Run Rclone as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp

How to Install & Run Rclone as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp

Automatically run rclone periodically, to sync your remote file systems. Start immediately after a reboot — no need to log on

Rclone is a free command line program that synchronizes files and directories to and from remote/cloud repositories.

To install rclone as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp:

  1. Download and extract rclone, if necessary.

    Following the documentation, run "rclone config" to setup your remote end point.

    Run rclone config

    For this tutorial, we have configured an HTTP remote. We would like rclone to synchronize the files from our website to the local file system every 30 minutes.

  2. Download and install AlwaysUp.

  3. Start AlwaysUp.

  4. Select Application > Add to open the Add Application window:

    Add Application

  5. On the General tab:

    • In the Application field, enter the full path to the rclone executable, rclone.exe. Since we installed rclone in C:\rclone, we'll use:

      C:\rclone\rclone.exe

    • In the Arguments field, enter the parameters to your rclone command line. Be sure to enclose any parameter containing a space in quotes.

    • And in the Name field, enter the name that you will call this application in AlwaysUp. We've stuck with the default — Rclone.

    Rclone Windows Service: General Tab

  6. Switch to the Logon tab and enter the user name and password of the Windows account in which you configured rclone (with "rclone config"). Rclone must run in this account so that it can find its settings.

    Rclone Windows Service: Logon Tab

    Note: You should be able to run your service in the default system account if your command line doesn't reference any rclone configuration names.

  7. Click over to the Restart tab. To run rclone every 30 minutes, select the Not immediately and the On the next hour or half-hour options.

    And to avoid AlwaysUp complaining as rclone constantly starts and stops, check the Minimize event logging... box.

    Rclone Windows Service: Restart Tab

  8. And finally, to capture rclone's output for later review, switch to the Extras tab and activate the Capture output... option. Specify the full path to the text file that will capture the command line messages.

    Rclone Windows Service: Extras Tab

  9. We're now done configuring rclone as a service, so click the Save button to record your settings. In a couple of seconds, an application called Rclone (or whatever you called it) will show up in the AlwaysUp window. It is not yet running though and the state will be Stopped:

    Rclone Windows Service: Created

  10. To start rclone, choose Application > Start "Rclone" from the menu. The state will transition to Running (or Waiting if rclone runs quickly):

    Rclone Windows Service: Running

    After rclone runs, AlwaysUp will queue up the next run at the hour or half-hour. Click the "Waiting" status icon to see the details:

    Rclone Windows Service: Waiting

  11. That's it! Next time your computer boots, your rclone service will be launched immediately, before anyone logs on.

    Feel free to edit the entry in AlwaysUp and add more advanced options. For example, lower the priority of the rclone process, email a weekly activity report, and much more.



Rclone not working properly as a Windows Service?

  • If you captured rclone's output (step 8), check the file to see if any errors or warnings were reported.

    We suggest adding the verbose flag (--verbose) to the rclone command line, to receive detailed information on the syncronization. Here's what our output file looks like with the flag applied:

    Rclone Service Output File

  • Can you run the rclone command line, regularly from a command prompt? Perhaps your configuration (or access to the remote repository) has changed.

  • Consult the AlwaysUp Troubleshooter — our online tool that can help you resolve the most common problems encountered when running an application as a windows service.

  • From AlwaysUp, select Application > Report Activity > Today to bring up an HTML report detailing the interaction between AlwaysUp and Rclone. The AlwaysUp Event Log Messages page explains the messages that may appear.

  • Browse the AlwaysUp FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips.

  • Contact us and we will be happy to help!

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