Cloud-to-NAS Bridge: Back Up Google Drive & OneDrive to Synology with RcloneView

September 15, 2025 · 4 min read

Tech Writer

Keep a local safety copy and take control of your data. Mirror your cloud drives to a Synology NAS with a clean, point-and-click workflow—no command line required.

Cloud to NAS, the smart way—why it matters

Cloud storage is convenient for collaboration and access anywhere. But keeping a second, on-premises copy on a Synology NAS gives you versioned backups, LAN-speed restores, and independence from any single provider. With RcloneView, you can connect popular cloud services (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive, and more supported by rclone) and your NAS, then preview, copy, and schedule jobs from one screen.

Understanding cloud drives (at a glance)

Great for real-time collaboration and sharing.
Provider-side limits/quotas may affect large migrations (plan in batches).

Understanding Synology NAS (at a glance)

Your always-on storage hub at home or in the office.
Accessible via SMB/NFS (mounted as local folders), or network protocols like WebDAV and SFTP.
Ideal for centralized backup, media hosting, and long-term archiving.

Why bring cloud → NAS?

Resilience: keep an offline-capable copy you control.
Speed: restore large folders over LAN without waiting on internet bandwidth.
Governance: unify retention, access, and audit locally.

Manage & Sync All Clouds in One Place

RcloneView is a cross-platform GUI for rclone. Compare folders, transfer or sync files, and automate multi-cloud workflows with a clean, visual interface.

One-click jobs: Copy · Sync · Compare
Schedulers & history for reliable automation
Works with Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, WebDAV, SFTP and more

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Get Started Free →

Free core features. Plus automations available.

Step 1 – Preparation

Before you begin:

Choose your scope — which Google Drive/OneDrive folders should the NAS retain?
Confirm NAS capacity — ensure enough free space and target share/folder ready.
Pick a connection method for your NAS
- WebDAV: enable Synology WebDAV Server, then connect via WebDAV in RcloneView.
- SMB: enable Synology SMB, then connect via SMB in RcloneView.
- SFTP: enable SSH/SFTP on Synology and connect via SFTP.
Plan your cadence — one-time migration, periodic sync, or nightly scheduled jobs.
Mind provider limits — large moves may require breaking into batches; consider a test run first.

🔍 Helpful tutorial:

Synology NAS Integration with RcloneView

Step 2 – Wire up the connections in RcloneView

RcloneView wraps rclone’s configuration in a guided, click-through flow.

Open RcloneView → click + New Remote
Add your cloud drive
- Google Drive: OAuth sign-in → name it (e.g., MyGoogleDrive)
- OneDrive: OAuth sign-in → name it (e.g., MyOneDrive)
- (Others supported by rclone can be added similarly)
Add your Synology NAS target using one of the following:
- WebDAV: endpoint from Synology WebDAV Server, credentials → name it (e.g., MyNAS-WebDAV)
- SMB: NAS hostIP, port, account → name it (e.g., MyNAS-SMB)
- SFTP: NAS hostname/IP, port, account → name it (e.g., MyNAS-SFTP)
Confirm both appear side-by-side in the Explorer pane.

🔍 Helpful guides:

Step 3 – Run the backup/sync jobs

RcloneView offers three practical methods. Start small, then scale.

A) Drag & Drop (manual copy)

Open Google Drive/OneDrive on one side and your NAS target on the other, then drag folders/files across.
Great for selective moves and quick wins.

👉 See more: Copying Files using Drag and Drop

B) Compare & Copy (preview changes)

Run Compare to see what’s new/changed on the cloud vs. your NAS.
Copy only what changed—reduce surprises and time.

👉 See more: Compare and Manage Files

Compare results highlighting changed files

C) Sync & Scheduled Jobs (automate)

Use Sync to mirror selected cloud folders into your NAS share.
Dry-run first, then save as a reusable Job and add a schedule (nightly/weekly).

👉 See more:

Conclusion — Key takeaways & extra tips

Why do this: a second copy under your control, faster restores over LAN, and unified retention.
How it works: RcloneView lets you connect cloud drives and your Synology NAS, then Drag & Drop, Compare, or Sync—with scheduling for hands-off backups.
Scale safely: pilot first, respect provider quotas, and monitor job logs for a clean audit trail.

FAQs

Q. Can RcloneView run recurring backups automatically?
A. Yes—save your Sync as a Job and schedule it (e.g., nightly). You’ll see history and status in the Job Manager.

Q. What about iCloud?
A. Rclone supports many providers. For services without a direct backend, consider exporting data locally first, then use RcloneView to move it to your NAS.

Ready to keep a local, reliable copy of your cloud life?