Ambifold

Guide

Two-way Google Drive sync on Linux: a safety checklist

Two-way sync keeps a folder on your computer and a folder in Google Drive the same: change one, and the other follows. That includes mistakes. These eight checks work with any sync tool, and make sure that a mistake can always be undone.

By Ambifold · Published · Last checked

Disclosure: we make Ambifold, a two-way sync app for Linux, in a private beta by invitation in October and November 2026, with a public beta planned for 1 December 2026. This checklist is meant for any sync tool; only section 10 is about Ambifold. If something here is wrong or out of date, please tell us at support@ambifold.com.

The checklist on one screen

  1. Start with one small folder that you also have a copy of somewhere else.
  2. Let only one tool sync a folder. Never sync a folder that is inside a Drive mount.
  3. Know Google's safety nets: Drive's trash keeps deleted files for 30 days; older versions of a replaced file may go after 30 days.
  4. Keep a backup that sync can't reach. Two-way sync is not a backup.
  5. Pause before you move or rename the synced folder itself.
  6. Decide what happens to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. Skipping them is the safe default.
  7. Watch out for disks that may be unplugged, and encrypted home folders.
  8. After the first sync, compare both sides and practise one restore.

1. Start with one folder that also exists elsewhere

Most surprises happen in the first sync. The tool meets two sets of files for the first time and has to decide what is the same, what is new and what is a conflict.

  • Choose one folder whose files you know well, not your whole home folder or your whole Drive. A few hundred files are enough to see how a tool behaves.
  • Copy that folder somewhere else first: to a USB disk, or to a folder outside the one you will sync. If the first sync goes wrong, you still have your files, without relying on any trash.
  • Read the preview or dry run. Look at what will be copied each way and what will be replaced. A first sync should copy files, not delete them.
  • Turn on a delete limit, if your tool has one. It stops a sync that would delete a large share of your files, which is exactly what an empty or missing folder looks like. rclone bisync stops by default when more than 50% of the files on either side would be deleted (--max-delete).
  • Add more folders later, once the first one has run for a few days without surprises.

With rclone bisync, the first run needs --resync, and rclone recommends trying it with --dry-run first. Never leave --resync in a scheduled command: rclone's documentation points out that with it on every run, it would never be possible to delete a file. Our guide to rclone bisync for Google Drive covers the commands.

2. Never let two tools sync the same folder

Two sync tools working on the same files each see the other's work as new changes. Files go up twice, conflict copies appear, and a delete made through one can be carried further by the other.

The obvious case is easy to avoid. These are less obvious:

  • A folder inside a Drive mount. If Google Drive is mounted as a folder (with rclone mount, ExpanDrive, google-drive-ocamlfuse, or the file manager's Online Accounts on older releases), its files are already in Drive. Syncing that folder with Drive syncs Drive with itself, which can duplicate or delete files.
  • A folder inside another sync app's folder, such as Insync's or overGrive's, or one that another cloud app, such as Dropbox, also keeps in sync.
  • Folders that overlap: one synced folder inside another, in the same tool or in two.
  • Switching tools. Stop the old tool for that folder first (quit it, and remove it from your startup apps or timers), then set up the new one and read its preview.

Syncing the same Drive folder on two computers is fine: that is what sync is for. The rule is one tool per folder on each computer. Our comparison of Google Drive clients for Linux says which tools sync and which mount.

3. Drive's trash and version history

These are Google's own safety nets, and they work whichever tool you use. Know their limits before you need them.

What happenedWhere to lookHow long it is kept
A file was deleted in your Drive, by you or by a sync tool Drive's trash, on the web 30 days, then deleted forever. Empty trash deletes at once.
A file such as a PDF or a photo was replaced by a newer version Manage versions, in the file's menu in Drive An older version may be deleted after 30 days, or once there are 100 newer ones, unless you choose Keep forever
A Google Doc, Sheet or Slides file was changed The document's own version history Kept in the document, but Google may merge older versions: name the ones that matter
Someone with a work or school account emptied their trash Their Google Workspace administrator The administrator can restore files for 25 days after the trash was emptied
  • Check that your tool uses the trash. Google's interface for apps (the Drive API) can also delete a file forever, without the trash. rclone uses the trash by default (--drive-use-trash is on unless you turn it off): leave it on. For other tools, look for a trash setting, or test it as in section 8.
  • Check a new sync within days, not weeks, so that you notice a problem while the 30 days are still running. Don't empty Drive's trash while you set up a sync.
  • Files someone else owns go to their trash when they delete them, so only they can restore them.
  • Your computer has no version history. A file that a sync replaces or deletes on your computer is gone, unless your tool keeps the old copy (with rclone bisync, --backup-dir1, when your computer's folder is the first path in the command) or you have your own backup.

4. Keep your own backup

Two-way sync is not a backup. Delete a file or save over it by mistake, and the sync copies that to the other side within seconds or minutes. A backup is a copy that no sync can change.

  • Back up the synced folder like any other folder, to a disk that isn't synced, such as a USB disk. Linux Mint's Backup Tool saves your home folder when you run it. Déjà Dup (called Backups) can do it on a schedule; on Ubuntu, you may need to install it from the App Center first.
  • Timeshift is not that backup. Its own documentation says it protects system files and settings, and leaves out your documents, pictures and music.
  • Keep backups outside the synced folder, and keep a sync tool's own backup and log folders outside it too. A backup inside a synced folder is synced like everything else, deletes included.
  • A sync tool's backup folder is a short-term safety net. It is usually on the same disk, and it is cleaned out after a while.
  • Before a big change, keep a copy of your Drive itself. Google Takeout (takeout.google.com) downloads your Google data, Drive included, as an archive.

5. Moving or renaming a synced folder

To a sync tool, the folder you chose is a fixed place. Move or rename it, and the tool sees the folder disappear. A careful tool stops and asks. A careless one reads it as “everything was deleted” and deletes the files in Drive (into the trash, at least).

  • The synced folder itself: pause or stop syncing it first, move it, then show the tool the new place and check its preview. Use the tool's own way to move a folder, if it has one.
  • Folders inside it: renaming them is normal, but many tools, rclone bisync among them, copy a rename as a delete plus a new copy. If the folder holds more than half of the files, rclone bisync's delete limit stops the sync. That is the limit doing its job: check the list, then allow it once.
  • Shared files, and files whose history matters: when a rename is copied as a delete plus a new file, the new file in Drive starts without the old one's sharing, comments and version history, and the old one goes to the trash. Rename or move such files in Drive on the web, and let the change come down to your computer.
  • Moving files out of the synced folder deletes them in Drive (into the trash). That is how sync works, but it surprises people who use the synced folder as a place to sort files.

6. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

Google's own documents are not ordinary files: they live in Drive, and Google only offers converted copies of them, such as .docx, .xlsx or .pptx. A sync tool can skip them, put a link on your disk, or download such a copy.

  • Skipping them is the safe default. They stay in Drive, and you open them in the browser. In rclone, that is --drive-skip-gdocs.
  • A converted copy is a copy. Edit it and let it sync back, and, depending on the tool, the edit fails to sync, appears next to the document as a second file, or replaces the document with a plain file. Either way, the document's version history, comments and editing together don't carry over.
  • Deleting a copy can delete the document. To the sync tool, the copy and the document are one file, so a delete on your computer is carried to Drive. The document goes to Drive's trash.
  • Move and rename Google documents in Drive, not on your computer. rclone's bisync documentation explains why: a rename on your computer counts as a delete plus a new file, so the Google document is deleted and a plain file appears under the new name.
  • A converted copy on your disk is not a backup of the document. Google Takeout is the better way to keep one.

7. Unplugged disks and encrypted home folders

When a disk isn't plugged in, its folder is either missing or an empty folder. To a sync tool that doesn't check, both can look like “every file was deleted”.

  • Keep your first synced folders in your home folder, on the computer's own disk.
  • On a USB disk or a network share, use a tool that notices when it is missing. rclone bisync refuses to sync when one side is empty (“Empty current Path1 listing”), and --check-access, with RCLONE_TEST files that you place on both sides, checks that it is looking at the right folders. The delete limit is the last line of defence.
  • An encrypted home folder (Linux Mint's, for example) is unlocked only when you log in. Start your sync tool after you log in, as your own user: from Startup Applications, or as a systemd user service. Don't run it from a system service, a timer or a cron job that can start before you log in. Full-disk encryption, which you unlock when the computer starts, doesn't have this problem.

8. What to check after the first sync

  • Compare both sides. On your computer, count the files and the size of the folder (here, a folder called Projects): 
    find ~/Projects -type f | wc -l
du -sh --apparent-size ~/Projects
    With rclone, rclone size gdrive:Projects (with your remote's name) gives the same numbers for the Drive folder. On the web, check that the folders you expect are there. Small differences can be files the tool skips, such as Google Docs.
  • Look in Drive's trash, sorted by Trashed date. There should be nothing from today that you didn't delete.
  • Open a few files on both sides: large ones, recent ones, and ones with accents or other alphabets in their names.
  • Look for conflict copies: files with “conflict” or a number added to their name.
  • Practise one restore. Create a test file on your computer and check that it appears in Drive. Edit it in Drive, or on your phone, and wait for the change to come back. Then delete it on your computer, find it in Drive's trash and restore it. Now you know the way back before you need it.
  • Restart the computer and check that syncing starts by itself, and doesn't start over with a full first sync.

9. If files look missing

Most deleted files can be brought back: they usually sit in a trash or a backup folder for 30 days. Work through these steps in order.

  1. Stop syncing: pause the tool, or stop its timer. A mistake can't spread while you look.
  2. Don't empty Drive's trash or the Trash on your computer.
  3. In Drive: open Trash, sort by Trashed date, select the files and choose Restore. They go back to their folders, and the sync brings them back to your computer once you resume it.
  4. A replaced file in Drive: right-click it, open File information and choose Manage versions.
  5. On your computer: look in the tool's backup folder (with rclone bisync, the folder you gave --backup-dir1), in the Trash, and in your own backup.
  6. A work or school account whose trash was emptied: ask your Google Workspace administrator soon. They have 25 days.

Ambifold users: Files look missing? What to do first has the same steps for Ambifold, including where its backup folder is.

10. How Ambifold handles each point

Ambifold is our two-way sync app for Linux. It runs rclone inside and adds these safeguards. You still need your own backup.

  1. One folder first: a preview shows how many files the first sync will copy each way, and which. Nothing happens until you confirm, and the first sync never deletes anything.
  2. One tool: it refuses a folder inside an rclone mount, inside Google Drive as GNOME Online Accounts shows it, inside an ExpanDrive drive, or inside Insync's or overGrive's folder, and offers a normal folder instead.
  3. Trash and versions: files it deletes in your Drive go to Drive's trash. Files it deletes or replaces on your computer go to its backup folder first, for 30 days (you can change that). If one sync would delete more than half of a folder's files (a limit you can change), it stops and shows you the list.
  4. Backups: that backup folder is a 30-day safety net on your home disk, not a backup.
  5. Moving or renaming: if you move, rename or delete a synced folder, Ambifold puts that folder on hold, deletes nothing on the other side and asks; Find it… shows it the new place (how). If the synced folder is moved or renamed in your Drive, Ambifold follows it by itself. A file renamed on your computer is uploaded under its new name, and the old one goes to Drive's trash.
  6. Docs: Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are skipped by default and stay in Drive. You can turn on converted copies in the settings. If you edit a copy, Ambifold leaves it out, keeps syncing the rest of the folder, and asks whether to keep your changes as a new file or discard them. Renaming, moving or deleting a copy moves the document to Drive's trash (section 6).
  7. Disks: it waits for a disk that isn't plugged in, an encrypted folder that isn't unlocked or a network share that doesn't answer, and never takes an empty mount point for a deleted folder. On Linux Mint's encrypted home folder, USB sticks and network drives, it also checks with a trial run after it starts. It starts when you log in, as you.
  8. After the first sync: Recent activity on its settings page lists what syncs deleted or renamed, with the date until which a deleted file can still be restored.

Its limits today: it is in a private beta for Linux Mint and Ubuntu, by invitation, until the public beta planned for 1 December 2026, so keep your usual backups. It syncs My Drive only, not Shared drives or “Shared with me”. Changes you make in Drive arrive in about 1–5 minutes (usually within a minute while you're active). Changes on your computer are noticed within seconds, but on a large Drive a sync can take a couple of minutes. The free edition needs your own Google sign-in client, which the app walks you through. More on the safety features and limits.

11. FAQ

Is two-way sync a backup?

No. It copies deletes and mistakes to the other side, by design. Keep a separate backup on a disk that isn't synced (section 4).

How long does Google Drive keep deleted files?

30 days in the trash, then they are deleted forever. Emptying the trash deletes them at once. For work and school accounts, an administrator can restore files for 25 days after the trash was emptied.

Does Google Drive keep old versions of my files?

Yes, for files such as PDFs, photos and office files: open Manage versions in Drive. An older version may be deleted after 30 days, or once there are 100 newer ones, unless you choose Keep forever. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides have their own version history.

Can I sync the same Google Drive folder on two computers?

Yes, with one sync tool on each. If you edit the same file on both before they sync, most tools keep both versions, one of them as a conflict copy, so look for those now and then.

Should I sync my whole Google Drive?

Not at first. A large first sync takes longer and is harder to check. Start with one folder, then add others. Keep enough free space on your disk for everything you sync.

12. Sources

All checked on 16 October 2026, and Ambifold's changelog again on 19 October 2026.

13. Changes to this guide

  • : first published.
  • : section 10 now says what Ambifold does with an edited converted copy of a Google document: it leaves the copy out, keeps syncing the rest of the folder, and asks whether to keep your changes as a new file or discard them.

Private beta

Try Ambifold before everyone else

Always-on two-way sync of the folders you choose, with a preview first, a stop before mass deletes and backups of replaced files. We are inviting a small group of Linux Mint and Ubuntu users in October and November 2026.

Ask for an invite See its limits first