Even though Microsoft loves Linux now, the “love” kind of dries up when you start to think about downloading a OneDrive client for your favorite Linux distro, and end up finding that there is no real client out there that fulfills your needs. I needed an all in one solution for securely syncing my files to OneDrive without worrying about losing them.
Some time back, Vipul on Mixster wrote an awesome review about the all-in-one solution for your Google Drive client troubles for Linux that Insync solves. Here, we are following up with Insync contacting us to write another review for them on their new OneDrive Linux client. Long story short, it changed my mind about using OneDrive web as my standard way of accessing my file, to now using Insync’s awesome OneDrive client. Here’s a small review of how I found it to be really useful! Let’s get started.
Features that blew me away
Quick Setup
A one-time browser based login is all that’s required to set up a OneDrive account on Insync. No hassle, no dependency issues, just this. For people who are in the habit of saving their passwords on the browser, this works like a boon.
Shared Base Folder
Insync keeps OneDrive files in a local base folder – which is chosen/created upon setup – and retains the directory structure. Any changes made at this folder are reflected in OneDrive web, and vice versa.
Native Tracking
After logging in, all files on OneDrive of the authorised account are synced to the base folder. Turning off the sync means removing files from the system. In any case, all content on OneDrive is still available for browsing directly from Insync even if it is not stored locally.
Selective Sync
This handy feature is used to sync local folders with OneDrive without changing their location on the system. Insync gives the option to either merge the local folder with another or place it somewhere within the existing directory structure.
Feed & Notifications
Insync has a Feed where all the OneDrive activity is listed. The notifications are generated for each file with the associated OneDrive email.
Multi Account Login
Managing multiple accounts is easier here because all accounts using Insync are arranged on top of the app window and switching between them is just a matter of one click.
…and more
Insync has configurable Ignore Rules, which exclude certain files during sync. It is completely operated through the GUI. That said, the fixed window size of this client is not intuitive. Overall, Insync provides a clean experience with all essential features not requiring a thorough dig through the software.
On top of that, Insync has been a Google Drive Linux client for a longer duration, and this awesome review has all you need to know about it.
Bonus point: Insync is a cross-platform client. Check out all the download options below.
Avail a fifteen day free trial or buy the one time licence.
Been using Insync to sync Google Drive with Ubuntu 20.04 for a year.
It’s deleted my entire harddrive TWICE and has been a giant headache for over a year. Program is full of bugs and needs to be re-installed and re-configured constantly. (literally about once a week with regular usage)
DO NOT USE THIS PROGRAM TO BACKUP SENSITIVE DATA. (I lost 30 years of data)
I wish there was an alternative for linux google drive usage. Since there isn’t, I just stopped using Google Drive. I still use Insync when my friends share google drive files with me, but this directory is unstable and I learned to keep it isolated from the rest of my system.
Do not recommend. I do not trust this company. They profit off of being the only linux option. I want a refund, but since it’s my only option, I don’t want to revoke my license.