Build rclone with the Tarkle backend (beta)

Build rclone from Tarkle’s fork, and rclone config then offers Tarkle as a storage type. After the build, you set up a remote with your Tarkle API key and sync files the way you do with any other rclone remote.

Beta. The native rclone backend for Tarkle is in beta. It is not in any official rclone release, so an rclone installed from rclone.org, Homebrew or apt does not show Tarkle. Today it works only when you build rclone from Tarkle’s fork, branch tarkle-backend. This build is for people who are comfortable with Go and a terminal. The backend is pending review by rclone’s own maintainers, in the upstream pull request.

Why a build is needed

The Tarkle backend is not in any official rclone release yet. It lives on Tarkle’s fork of rclone, on the branch tarkle-backend, and in an upstream pull request that rclone’s maintainers have not merged. Building the fork gives you an rclone binary that already contains the backend.

What you need

Go 1.26. The fork’s go.mod asks for this version.
git, to clone the fork.
A terminal on the computer or server that holds the files.
A Tarkle API key for the remote you set up after the build. Only the owner or an admin can create an API key. Create it on the API keys tab of Settings > API, and read how to create and manage an API key.

Build the binary

git clone https://github.com/tarkleHQ/rclone
cd rclone
git checkout tarkle-backend
go build -o rclone-tarkle .

The build writes a file named rclone-tarkle into the rclone folder. Run that file, not another rclone, for every Tarkle command in this section and in Configure the remote.

Check the build

./rclone-tarkle version
./rclone-tarkle config

version prints the version of this build. In config, type n for a new remote and give it a name. The storage list then shows Tarkle, with the type tarkle. If Tarkle is not in the list, the binary you ran is not the build from the fork. Press Ctrl+C to leave config without saving anything, or configure the remote when Tarkle is in the list.

Keep the build up to date

Change to the folder you cloned, switch to the same branch, pull the latest changes and build again:

cd rclone
git checkout tarkle-backend
git pull
go build -o rclone-tarkle .

Then run ./rclone-tarkle version to confirm the new build.

When the upstream pull request merges

This page will change when the upstream pull request is merged. Until then, build from the fork as described here.

Official packages

Official rclone packages do not show Tarkle yet. Until the backend is in an official release, use the build from the fork. For what the integration covers, see the rclone overview.

Next steps

Configure the remote sets the API key and the workspace key, then runs the first commands.
Limits and errors lists the file and rate limits and the errors rclone can show.
Authentication and API keys explain the Tarkle API key. One API key does everything in Tarkle: the API, the MCP server and rclone.