Ambifold

Private beta: October–NovemberOct–Nov 2026

Your folders and Google Drive, kept in sync. On Linux.

Ambifold is a background app for Linux that keeps the folders you choose in two‑way sync with Google Drive™. It shows you what it will do before the first sync, stops before mass deletes, and keeps a backup of the files it replaces or deletes on your computer.

Join the private beta See how it works
  • Linux Mint and Ubuntu
  • A free edition, always
  • No server in between
  • Will be open source
The Ambifold settings page listing folder pairs such as Documents and Photos, each marked Up to date, with buttons to sync now, see details or open the folder.

The settings page runs on your own computer and opens in your usual browser. Screenshot of the current pre-release.

Why now

Google Drive is leaving the Linux file manager.

Google has never made a Drive app for Linux. For years the desktop filled the gap: sign in once, and your Drive showed up in the file manager. That is going away.

GNOME 50, the desktop of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, no longer opens Google Drive in Files: the library behind it went unmaintained, and GVfs, the layer that file managers use for online storage, stopped using it. The next Linux Mint (working name Mint 23), planned for Christmas 2026, is built on Ubuntu 26.04, and Mint's project lead has written that GNOME Online Accounts, which brought Drive into Mint's file manager, “no longer supports Google Drive”.

What changed on Ubuntu 26.04 and Linux Mint, and what still works

Ambifold is a different approach. Instead of browsing Drive over the network, it keeps real copies of your chosen folders on your disk, so files open instantly, work offline, and sync both ways in the background.

  1. April 2026 Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ships with GNOME 50 Google Drive no longer opens in the Files app.
  2. October–November 2026 Ambifold private beta For Linux Mint and Ubuntu users. Ask for an invite.
  3. Christmas 2026 (planned) The next Linux Mint, based on Ubuntu 26.04 Mint says Online Accounts no longer supports Google Drive.

How it works

Set it up once. Then let it run.

Ambifold lives in your tray and keeps working in the background. Its settings page opens in your browser whenever you need it.

  1. Connect your Google account

    The free edition guides you step by step through creating your own Google sign-in client, a one-time setup. Add more accounts the same way, personal and work side by side (if your organisation allows it).

  2. Pick a pair of folders

    Choose a folder on your computer and a folder in your Drive. Add as many pairs as you like, for example Documents, Photos and Work.

  3. Check the preview, then confirm

    Ambifold shows what the first sync will copy in each direction. Nothing happens until you confirm. From then on, both sides stay in sync on their own.

Features

The essentials of two‑way sync, done carefully.

Two-way, always on

Edits on your computer are picked up within seconds. Changes made in Drive, on the web or on your phone, usually arrive within a minute while you are working, and within a few minutes when things are quiet.

Real files on your disk

Not a network mount: your synced files are ordinary local files. They open instantly, work offline, and every app can use them.

Several Google accounts

Connect personal and work accounts at the same time, each with its own folder pairs. Work and school accounts need their administrator to allow apps like this one.

Right there in your tray

See the status at a glance, open any synced folder, sync everything now, or pause and resume, straight from the tray icon.

Conflicts without losses

If a file changed on both sides, the newer version wins by default and the other is kept next to it with “conflict” and a number in its name.

Private by design

Your files go straight between your computer and Google. There is no Ambifold server, no account with us, and no analytics. The settings page is reachable only from your own computer.

Safety

Careful by default, so mistakes can be undone.

Two-way sync is powerful, and a mistake travels fast. Ambifold checks with you before big changes and leaves you a way to get files back.

  • A preview before the first syncSee how many files will be copied each way, and which ones. Nothing happens until you confirm, and the first sync never deletes anything.
  • A safety stop for mass deletesIf one sync would delete more than half of the files on either side (you can change the limit), Ambifold stops and shows you the list. You decide whether to allow it once.
  • Backups of replaced filesWhen a sync deletes or overwrites a file on your computer, the old copy goes to a backup folder first and is kept for 30 days (adjustable). In your Drive, Google keeps earlier versions of a replaced file in its version history.
  • Drive's trash for deletes in DriveWhen a sync deletes a file in your Drive, it goes to Google Drive's trash, where you can restore it for 30 days.
  • No guessing after a problemIf the record of the last sync is ever lost or damaged, Ambifold never starts over on its own: it asks you to preview and confirm again. After a crash or power cut, it picks up from the last completed sync.
Ambifold's preview of the first sync of a Music folder: 12 files to copy to this computer, 10 to copy to Google Drive and 1 to replace on this computer, followed by the list of files.
The preview before a first sync: what will be copied each way. Nothing is deleted, and nothing happens until you confirm.

Status and limits

Where Ambifold is today, honestly.

Ambifold works end to end on the developer's own computer and has a large automated test suite, but it has not been in other people's hands yet. That is what the beta is for.

  • NowPre-release

    A private beta for Linux Mint and Ubuntu users is planned for October and November 2026. Please keep your usual backups while you try it.

  • LimitLinux only

    Linux Mint and Ubuntu come first (Cinnamon and GNOME); other distributions may work but are not tested yet. There is no Windows or macOS version, and none is planned: on those systems, Google's own Drive for desktop does this job.

  • LimitChanges from Drive

    Ambifold asks Google Drive for its list of changes on a schedule, not the moment they happen: every 30 seconds after recent activity, every 2 minutes when things are quiet and every 5 minutes after a few quiet hours, and not while the computer sleeps. So a change made in Drive usually arrives within a minute or two, and after a long quiet spell within about five. Changes on your computer are picked up within seconds.

  • LimitGoogle Docs, Sheets and Slides

    By default these stay in Drive and are skipped: they are not regular files, and Google only offers converted copies (such as .docx) without version history, sharing or live editing together. You can turn on those copies in the settings, but editing one can replace the original Google document with a plain file. Everything else, such as PDFs, photos and office files, syncs normally.

  • LimitMy Drive only

    Folders in your own Drive can be synced. Shared drives and “Shared with me” are not supported yet.

  • LimitWork and school accounts

    If your organisation's Google Workspace administrator restricts third-party apps, or your account uses Advanced Protection, Google may block the sign-in.

  • LimitA one-time setup

    The free edition needs your own Google sign-in client. The app walks you through creating it step by step, once. Because the client is yours and unverified, Google shows a warning screen during sign-in, which the guide explains.

  • NoteTray icon

    The tray icon needs a panel that shows app indicators: Cinnamon does, and so does Ubuntu's GNOME. Without one, Ambifold opens its settings page instead.

FAQ

Questions you might have

Is Ambifold free? What will cost money?

There will always be a free edition, with the full sync features. It asks you to create your own Google sign-in client, a one-time setup that the app guides you through step by step.

Later, we plan a paid “Connect” plan that replaces that setup with a one-click Google sign-in. It depends on Google verifying Ambifold, which takes time, so it is not available yet. The beta is free.

Why do I have to create my own Google sign-in client?

To sync any folder you choose, Ambifold needs full access to your Google Drive. Google lets a public app ask for that only after a lengthy security review. The free edition avoids that by connecting through a client that you create in your own Google Cloud project, which Google allows for personal use. The client and its keys stay with you, on your computer. The planned Connect plan will use Ambifold's own client instead, once Google has verified it.

What access to my Google account does Ambifold need, and why?

Ambifold asks Google for access to your Google Drive files (Google's sign-in screen calls it “See, edit, create, and delete all of your Google Drive files”), and it reads your account's name and email address to label the account in the app.

It uses that access only for what you set up: to show your Drive folders when you pick one, and to download, upload, update and delete files so that each folder pair stays the same on both sides. When a sync deletes a file in your Drive, the file goes to Drive's trash. All of this happens on your computer; nothing is sent to us. The privacy policy has the details.

Can Ambifold see my files?

No. Ambifold has no server. Your files and your Google sign-in go directly between your computer and Google, and the app sends nothing to us or to anyone else: no analytics, no telemetry, no crash reports. You do not need an account with us. Your files stay between your computer and your Google account.

The settings page runs on your computer at 127.0.0.1. It needs a one-time key that the tray icon hands to your browser, and it refuses requests from other websites and from other users of the same computer. Read the privacy policy for the details.

Is there a Windows or Mac version?

No, and none is planned. On Windows and macOS, Google's own Drive for desktop does this job well, and we recommend it. Ambifold exists for Linux, where Google offers no Drive app.

Is Ambifold open source?

It will be. Ambifold will be released as open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. The code is private while the beta takes shape, and will be published later.

Why not rclone, Insync or FreeFileSync?

All three are good tools, and one of them is inside Ambifold. The difference is focus:

  • rclone is the engine Ambifold is built on: it ships inside the app, and its bisync command does the file transfers. On its own, rclone is a command-line tool, and two-way sync with it means choosing the right options, handling first runs and errors, and scheduling it yourself. Ambifold adds the always-on background app, the file watching, the preview, the safety stops and backups, the tray and the settings page.
  • Insync is a mature, polished, commercial app. If it suits you, it is a fine choice. Ambifold is for people who want an app that will be open source and has a free edition.
  • FreeFileSync is an excellent tool for comparing and syncing folders, including with Google Drive, through sync jobs that you set up and run or schedule. Ambifold is narrower: a background app dedicated to keeping folders and Google Drive in two-way sync, with Drive-specific safety defaults.

Compared with mounting Drive as a network folder (as the file manager did, or rclone mount), Ambifold keeps real local copies, so your files work offline and open instantly.

Our guide to Google Drive clients for Linux in 2026 compares these and other options, including what each one does better.

Is it safe to try on my real files?

Ambifold is designed for exactly that, with a preview before the first sync, a stop before mass deletes, backups of replaced files on your computer, and Drive's own trash on the other side. It is still pre-release software, though, so start with one folder and keep your usual backups during the beta.

Which Linux distributions will work?

The beta targets Linux Mint and Ubuntu, with the Cinnamon and GNOME desktops, including encrypted home folders. Other distributions may well work, but they are not tested yet. Tell us yours in the signup form: it helps us decide what to test next.

The download page explains what you need, and how installing, updates and removing work.