Connecting TrekMail Drive with rclone (WebDAV)

rclone is a command-line tool that works with WebDAV. It is useful for scripted uploads, downloads, listings, and scheduled backups. Before relying on it for a large job, run a small upload and download first. TrekMail Drive accepts files up to 10 TB, subject to your available storage and the limits of the rclone version and computer you use.

Connection details

What rclone config needs:

Use rclone obscure dsync_… when writing the password into a config file by hand (rclone obscures it but doesn't encrypt, anyone with the file still has the credentials).

If you haven't generated a device password yet, do that first: see Sync devices.

Before you start

You need a device password. Sync apps get their own one-time password. That way you can revoke rclone without touching your dashboard login.

1. Open Sync devices in your TrekMail dashboard.
2. Click + Add new device.
3. Name it (e.g. Laptop, rclone).
4. Leave View files and Edit files checked if rclone needs to upload, move, or delete files. For download-only access, select View files only.
5. Click Generate password and copy the password (dsync_...).

For a backup to Drive, Edit files is required. For a download-only restore from Drive, View files alone is enough.

Install rclone

• macOS: brew install rclone
• Linux: curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash
• Windows: download from rclone.org/downloads and add to PATH.

Configure the remote

Run the interactive configurator:

rclone config

Then:

1. n, new remote.
2. Name it trekmail-drive (or anything you like).
3. Pick WebDAV from the list (number changes between versions; look for the word "Webdav").
4. URL: paste the Drive server URL from the Sync devices page. Keep the trailing slash.
5. Vendor: pick other.
6. User: paste the username displayed on that same page.
7. Password: pick y (yes, type my own password), then paste the dsync_... device password.
8. Bearer token: leave blank.
9. Edit advanced config: n.
10. Confirm: y.

You can also write the config file directly. Open ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf and add:

[trekmail-drive]
type = webdav
url = <copy the Drive server URL from Sync devices>
vendor = other
user = you@example.com
pass = <obscured-password>

Generate the obscured password with rclone obscure dsync_....

Day-to-day commands

List files

rclone ls trekmail-drive:
rclone lsd trekmail-drive:        # directories only

Upload a file

rclone copy ./backup.zip trekmail-drive:Backups/

This endpoint deliberately does not let rclone replace an existing Drive file in place. Use a new destination name or folder for uploads, such as a dated backup folder. If a command needs to overwrite a file, download the current copy first or upload the replacement through the Drive interface.

Upload a folder (one-way, with progress)

rclone copy ./Documents trekmail-drive:Documents \
  --progress --transfers 8

--transfers 8 asks rclone to upload up to eight files in parallel. Start with a small value and increase it only after a test run succeeds.

Mirror commands need special care

rclone sync ./Documents trekmail-drive:Documents --progress

Caution: sync deletes remote files that do not exist locally and normally expects to update existing files. Do not use it against production Drive data unless you have tested its exact behavior with a disposable folder. For ordinary backups, prefer copy to a new dated folder.

Mount as a folder

mkdir ~/trekmail
rclone mount trekmail-drive: ~/trekmail \
  --vfs-cache-mode writes --daemon

This makes Drive show up as ~/trekmail. Tools that don't speak WebDAV (Photos, Lightroom, etc.) can use it like any local folder.

Unmount

fusermount -u ~/trekmail           # Linux
umount ~/trekmail                  # macOS

Scheduled backups

On Linux/macOS, add to your crontab (crontab -e):

# Back up ~/Documents nightly at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/rclone copy ~/Documents trekmail-drive:Documents --quiet

On Windows, use Task Scheduler to run the same rclone copy command.

Tuning for big transfers

For large files (multi-GB videos, datasets):

rclone copy ./big.iso trekmail-drive:ISOs/ \
  --transfers 4 \
  --multi-thread-streams 4 \
  --buffer-size 64M \
  --progress

These are rclone client options, not required TrekMail settings. Start with the defaults, keep the command output, and test a representative file before scheduling a large transfer.

Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized: the password is wrong or revoked. Generate a new one in Sync devices.
• 403 or a permission error: confirm that the device password has Edit files permission when you are uploading or changing files. Create a new password if needed.
• 429 Too Many Requests or repeated connection errors: lower --transfers, wait a moment, and retry a small command before resuming the job.
• 507 Insufficient Storage: your Drive pool is full. Resize your add-on or empty the trash.
• Mounted folder shows stale files: clear rclone's cache with rclone mount options --vfs-cache-mode writes --dir-cache-time 1m.

For broader sync issues, see Drive Sync troubleshooting.