Selective syncing of files for Mac/Linux/Windows
Actual syncing of files is so important, that I was considering to upgrade my plan today for getting 500GB storage. But then I realized that ProtonDrive doesn't sync files, and that it works with manual upload/download only, so it wouldn't be useful for me, and so I'll wait rather than upgrade now.
I work with Mac, Linux, and Windows computers, so I need to sync across them.
Also note that I said "selective syncing". It would be highly desirable that if you have 200GB of files and you start working with a computer you didn't sync yet, this doesn't trigger a 200GB download, but just a download of the files you really need in that moment. I realize that doing this automatically would be technically challenging (specially if you support Mac, Linux, and Windows), because it would require low-level integration with the filesystem, which is a hard thing, but... I tend to believe there could be some manual workaround (like manually limiting the synced folders/files for a computer) that could offer almost the same functionality without a technically difficult solution.
Selective syncing is not just about avoiding unnecessary huge downloads, but to be able to work in computers whose free disk space is not enough for storing all your files: if you could choose to sync only a part of the folders tree in that limited space computer, it would be perfect.
By the way, being able to bypass network-based syncing in some situations, by copying the files with a physical hard disk, would be a plus. Just imagine: You get a new laptop, and you want to sync on it your 200GB of files. Rather than doing it with the network, if you have your files in another computer and you can copy them with a physical disk or local network, you would save lots of unnecesary network traffic. Then, after such big copy is done, the new laptop will continue working with network-based syncing as usual.

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Fedora and GrapheneOS commented
I use Syncthing and Syncthing-Fork to keep Linux (Fedora) and android in sync.
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gnatsthey37 commented
Currently "syncing" in Proton Drive is just backing up, an actual syncing feature that applies changes to files across devices syncing the same folder would be genuine syncing rather than just backing up files.
That would be extremely helpful when having configurations of programs/settings on multiple devices or between work-home PCs which would remove the need for worrying about moving files manually between them.
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uservoice commented
when will it be possible to synchronize only individual directories?
where can you see the current development status of the mac os app? -
Ashlynn commented
I'd like to see this be from the program side on the PC, and from the drive side. If I want a folder 'never' to be synced when installing the program, I should be able to remove it from the drive side. On PC's, I should be able to select which folders I actually require on that PC, not 'everything.'
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Pat C commented
This! Number one reason why I can't make the switch. I use SugarSync which does this very well.
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A commented
It would be fantastic if Proton Drive offered a Selective Sync feature. This would allow us to choose which folders or files are downloaded to our local devices while keeping the rest in the cloud. This would help manage local storage more effectively and ensure that sensitive files aren’t unnecessarily stored on our devices. so this is major security enhancement also
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Linus commented
It would be great to have the ability to sync with Android and Linux devices, along with precise control over what gets synced to each device. This could include options like syncing specific subfolders of existing syncs to another device—for example, syncing /Photos/Phone/DCIM directly to your phone’s DCIM folder. Additionally, a feature like a denylist could be implemented to prevent certain files, such as those marked with *.deleted, from being synced, ensuring deleted photos don't get transferred.
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Simbiat commented
Main reason why I am still using OneDrive is that I need to keep folders on 2 PCs synced and local (on both PCs). Proton does not seem to allow this. Or at least it seems to allow this only for files that were initially uploaded to cloud, but not for folders that were added on one of the PCs.
The idea is that I sync folders on PC1 to Proton, then on PC2 I "link" that folder on PC1 to respective location on PC2 (ideally with option to link each individual folder from PC1 to individual folder on PC2, but even linking whole set of uploaded files like OneDrive is fine). Then I modify a file on PC1 or PC2 and updated version gets uploaded both to the cloud and to PC2 or PC1 respectively.
Not only will this replicate what makes OneDrive good (at least for my usecase), but it will allow to save space in Proton, since you will not be uploading the same data twice (separate copies from PC1 and PC2). This will also reduce network traffic, at least in situations, when you need to resync data after significant crash or Window reinstall or whatever else, that will make Proton think you are on a different PC, while your files are still there. -
zorxx commented
I want to use Proton Drive to synchronize all of my files between multiple computers (MacOS and Windows). All new files and folders or changes to existing ones should be automatically downloaded on all computers without the need to download them manually. That's why I would like to see an option to disable on-demand synchronization.
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Brian J commented
Syncing files/folders from one computer to another would be great
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Pavla commented
Hey guys, tl;dr: there is now such a feature, it is called On-Demand Sync and does exactly what it says.
Not sure how long this has been implemented and I can only speak about the macOS side of things but there totally is an option to sync and un-sync (i.e. download from the cloud to your local drive and again remove the local version and keep only the one on the cloud.)
See all details here: https://proton.me/support/proton-drive-macos-on-demand-sync
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Jim Nantz commented
Today I ran a test on my Proton Drive account. I added a folder with 3 files in it. On my local copy of the folder, I added a 4th file then tried to upload the folder again. It told me a folder with that name already exists and gave me 2 choices. 1 Replace the existing folder or 2 keep both, with a number added to the name of the second folder. For windows and mac users you have the option to sync a folder with the Proton Drive client. For Linux there is no Proton Drive client. The only way I have to access Proton Drive is through the web interface. This leaves me one option to keep my files synced with Proton Drive. That is to keep delete the entire backup I have on Proton Drive and upload all the files again. On my local file system, when I copy a folder and there's one with the same name on the destination device, I'm given the option to write files into the existing folder and subfolders. If there's a file with the same name already there, I've given the option to overwrite it or skip it, and the option to overwrite all or skip all. Having that on Proton Drive would allow me to keep a backup of the photos I take by uploading just the new ones instead of uploading them all again. I get the impression you have little or no interest in a Proton Drive client for Linux. Can you at least add the option I mentioned here? It shouldn't be too difficult. It's just adding a couple of options to something (web interface) that already exists.
Thank you
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Eien commented
I got the paying version to finally get rid of dropbox, but without this function I'm stuck with it for a while longer. I do not have enough space on the computer for having any use for proton drive :(
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Terry commented
I would love it if there were multiple options for folder syncing:
1. Sync folder with a folder in your drive (accessible by other devices too)
2. Sync folder with other devices but do not show in your main drive overview
3. Sync folder for backup (no access on other devices, we only have this now I believe)I especially need 1 or 2 to sync files between my laptop (windows) and phone (android). I need them available in a local folder because I want to use those files in apps like Obsidian
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Antonio commented
--- pCloud --- it has the best solution.
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Brick Wall commented
The initial catalog download can take a long time especially if you're on a slow link. It would be handy if we could select the individual files and folders that we want to sync with the client. As I only need about 10-15MB usually and the other 10GB is mostly backup/cold data. This would increase performance by only needing to prepare and download the manifest for a few folders/files.
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M commented
1) I need to be able to sync multiple computers to my P-Drive without them syncing between each other (except the shared Proton folder).
2) I need an isolated storage vault, where I can backup files, and have them NOT sync to any machines. Like in Sync.com for instance.
I do not see how to achieve these with Proton and these are the most basic features... Did I miss some memo? The "other computers" folder with the "images" of all files from the other computers is a disaster for me. I do not want to mess with the other computers files and I do not want these to appear in various searches run on the local drive... Please....
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Domenico commented
Proton Drive (windows app) doesn't allow the user to choose folders/files to NOT download on your pc. If I want to use Proton Drive only for Uploading purposes, it is not possible as it always downloads everything else that is in the Proton Drive
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Bill Walton commented
I often work on data or files on my desktop, and later move to my laptop to continue working. My understanding of the current sync a folder function is that files from each computer are segregated in the cloud. There's no way to sync a folder on one computer and have that folder mirrored on another. This functionality is like SugarSync.
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Brad S commented
Upvoting specifically for sync across computers rather than what appears to be the Google drive pattern of just syncing individual computers.