Turnkey bidirectional Google Drive sync for Linux with real-time local file watching.

A complete solution for keeping a local directory in sync with Google Drive using rclone's bisync. Features automatic conflict resolution, real-time monitoring of local changes, and robust error recovery.

• Bidirectional sync: Changes flow both ways - local to Drive, and Drive to local
• Real-time local watching: Uses inotifywait to detect and sync local changes immediately
• Periodic remote polling: Timer-based polling catches changes made on Google Drive
• Smart conflict resolution: Newest file wins, with dated backup of conflicts
• Auto-recovery: Automatic full resync after consecutive failures
• Stale lock detection: Automatically cleans up locks from crashed processes
• JSON status API: Easy monitoring with status.json
• Log rotation: Keeps logs tidy with 7-day retention
• Systemd integration: Runs as user services, starts on boot

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/namastexlabs/linux-gdrive-sync.git cd linux-gdrive-sync # Run the installer ./install.sh

The installer will:

1. Check and install dependencies (rclone, inotify-tools, jq)
2. Guide you through configuration
3. Set up your rclone Google Drive remote (if needed)
4. Install scripts and systemd services
5. Run the initial sync
6. Start the sync services

• Linux with systemd (user services)
• rclone >= 1.58 (for bisync support)
• inotify-tools (for file watching)
• jq (for JSON status)

The installer will attempt to install missing dependencies automatically.

 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Google Drive │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ▲ │ rclone bisync │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Your Linux Machine │ │ │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ detects ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Local Directory │◄────────────►│ gdrive-watch │ │ │ │ ~/gdrive │ changes │ (inotifywait daemon) │ │ │ └─────────────────┘ └────────────┬───────────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ triggers │ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ gdrive-sync │ │ │ │ (incremental bisync, 2min timer) │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ gdrive-fullsync │ │ │ │ (daily full resync at 3am) │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 

1. gdrive-watch (always running): Monitors local directory for file changes using inotifywait. When changes are detected, it triggers gdrive-sync after a 5-second debounce.

2. gdrive-sync (every 2 minutes): Runs incremental bisync to catch remote changes and push any pending local changes. Handles conflicts, stale locks, and auto-recovery.

3. gdrive-fullsync (daily at 3am): Performs a full --resync to ensure complete consistency, including any large files excluded from incremental syncs.

Configuration is stored in ~/.config/gdrive-sync/config.env:

# Local directory to sync GDRIVE_LOCAL="$HOME/gdrive" # rclone remote name GDRIVE_REMOTE="gdrive:" # State directory (logs, status, locks) GDRIVE_STATE_DIR="$HOME/.local/state/gdrive-sync" # Bisync filters file GDRIVE_FILTERS="$HOME/.config/gdrive-sync/bisync-filters.txt" # Max failures before auto-resync GDRIVE_MAX_FAILURES=6 # Lock timeout (minutes) GDRIVE_LOCK_TIMEOUT=10 # Debounce delay (seconds) GDRIVE_DEBOUNCE_SEC=5

Edit ~/.config/gdrive-sync/bisync-filters.txt to exclude files from incremental syncs:

# Exclude large files (will only sync during daily fullsync) - huge-video.mp4 - *.iso # Exclude temporary files - ~$* - *.tmp - *.swp # Include everything else + ** 

See rclone filtering documentation for syntax details.

# Run an immediate sync gdrive-sync # Force a full resync (recovery) gdrive-initial-resync # Check sync status cat ~/.local/state/gdrive-sync/status.json # View recent logs ls -la ~/.local/state/gdrive-sync/logs/

# Check service status systemctl --user status gdrive-sync.timer systemctl --user status gdrive-watch.service # View service logs journalctl --user -u gdrive-sync.service -f journalctl --user -u gdrive-watch.service -f # Restart services systemctl --user restart gdrive-sync.timer systemctl --user restart gdrive-watch.service # Temporarily disable sync systemctl --user stop gdrive-sync.timer systemctl --user stop gdrive-watch.service

The sync status is stored as JSON for easy parsing:

cat ~/.local/state/gdrive-sync/status.json

Example output:

{ "status": "success", "message": "Sync OK", "consecutive_failures": 0, "last_success": "2025-01-15T10:30:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00+00:00" }

Check the logs:

tail -f ~/.local/state/gdrive-sync/logs/sync_*.log

After 6 consecutive failures, the system will automatically attempt a full resync.

Re-authenticate with rclone:

rclone config reconnect gdrive:

If sync complains about locks, it will auto-clear them after 10 minutes. To clear manually:

rm -f ~/.cache/rclone/bisync/*.lck

To reset everything and re-establish the sync baseline:

# Stop services systemctl --user stop gdrive-sync.timer gdrive-watch.service # Clear rclone bisync state rm -rf ~/.cache/rclone/bisync/ # Run fresh initial sync gdrive-initial-resync # Restart services systemctl --user start gdrive-sync.timer gdrive-watch.service

./uninstall.sh

This removes the scripts and services but keeps your synced data and rclone configuration.

MIT License - see LICENSE

Built with rclone - a powerful command-line cloud sync tool.

NamasteX Labs | GitHub