GitHub - dadtronics/protondrive-linux

2 min read Original article ↗

Mount Proton Drive on Linux using rclone and systemd

This guide automates the process of mounting Proton Drive on a Linux system using rclone and systemd.

Tested on Arch Linux, but should work on most Linux distributions with minor adjustments.

🔧 Features

  • Mounts Proton Drive at login via systemd --user
  • Uses rclone with --vfs-cache-mode writes for compatibility
  • Enables background service with logging
  • Adds FUSE support for --allow-other mounts

🚀 Quick Start

1. ✅ Install Dependencies

Install fuse3 (required for mounting):

Install rclone (must be v1.64.0 or newer)

🔹 Option 1: Use precompiled binary (recommended)

curl -O https://downloads.rclone.org/rclone-current-linux-amd64.zip
unzip rclone-current-linux-amd64.zip
cd rclone-*-linux-amd64
sudo cp rclone /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rclone

Verify:

rclone version
# Must be v1.64.0 or higher

2. 🔐 Configure Proton Drive Remote

Run:

Follow prompts:

  • n → New remote
  • Name: proton
  • Type: protondrive
  • Log in via browser when prompted
  • Accept and save

3. 📜 Run Setup Script

Run the provided script:

chmod +x setup-proton-mount.sh
./setup-proton-mount.sh

The script will:

  • Create the mount point: ~/ProtonDrive
  • Write the systemd user service
  • Add user_allow_other to /etc/fuse.conf (if missing)
  • Add user to the fuse group (if needed)
  • Enable and start the mount service

4. 🔁 Reboot or Log Out/In

If the script added you to the fuse group, you must log out and back in for the change to take effect.

🔍 Verify Mount

Check if Proton Drive is mounted:

Check systemd service:

systemctl --user status rclone-proton.mount.service

🧼 Uninstall

To remove the auto-mount setup:

systemctl --user disable --now rclone-proton.mount.service
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/rclone-proton.mount.service

(Optional) Remove ~/ProtonDrive if you no longer need the mount point.

📁 Files

  • setup-proton-mount.sh — full setup script
  • ~/.config/systemd/user/rclone-proton.mount.service — systemd unit
  • ~/ProtonDrive — mount location
  • ~/.cache/rclone/rclone-proton.log — log output (optional)

📎 Requirements

  • rclone >= 1.64.0 with Proton Drive support
  • fuse3
  • A Proton Drive account

🛟 Troubleshooting

If the mount isn't working:

journalctl --user -u rclone-proton.mount.service

To restart the service manually:

systemctl --user restart rclone-proton.mount.service

📚 References