what the service behind them can do. Some can copy a file on the server in a moment; others make CloudMount download and upload it again. Some keep a file’s modification time; others only know when it was uploaded. This page explains those differences and what you’ll notice in the app. Each backend has its own page with its capabilities, rclone’s notes and limitations, and every option the Add drive wizard offers.
Capabilities
Section titled “Capabilities”Cloud drives
| Backend | Tier | Checksums | Mod. times | Case-insens. | Copy | Move | Folder move | Free space | Empty folders | Change notify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fichier | 3 | Whirlpool | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Box | 1 | SHA-1 | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Citrix ShareFile | 5 | MD5 | 1 s | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Drime | 1 | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Dropbox | 1 | Dropbox content hash | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Enterprise File Fabric | 4 | – | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| FileLu | 1 | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Filen | 1 | BLAKE3 | 1 ms | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Files.com | 1 | MD5, CRC-32 | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| Gofile | 1 | MD5 | 1 s | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Google Drive | 1 | MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 | 1 ms | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Photos | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| HiDrive | 1 | HiDrive hash | 1 s | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| Huawei Drive | 3 | SHA-256 | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| iCloud Drive | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Internxt Drive | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Jottacloud | 2 | MD5 | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Koofr | 2 | MD5 | 1 ms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Linkbox | 5 | – | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Mail.ru Cloud | 1 | Mail.ru hash | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Mega | 2 | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| OneDrive | 1 | QuickXorHash | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| OpenDrive | 1 | MD5 | 1 s | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| pCloud | 1 | SHA-1, SHA-256 | 1 s | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PikPak | 1 | MD5 | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Pixeldrain | 1 | SHA-256 | 1 ms | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| premiumize.me | 3 | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Proton Drive | 4 | SHA-1 | 1 s | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| put.io | 2 | CRC-32 | 1 s | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Quatrix | 3 | – | 1 µs | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Shade | 1 | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| SugarSync | 3 | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| Uloz.to | 3 | MD5, SHA-256 | 1 µs | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Yandex Disk | 1 | MD5 | 1 ns | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Zoho WorkDrive | 3 | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
Object storage
| Backend | Tier | Checksums | Mod. times | Case-insens. | Copy | Move | Folder move | Free space | Empty folders | Change notify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akamai NetStorage | 1 | MD5 | 1 s | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Amazon S3 and compatible | 1 | MD5 | 1 ns | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – |
| Azure Blob Storage | 1 | MD5 | 1 ns | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – |
| Backblaze B2 | 1 | SHA-1 | 1 ms | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – |
| Google Cloud Storage | 1 | MD5 | 1 ns | – | ✓ | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Oracle Object Storage | 1 | MD5 | 1 ms | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – |
| QingStor | 3 | MD5 | – | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sia | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Storj | 1 | – | 1 ns | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | – |
| Swift | 1 | MD5 | 1 ns | – | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | – | – |
Servers and protocols
| Backend | Tier | Checksums | Mod. times | Case-insens. | Copy | Move | Folder move | Free space | Empty folders | Change notify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Files | 2 | MD5 | 100 ns | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| FTP | 1 | – | 1 s | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – |
| HDFS | 2 | – | 1 s | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| HTTP | 3 | – | 1 s | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Local folder | 1 | All | 1 ns | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Seafile | 3 | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| SFTP | 1 | MD5, SHA-1 | 1 s | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| SMB | 2 | – | 1 ms | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| WebDAV | 1 | SHA-1 | 1 s | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
Media and archives
| Backend | Tier | Checksums | Mod. times | Case-insens. | Copy | Move | Folder move | Free space | Empty folders | Change notify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudinary | 3 | MD5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| DOI | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| ImageKit | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Internet Archive | 3 | MD5, SHA-1, CRC-32 | 1 ns | – | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | – | – |
Wrapping drives
| Backend | Tier | Checksums | Mod. times | Case-insens. | Copy | Move | Folder move | Free space | Empty folders | Change notify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alias | 1 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Archive | 3 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Cache | 5 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Chunker | 4 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Combine | 1 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Compress | 4 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Crypt | 1 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Hasher | 4 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
| Union | 1 | Mostly those of the drive it wraps | ||||||||
✓ means supported and – means not supported. Wrapping drives, such as Crypt and Union, take most of their capabilities from the drives they wrap. The columns are explained below.
rclone support tier
Section titled “rclone support tier”rclone rates each backend on its maintenance, test results, features and documentation:
| Tier | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core | Production-grade, first-class. |
| 2 | Stable | Well supported, with minor gaps. |
| 3 | Supported | Works for many uses, with known caveats. |
| 4 | Experimental | Use with care; expect gaps and changes. |
| 5 | Deprecated | No longer maintained or supported. |
The tier is rclone’s judgement of rclone’s backend. CloudMount adds nothing on top that would change it, so a Tier 4 backend in rclone is a Tier 4 backend in CloudMount. The sidebar marks experimental and deprecated backends.
Checksums
Section titled “Checksums”The kinds of checksum (hash) the service stores for each file. rclone uses them to check that a transfer arrived intact, and CloudMount uses them to tell whether a file has changed.
Without a checksum, CloudMount relies on the file’s size and modification time. On Windows, renaming a downloaded file on a drive without a matching checksum, such as an encrypted drive or large multipart S3 objects, can upload it again.
Modification times
Section titled “Modification times”Whether the service keeps a file’s modification time when it’s uploaded, and how precisely. Without it, files show the time they were uploaded, and copying a file to the drive resets its date.
Case-insensitive names
Section titled “Case-insensitive names”On a case-insensitive service, Report.pdf and report.pdf are the same
file, as on Windows. On a case-sensitive service they’re two files. Windows
can’t show two names that differ only in case in one folder, so CloudMount
for Windows shows only one of them.
Duplicate names allowed
Section titled “Duplicate names allowed”A few services, notably Google Drive, allow two files with exactly the same name in one folder. rclone can reach only one of them by name, and CloudMount for Windows shows only one. Rename duplicates on the service’s website to see both.
Server-side copy
Section titled “Server-side copy”Whether the service can copy a file itself. Without it, copying a file within the drive downloads it to your device and uploads it again, which takes as long as a real transfer and uses your data allowance.
Server-side move and rename
Section titled “Server-side move and rename”Whether the service can move or rename a file itself. Without it, rclone copies the file and deletes the original, and if the service can’t copy either, it downloads and uploads the file. Renaming a large file can then take a long time.
Folder move and rename
Section titled “Folder move and rename”Whether the service can move or rename a folder in one step. Without it, moving or renaming a folder moves every file inside it in turn, which is slow for big folders and can leave a half-moved folder if it’s interrupted.
Free space reporting
Section titled “Free space reporting”Whether the service reports used and free space. CloudMount shows it in the Files app’s storage view on Android and in Explorer’s status flyout on Windows. Without it, no free space is shown.
Empty folders
Section titled “Empty folders”Object storage services such as S3 and B2 have no real folders: a folder is just the shared beginning of its files’ names, so it exists only while it holds a file. You can still create a folder in CloudMount, but it disappears from the drive’s other clients until something is saved in it.
Change notifications
Section titled “Change notifications”Whether the service can tell rclone what changed, rather than rclone having to list folders again. On Windows, drives with change notifications show changes made elsewhere within about 15 seconds; others are checked on a schedule. See Changes made elsewhere.
Uploads of unknown size
Section titled “Uploads of unknown size”Whether a file can be uploaded without knowing its size in advance. It makes little difference in CloudMount, which uploads saved files from a complete local copy on both platforms; it matters for Save link here on Android, which otherwise saves the download to a temporary file first.
Public links
Section titled “Public links”Whether rclone can create a link to a file that anyone can open without signing in. Where supported, CloudMount offers Copy public link (on Windows) or Share link (on Android).
Restricted characters
Section titled “Restricted characters”Most services forbid some characters in file names, such as \, : or
?, or names ending in a space or a dot. When a name contains one, rclone
stores it with a look-alike Unicode character instead: my file?.txt is
stored on OneDrive as my file？.txt, with a full-width question mark. You
see the original name in CloudMount; other apps that use the service directly
see the look-alike. Each backend’s Restricted filename characters section
lists what it replaces, and its encoding option controls it.
This mostly works without you noticing. It can surprise you when a file was created with a look-alike character elsewhere, or when the same files are reached through two backends with different rules, for example once through WebDAV and once through the service’s own backend.
Which backend should I use?
Section titled “Which backend should I use?”- Prefer the service’s own backend over a generic protocol. Google Drive’s, OneDrive’s or Dropbox’s own backends support checksums, server-side copy and move, free space and change notifications; reaching the same service through WebDAV usually supports far less.
- Check the tier. Tier 4 and 5 backends work, but rclone’s maintainers consider them experimental or deprecated.
- For self-hosted storage, SFTP and WebDAV (including Nextcloud and ownCloud) are the most capable. SMB works for Windows shares and NAS boxes.
- For S3-compatible storage, use the S3 backend and pick your provider in the wizard: it sets the provider’s quirks for you.