rclone Serve

rclone serve starts a local server that exposes a remote's contents over various protocols. It's a quick way to share files, serve media, or provide network access to cloud storage.

Quick Summary

serve turns any rclone remote into a file server. Supported protocols: HTTP, WebDAV, SFTP, FTP, DLNA, and Docker volume plugin. Runs as a foreground process by default.

Basic Syntax

rclone serve PROTOCOL REMOTE:PATH [flags]

Available Protocols

Protocol	Command	Default Port	Use Case
HTTP	rclone serve http	8080	Web browser access, downloads
WebDAV	rclone serve webdav	8080	Mountable file server (macOS Finder, Windows)
SFTP	rclone serve sftp	2022	Secure file transfers
FTP	rclone serve ftp	2121	Legacy FTP clients
DLNA	rclone serve dlna	7879	Media streaming to TVs/devices
Docker	rclone serve docker	—	Docker volume plugin

Practical Examples

HTTP File Server

# Serve files via HTTP for download
rclone serve http remote:shared-files --addr :8080

# With directory listings
rclone serve http remote:media --addr :9000

Access at http://localhost:8080 in a browser.

WebDAV Server

# Serve as WebDAV — mountable from any OS
rclone serve webdav remote:my-bucket --addr :8080

# With authentication
rclone serve webdav remote:my-bucket \
  --addr :8080 \
  --user admin \
  --pass secretpassword

Connect from:

• macOS Finder: Connect to Server → http://server:8080
• Windows Explorer: Map Network Drive → http://server:8080
• Linux: mount -t davfs http://server:8080 /mnt/dav

SFTP Server

# Serve as SFTP (secure file transfer)
rclone serve sftp remote:my-bucket \
  --addr :2022 \
  --user sftpuser \
  --pass sftppassword

Connect with: sftp -P 2022 sftpuser@localhost

Media Streaming (DLNA)

# Stream media to smart TVs and devices on your network
rclone serve dlna remote:media/movies --name "Rclone Media"

Background Server with systemd

/etc/systemd/system/rclone-webdav.service

[Unit]
Description=Rclone WebDAV Server
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/rclone serve webdav remote:shared \
  --addr :8080 \
  --user admin \
  --pass secret \
  --log-file /var/log/rclone/webdav.log
Restart=on-failure
User=rclone

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Key Flags

Flag	Description
--addr HOST:PORT	Listen address and port
--user USERNAME	Authentication username
--pass PASSWORD	Authentication password
--read-only	Serve in read-only mode
--vfs-cache-mode MODE	Cache mode: off, minimal, writes, full
--vfs-cache-max-size SIZE	Maximum cache size
--log-file PATH	Write log to file

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence	Prevention
No authentication	Anyone with network access can read/modify files	Always set --user and --pass
Serving on 0.0.0.0 publicly	Exposed to internet	Bind to 127.0.0.1 or use a firewall
No --read-only when sharing	Users can delete/modify files	Add --read-only for share-only scenarios
No VFS cache with write access	Slow writes, potential failures	Use --vfs-cache-mode writes
Foreground process dies	Server stops when session ends	Use systemd service or screen/tmux

What's Next

Examples with Output

1. Host a temporary HTTP file server

Quickly share a remote folder with anyone on your network. Command:

rclone serve http remote:public-files --addr :8080

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: http server listening on [::]:8080

2. Password-protected WebDAV bridge

Serve a remote via WebDAV for OS-native mounting with security. Command:

rclone serve webdav remote:my-bucket --addr :8081 --user admin --pass secret

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: WebDAV server listening on [::]:8081

3. Expose remote as SFTP target

Allow traditional SFTP clients to upload directly to cloud storage. Command:

rclone serve sftp remote:bucket --addr :2022 --user sftpuser --pass sftppas

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: SFTP server listening on [::]:2022

4. Stream media via DLNA

Make your cloud movie library visible to Smart TVs and game consoles. Command:

rclone serve dlna remote:media/movies --name "Cloud Library"

Output:

2024/01/15 12:00:00 NOTICE: DLNA server listening on [::]:7879

5. Use VFS cache for write support

Enable reliable file uploads when serving via WebDAV or SFTP. Command:

rclone serve webdav remote:bucket --vfs-cache-mode writes --addr :8080

Output:

2024/01/15 12:05:00 INFO  : vfs cache: root is "/home/user/.cache/rclone/vfs/..."