Filen is Now Part of Official Rclone

After months of beta testing and community feedback, our rclone backend has been merged into the official rclone project. With the release of rclone v1.73, you can now use Filen directly with any standard rclone installation. No custom builds, no separate downloads.

What is rclone?

For those unfamiliar, rclone is a command-line tool for managing files across cloud storage providers. It supports over 70 providers and is widely used by power users, NAS owners, and anyone who needs to automate cloud operations.

With Filen now part of rclone, you can:

• Mount Filen as a network drive on any system rclone supports
• Sync files between Filen and other cloud providers or local storage
• Automate backups with scripts and cron jobs
• Run on headless systems like NAS devices and servers
• Integrate with existing rclone workflows and tools

The Journey

In April 2025, we opened our filen-rclone beta to the public. The response from our community was incredible. Your testing and feedback helped us refine the integration and work toward this milestone.

That work has now been merged upstream, and with v1.73's release on January 30, 2026, Filen officially joins the ranks of major cloud providers with native rclone support.

Getting Started

Rclone v1.73 is available now. Here's how to set it up:

1. Install rclone from rclone.org/downloads

2. Get your Filen API key:

On Linux or macOS, run this one-liner to export your API key:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FilenCloudDienste/filen-rs/refs/heads/main/filen-cli/export-api-key.sh | bash

Alternatively, you can install the full Filen CLI and run:

filen export-api-key

On Windows, use the full CLI method above.

3. Configure rclone:

rclone config

This will walk you through a few prompts:
- Choose "n" for new remote
- Give it a name (e.g., "filen")
- Select "filen" as the storage type
- Paste your API key when prompted
- Confirm the settings

4. Start using it:

List your files:

rclone ls filen:

Copy files from your computer to Filen:

rclone copy /local/folder filen:/remote/folder

Mount Filen as a drive on your system:

rclone mount filen: /mnt/filen

For the full list of commands and configuration options, see rclone.org/filen.

What About the Beta?

If you're currently using our filen-rclone beta build, you can continue using it. However, we recommend switching to official rclone now that v1.73 is out.

With the official version, you get native integration with the full rclone ecosystem, standard rclone commands instead of a custom build, and signed releases that resolve the false positive antivirus warnings on Windows that some beta users encountered.

What's Next

Rclone will power mounting, S3, and WebDAV functionality in future versions of Filen's desktop and CLI apps. This integration lays the groundwork for improved performance and reliability in those features.

Thank You

This milestone wouldn't have been possible without our community. Your feedback, bug reports, and patience during the beta made this integration solid.

Thank you for being part of the journey.

Questions? Reach out here or join our Discord.