{"id":114,"date":"2026-07-16T22:43:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lukaswojcik.com\/blog\/?p=114"},"modified":"2026-07-05T23:30:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:30:22","slug":"how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lukaswojcik.com\/blog\/en\/it-networks\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up Rclone with Google Drive on a Headless Server (The Right Way)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Backing up your remote server (like a Raspberry Pi) directly to Google Drive is a brilliant way to ensure data safety. The tool for the job is Rclone<\/strong> \u2013 the “Swiss Army knife” of cloud storage. However, setting it up on a “headless” server (a machine without a graphical interface or web browser) can be tricky, especially when dealing with Google’s authentication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we will walk you through the bulletproof method: creating your own Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project to avoid rate limits, authorizing on your local machine, and moving the configuration to your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase 1: Creating Your GCP Project (Avoiding Rate Limits)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using Rclone’s default Google Drive client ID means sharing bandwidth with thousands of other users, leading to throttling. Here is how to create your own:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Create a Project:<\/strong> Go to the Google Cloud Console<\/a>, click the project dropdown, and select New Project<\/strong>. Name it something like “Rclone Backup”.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Enable the API:<\/strong> Search for Google Drive API<\/strong> in the top search bar and click Enable<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Configure OAuth Consent Screen:<\/strong>\n
      \n
    • Go to APIs & Services > OAuth consent screen<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Choose External<\/strong> user type.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Fill in the mandatory fields (App name, email addresses).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Under “Scopes”, add ...\/auth\/drive<\/code> to give Rclone full access to manage files.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Under “Test users”, add your own Google account email.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Generate Credentials:<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Go to the Credentials<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Click Create Credentials > OAuth client ID<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Crucial step:<\/strong> Choose Desktop app<\/strong> as the application type. This prevents issues with redirect URLs later.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Click Create<\/strong>. Copy your Client ID<\/strong> and Client Secret<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Phase 2: Local Authorization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Since your server doesn’t have a web browser, we will generate the access token on your main computer (Windows\/Mac\/Linux).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Install Rclone on your local computer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Open a terminal and type rclone config<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Press n<\/code> for a new remote and name it (e.g., gdrive<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. Choose drive<\/code> as the storage type.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        5. Paste your Client ID<\/strong> and Client Secret<\/strong> when prompted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        6. When asked Use auto config?<\/code>, type y<\/code> (Yes).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        7. Your browser will open. Log in and grant permission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        8. Back in the terminal, you will see a block of JSON code containing your token. Copy this entire token block.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Phase 3: Server Configuration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Now, let’s move to your headless server (via SSH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. Install Rclone on your server (sudo apt install rclone<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Run rclone config<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Create a new remote (n<\/code>), name it exactly as you did locally (gdrive<\/code>), choose drive<\/code>, and paste your Client ID and Secret.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          4. When asked Use auto config?<\/code>, type n<\/code> (No).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          5. When prompted for the result\/token, paste the JSON block<\/strong> you copied from your local machine.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          6. Save and exit. Test it by typing rclone lsd gdrive:<\/code>. You should see your Google Drive folders!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Phase 4: Automating Backups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            Now that Rclone is authorized, let’s set up an automated backup script. Create a file named backup.sh<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Bash<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            #!\/bin\/bash\nBACKUP_DIR=\"\/path\/to\/local\/backup\"\nDATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)\nREMOTE=\"gdrive:ServerBackups\"\n\n# Your backup commands here (e.g., mysqldump, tar)\ntar -czf \"$BACKUP_DIR\/data_$DATE.tar.gz\" \/var\/www\/html\n\n# Copy to Google Drive (Rclone creates the folder automatically)\nrclone copy \"$BACKUP_DIR\/data_$DATE.tar.gz\" \"$REMOTE\"\n\n# Keep only the last 7 days of backups on Google Drive\nrclone delete \"$REMOTE\" --min-age 7d\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
            Make the script executable (chmod +x backup.sh<\/code>) and add it to your cron jobs (crontab -e<\/code>) to run nightly. Your headless server is now securely backed up to the cloud!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
            Backing up your remote server (like a Raspberry Pi) directly to Google Drive is a brilliant way to ensure data safety. The tool for the job is Rclone \u2013 the “Swiss Army knife” of cloud storage. However, setting it up on a “headless” server (a machine without a graphical interface or web browser) can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-it-networks"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Set Up Rclone with Google Drive on a Headless Server (The Right Way) - Lukas Wojcik - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lukaswojcik.com\/blog\/en\/it-networks\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Set Up Rclone with Google Drive on a Headless Server (The Right Way) - Lukas Wojcik - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Backing up your remote server (like a Raspberry Pi) directly to Google Drive is a brilliant way to ensure data safety. The tool for the job is Rclone \u2013 the “Swiss Army knife” of cloud storage. However, setting it up on a “headless” server (a machine without a graphical interface or web browser) can be […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lukaswojcik.com\/blog\/en\/it-networks\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lukas Wojcik - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T20:43:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"luky\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"luky\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/en\\\/it-networks\\\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/en\\\/it-networks\\\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"luky\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/895f7604f9b6b71aad9bba33af28d0f9\"},\"headline\":\"How to Set Up Rclone with Google Drive on a Headless Server (The Right Way)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T20:43:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/en\\\/it-networks\\\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":479,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/895f7604f9b6b71aad9bba33af28d0f9\"},\"articleSection\":[\"IT & Networks\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/en\\\/it-networks\\\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/en\\\/it-networks\\\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lukaswojcik.com\\\/blog\\\/en\\\/it-networks\\\/how-to-set-up-rclone-with-google-drive-on-a-headless-server-the-right-way\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Set Up Rclone with Google Drive on a Headless Server (The Right Way) - 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