I’ve been using a Synology NAS at home for quite a while.
It’s connected over SMB, and I’ve never really had issues with it.
Even when I’m outside, I can easily browse my photos and videos using Synology’s mobile apps.
But recently my work started involving multiple cloud platforms like Google Drive, AWS S3, and Cloudflare R2.
Suddenly I needed a single place to manage them all — and sometimes even back up data to my Synology NAS.
That’s when I discovered Rclone.
It’s powerful, but since it’s a CLI‑based tool, it wasn’t very friendly for someone like me.
So I started looking for a GUI frontend and found RcloneView — and wow, this tool really made my life easier.
It’s still a relatively new app, so the UX and feature set are evolving.
But if you want to manage multiple clouds and NAS in one place, it’s already incredibly useful.
Installation and First Impressions
I downloaded it from rcloneview.com/download. I’m using the Windows version.
After installation I launched it — and boom.
RcloneView immediately detected my Synology NAS on the local network and asked if I wanted to connect.
That was a really nice first impression.
WebDAV setup
Since I also need to access my NAS from outside my home, I chose a WebDAV connection — easy and stable.
In the WebDAV setup dialog, I simply gave the remote a name, entered the NAS WebDAV URL, and filled in my username and password — that was enough to connect from anywhere.
If you want a more detailed walkthrough (including all the optional fields),
see: WebDAV Setup.
Then I connected my Google Drive, AWS S3, and Cloudflare R2 one by one.
The setup for each provider was smooth, with a clear step‑by‑step wizard.
Google Drive setup
In RcloneView you just pick Google Drive from the provider list, give the remote a name, and follow the browser login flow.
Amazon S3 setup
For AWS S3, select the S3 provider, paste your Access Key / Secret Key, choose the region, and you’re good to go.
More detailed S3 configuration (including S3‑compatible providers) is covered here:
AWS S3 and S3‑Compatible.
If you’re not sure how to get your keys and region, see:
How to Get Your AWS Access Key and Region for Rclone.
Cloudflare R2 setup
For Cloudflare R2, RcloneView treats it as an S3‑compatible storage: you enter the access key, secret key, and R2 endpoint.
There’s a separate how‑to that walks through getting those values from the Cloudflare dashboard:
How to Obtain Cloudflare R2 Credentials and Endpoint.
Managing Multiple Clouds in One View
Once all the connections were ready, I could see everything side‑by‑side.
RcloneView pins the Local Disk on the left panel (you can’t move that),
but you can rearrange your cloud tabs however you like. Nice touch.
Now I can browse Google Drive, Synology NAS, Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, and my local folders in a single app.
This alone already saves me a lot of time.
File operations are just drag & drop — very similar to Windows Explorer.
Copying between different clouds feels completely natural.
Handy Tricks: Alias & Quick Access
For folders I use often, I click the Alias (Star) icon (like a bookmark).
This creates a shortcut to that specific folder,
so I don’t have to dig deep through the directory tree every time.
Rclone calls these “Alias remotes,”
but you can just think of them as Favorites or Quick Access folders.
My Real Use Case: How RcloneView Fits Around My Static Site
This diagram is basically my daily workflow in one picture.
RcloneView on my laptop sits in the middle and connects my local repository (disk) with AWS S3, Synology NAS, Google Drive, and Cloudflare R2.
- I develop the site in a local Git repository on disk.
- RcloneView syncs that local build to AWS S3 for web preview.
- At the same time, it keeps instant backups on Synology NAS and Google Drive using a 1:2 Sync job.
- Separately, a scheduled Sync job pushes the same local repository to Cloudflare R2 as an off‑site backup.
RcloneView itself never publishes the website; it focuses on preview and storage.
1. Previewing the Site on AWS S3
When I want to preview changes, I open the local repository on the left and the S3 bucket on the right,
then use either Compare + Copy or Sync.
For small edits, Compare shows exactly which files are new or modified.
I select just those items and click Copy — this updates my S3 preview site without touching everything else.
This saves a ton of time because it doesn’t re‑upload unchanged files.
If there are thousands of files, the comparison itself can still take a while, but it’s usually worth it.
If you want a step‑by‑step walkthrough of the Compare feature,
see: Compare folder contents.
When there are a lot of changes, I simply create an instant Sync job like the one below
and let RcloneView update the S3 bucket in one shot.
2. Instant 1:2 Backup to Synology NAS and Google Drive
I don’t want my local repository to be a single point of failure.
So I created a 1:2 Sync job in RcloneView with:
- Source: local repository on disk
- Destination 1: Synology NAS
- Destination 2: Google Drive
With one click, the same folder is synced to both destinations.
This gives me a fast local backup (NAS) and a cloud backup (Google Drive) at the same time.
For more details on how instant sync between multiple remotes works,
check: Synchronize Remote Storages Instantly.
While a sync is running, the Transfer panel at the bottom shows live progress —
file counts, speed, and estimated time. It’s surprisingly satisfying to watch. 😎
When I’m happy with an instant sync setup like this, I click Save to Jobs.
The job is stored in the Job Manager, so I can re‑run or tweak it anytime without re‑configuring everything.
If you’re curious about creating and managing jobs,
there’s a dedicated guide: Create Sync jobs.
3. Scheduled Off‑Site Backup to Cloudflare R2
For disaster‑recovery style backups, I use Cloudflare R2.
Here again the source is the local repository on disk, but this time I create a dedicated job:
- Source: local repository
- Destination: Cloudflare R2 bucket (backup only)
Then I enable a schedule so this job runs automatically — e.g. once a day.
In the screenshot below, I’m scheduling a backup to run at 00:10 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
RcloneView uses a crontab‑style syntax, so you can describe very precise schedules.
At first that syntax looks a bit intimidating, but there’s a built‑in Simulator that shows the next run times, so it’s easy to verify that you got it right.
The execution history for each scheduled job is also available from the Job Manager.
Click the History icon to see when the job ran, how long it took, how many files were transferred, and whether it completed successfully.
If you want to go deeper into automated scheduling,
the advanced docs cover it in detail:
Job scheduling and Automated Execution.
It’s a bit disappointing that this scheduling feature is only available on the paid tier,
but even with the free plan you can still run manual backups easily using Sync.
Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For
What I like
- Clean, visual interface for Rclone’s powerful features
- Easy setup for multiple providers (Google Drive, S3, R2, NAS, etc.)
- Drag‑and‑drop transfers between any two remotes
- Helpful tools like Compare, Sync, and Alias favorites
- Transfer panel with clear progress and speed information
Things that could be better
- Folder comparison can be slow on very large directories
- Some advanced options still feel a bit technical if you’re not familiar with Rclone
- Scheduling is locked behind a paid plan (though understandable)
Final Thoughts
If you manage multiple clouds or NAS systems, RcloneView is absolutely worth checking out.
RcloneView makes multi‑cloud storage management feel almost effortless.
It bridges the gap between power users who know the Rclone CLI and everyday users who just want a reliable, visual interface.
Sure, there’s room for improvement —
faster folder comparison, more polished UI, maybe richer scheduling options.
But even now, it’s already one of the most practical hybrid‑cloud managers I’ve tried.
Try it yourself at 👉 https://rcloneview.com
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