How to Easily Sync a Folder to Proton Drive on macOS ?

Advantages of Proton Drive for macOS Users

Proton Drive offers a secure and private cloud storage solution, ensuring your files are protected with end-to-end encryption and accessible across devices.

• 🔐 End-to-End Encryption – All files, including metadata like filenames and modification dates, are encrypted on your device before being uploaded, ensuring that only you can access your data.
• 🖥️ Seamless macOS Integration – Access your Proton Drive directly from the Finder, with support for offline access and version history, making file management intuitive and efficient.
• 🌍 Swiss Privacy Laws – Based in Switzerland, Proton Drive benefits from some of the world's strongest privacy protections, safeguarding your data from unauthorized access.
• 📁 Selective Syncing – Choose which folders to sync, optimizing storage and ensuring that only the files you need are available locally.
• 🔄 Version History – Restore previous versions of your files with ease, providing an added layer of protection against accidental changes or deletions.

Why Sync and Back Up macOS Files to Proton Drive?

While Apple's Time Machine provides reliable local backups, it cannot protect your data from risks like theft, fire, or hardware damage. Using a secure cloud solution like Proton Drive adds an essential layer of offsite protection.

Data reports from Backblaze show that hard drives have an annual failure rate between 1–2%, and threats like ransomware and accidental file loss continue to rise. Secure cloud backups ensure your critical files remain recoverable even under worst-case scenarios.

macOS users often rely on their devices for creative projects — from Photos libraries to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro files — making long-term, encrypted backups to Proton Drive a smart and future-proof choice.

• 🔥 Safeguard against disasters like fire, flood, theft, and drive failure
• ☁️ Recover important files anytime, anywhere — without needing your Mac
• 🔄 Ensure smooth data migration during macOS upgrades or device replacements

What to Know Before You Begin

Before setting up folder synchronization to Proton Drive on your Mac, it's important to plan carefully to ensure data integrity and a smooth experience:

• 📁 Identify Essential Folders – Focus on syncing key locations such as Documents, Photos, Desktop, and important app libraries (e.g., Mail, Notes, Final Cut Pro).
• 📶 Check Your Internet Connection – A stable upload speed of at least 10 Mbps is recommended to handle large files and avoid interruptions during the initial sync.
• 🔒 Use Strong Encryption Practices – With services like Proton Drive offering end-to-end encryption, ensure you use a secure, unique password and store it safely.
• 🧪 Test the Sync Process – Start by syncing a small folder and verify that uploads, downloads, and restores are working correctly before syncing larger datasets.
• 🔄 Understand Sync Modes – Basic synchronization only uploads new or changed files and skips duplicates, while mirror synchronization ensures the destination exactly matches the source, deleting any extra files not present in the original folder.

Method 1: Syncing Files Using the Proton Drive macOS App

Proton Drive offers a dedicated macOS application that allows users to synchronize files securely with end-to-end encryption. This method involves installing the Proton Drive app and managing files through its integrated folder.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Download and Install Proton Drive

Visit the official Proton Drive website at proton.me/drive/download and download the macOS version of the app. Open the downloaded file and drag the Proton Drive icon into your Applications folder.

Step 2: Launch and Sign In

Open the Proton Drive application from your Applications folder. Upon launching, you'll be prompted to sign in with your Proton Account credentials. If you don't have an account, you can create one directly from the app.

Step 3: Access the Proton Drive Folder

Once signed in, Proton Drive creates a dedicated folder on your Mac. You can access this folder via Finder by navigating to Locations → Proton Drive or by clicking the Proton Drive icon in the menu bar and selecting "Open Drive Folder".

Step 4: Sync Files

To synchronize files, simply drag and drop them into the Proton Drive folder. The application will automatically upload these files to your Proton Drive cloud storage, ensuring they are encrypted and accessible across your devices.

Note on Synchronization Behavior

It's important to understand the synchronization behavior of the Proton Drive macOS app:

• 🔄 One-Way Sync – Files added to the Proton Drive folder are uploaded to the cloud. However, changes made directly in the cloud (such as deletions) are not automatically reflected in the local Proton Drive folder.
• 🗑️ Manual Deletion Required – To maintain consistency between local and cloud storage, users must manually delete files from the Proton Drive folder on their Mac if they have been removed from the cloud.

Pros

• ✅ Easy installation and setup process
• ✅ Secure, end-to-end encrypted synchronization
• ✅ Seamless integration with macOS Finder

Cons

• ❌ No automatic two-way synchronization; manual intervention needed for deletions
• ❌ Cannot designate existing folders outside the Proton Drive folder for synchronization

Method 2: Sync Folders Using Rclone

Rclone is a powerful command-line tool that allows you to efficiently sync local folders to Proton Drive. It supports both basic copying and full mirror synchronization, making it ideal for users who want precise control over their data.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Install Rclone

Download and install Rclone from the official website: rclone.org/downloads. Follow the macOS installation instructions provided there.

Step 2: Configure Proton Drive Remote

Run the following command in Terminal to set up Proton Drive access:

rclone config

During configuration, choose a supported backend for Proton Drive (currently WebDAV or compatible settings) and enter your login credentials when prompted.

Step 3: Basic Folder Sync (Copy)

To copy files from your Mac to Proton Drive without deleting any existing files on the cloud:

rclone copy /path/to/local/folder remote_name:/path/in/proton

This will upload new or changed files only. Existing files on Proton Drive that are not in your local folder will be left untouched.

Step 4: Mirror Folder Sync (Sync)

To mirror your local folder to Proton Drive — ensuring both sides are identical — use:

rclone sync /path/to/local/folder remote_name:/path/in/proton

Warning: This will delete any files in the Proton Drive destination folder that do not exist in your local folder.

Pros

• ✅ Fully automatable via cron jobs or scripts
• ✅ Supports both incremental and full mirror synchronization
• ✅ Advanced options like encryption, bandwidth throttling, and file versioning control

Cons

• ❌ Requires command-line familiarity
• ❌ Misuse of sync can accidentally delete important files if not careful
• ❌ Initial setup for Proton Drive via WebDAV may require extra configuration

Method 3: Sync Folders with OurClone (Recommended)

OurClone is a powerful desktop synchronization tool for macOS that supports over 40 cloud services including Google Drive, OneDrive, Proton Drive, Dropbox, AWS S3, Mega, and more.

Step-by-Step: How to Sync Files with OurClone

Step 1: Download and Install OurClone

Visit ourclone.app to download the latest version of OurClone for macOS. Complete the installation process and launch the application.

Step 2: Add a Cloud Storage Account

Click Add Cloud Remote in OurClone. Choose your cloud provider — for example, Google Drive. OurClone supports over 40 platforms including Proton Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and AWS S3. Follow the authorization steps to connect your account securely.

Step 3: Select Source and Destination

After connecting your cloud accounts, choose the source files or folders you want to synchronize. Then select the destination folder in your target cloud storage where the files will be copied or synced.

Step 4: Choose the Sync Mode

OurClone offers three sync modes:

• 📂 Copy – Transfers files without deleting anything at the source. Perfect for standard synchronization tasks.
• ✂️ Move – Transfers files and then deletes them from the source folder, ideal for migrating files.
• 🔄 Sync – Makes the destination folder an exact mirror of the source. Extra files in the destination will be deleted automatically.

Select your preferred mode, configure additional options if needed, and click Migrate to start the synchronization.

Step 5: Monitor Task Progress

Navigate to the Task page in OurClone to monitor the execution of your synchronization task. The progress, status, and detailed logs are available for each task. Once the task shows as completed, your files are successfully synced.

Comparison Table

Post-Sync Verification Steps

rclone check /path/to/local remote_name:/path/in/cloud

rclone cryptcheck /path/to/local remote_name:/path/in/cloud