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# Insync

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insync is an alternative Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive client that is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux which allows you to sync a local folder or symlinked folders with your Google Drive or OneDrive. Whilst previous Beta versions used to be for free, the final release features a trial period after which a one-time payment per account is required.

## Installation

Install insyncAUR, available in the AUR. It contains the synchronization daemon, a systemd service file, and a command-line utility for configuration. It can be used and integrates nicely with different desktop environments such as KDE, Gnome, or Cinnamon.

## Configuration

Note: Starting Insync with the `--set-files-path` flag is no longer necessary. The aforementioned flag has been removed from recent Insync releases.

Insync can be started with the `insync start` command and stopped with the `insync quit` command. A shortcut for starting Insync should be available in the applications menu of your desktop environment.

### Running as a systemd service

Enable `insync@user.service` or the systemd user service `insync.service`.

### Cinnamon

When you start insync from the start menu it may not appear in the taskbar. For that, you need to add the taskbar applet by right-clicking on your panel.

## Usage

The usage is self-explanatory. Copy files and folders from and to your local folder to sync it with your Google Drive.

### Control via CLI

CLI support was dropped in the latest versions. However, users who need CLI support or want to use Insync headless can use Insync 1.5.7.

See Headless and CLI community support and How to control Insync via command line (CLI).

## Troubleshooting

### Slow sync process

The default systemd service file provided in insyncAUR uses the `--synchronous-full` flag to make sqlite transactions safer and prevent database corruption. However, for some users this might considerably slow down the sync process. If you do not need full synchronisation, create `/etc/systemd/system/insync@.service` to override the provided service file and modify the `ExecStart` variable:

    /etc/systemd/system/insync@.service

    .include /usr/lib/systemd/system/insync@.service
    [Service]
    ExecStart=/usr/bin/insync start

### GUI not starting and failing silently

When running `insync start`, the status tray icon does not appear and insync does not start.

According to [1], this is due to `QGtkStyle`. You will need to set the Qt4 theme to something other than GTK using `qtconfig-qt4`.

This issue is sometimes observed when using the Nouveau driver for NVIDIA graphics cards, and can be resolved by using the proprietary NVIDIA drivers.

Running `insync start --no-daemon` from the terminal logs output to stdout and prevents the process from being detached. This makes troubleshooting much simpler.

Category:

- Cloud synchronization