Manage Rclone Connections in RcloneView

RcloneView is a GUI-based file manager for cloud storage that communicates with Rclone via its Remote Control (RC) API. By default, it comes bundled with an Embedded Rclone instance but also supports connecting to external Rclone instances (External Rclone).

This guide explains how to manage these connections using the Connection Manager.

Connection Manager Overview

RcloneView communicates with Rclone in two modes:

• Embedded Rclone (default, built-in)
• External Rclone (user-configured, network-connected)

The Connection Manager allows you to view, switch, and manage these Rclone instances.

Embedded Rclone

RcloneView includes a pre-installed Rclone binary called Embedded Rclone, which launches automatically.

Field	Description
Address	Typically http://127.0.0.1:5582 (localhost loopback)
Rclone Version	Example: v1.70.1
Connected / Connect	Indicates the current status. If not connected, click Connect to activate.
Self Update	Click to upgrade to the latest Rclone version.

External Rclone List

External Rclone refers to a standalone Rclone instance launched manually by the user, typically via rclone rcd. It could be running on:

• A local machine (for testing)
• A remote server (e.g., AWS EC2)
• Inside a Docker container

Each entry displays:

Field	Description
Display Name	User-defined name (e.g., aws-rclone)
Remote Address	API endpoint, e.g., http://<host>:5572
Username	If authentication is enabled
Rclone Version	Retrieved from the connected instance

Available Actions:

• Connect – Makes this instance active
• Edit – Modify address, credentials, or SSL options
• Delete – Remove from the list

Current Selection Indicator

At the top of the Connection Manager dialog:

• Selected: Embedded Rclone – the default built-in instance is active
• Selected: aws-rclone – a custom external instance is in use

Only one connection can be active at a time. Your current selection affects:

• Remote list visibility
• Mount/Job actions
• Configuration operations

Notes

• Only one Rclone connection can be active at any time.
• You can switch freely between Embedded and External connections.

💡 To manage two instances side-by-side, open a new RcloneView window.

• If an external Rclone becomes unavailable, you can always fall back to the embedded version.

Add a New External Rclone

To connect to a running rclone rcd server:

1. Click New Connection at the bottom of the Connection Manager.
2. Fill in the form:

Field	Description
Display Name	e.g., aws-rclone
Remote Address	Full API endpoint (http://<host>:5572)
Username / Password	Required if authentication is enabled
Disable SSL Verification	For self-signed certificates or dev use

3. Click Test connection. If successful, click Save.

Notes

💡 To make an external Rclone available, run it with:

rclone rcd --rc-user=<user> --rc-pass=<pass> --rc-addr=127.0.0.1:5572