The quickest rclone GUI on a Mac is the one built into rclone: install rclone and run rclone gui, and it opens a web interface in your browser. If you want a proper Mac app instead, Rclone UI is free and open source, and RcloneView is free with a paid tier for scheduled jobs. Rclone Browser, the one most old forum threads recommend, hasn't had a release since 2020.
Which one fits depends on why you wanted rclone. For browsing and moving files between clouds, any of the four works. For backups you can trust, a GUI on top of rclone still leaves you building the backup yourself, and a few Mac apps do that job directly.
TL;DR: Rclone's built-in web GUI (rclone gui, free) runs in your browser while Terminal stays open. Rclone UI is a free, open-source desktop app for Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel) that can install rclone for you and run scheduled tasks. RcloneView has a free plan, with scheduled jobs in Plus ($19.80/year) or Lifetime ($99.80). Rclone Browser's last release was 1.8.0 in 2020. If the goal is backup rather than file management, a backup app (Arq for versioned cloud backup, Tusk for project files across drives and cloud with BLAKE3 checks) skips the rclone setup.
First: Install Rclone on Your Mac
Every GUI below except Rclone UI expects rclone to be installed already. The simplest way is Homebrew:
brew install rclone
Then set up a "remote" (rclone's word for a storage account) with rclone config, which walks you through Backblaze B2, S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, and about 70 other providers in Terminal. Most GUIs can also create remotes, so you can skip this if you'd rather click.
To mount a remote as a drive in Finder, macOS needs a little more. Rclone's docs recommend rclone nfsmount, which uses a built-in NFS server, or installing macFUSE or FUSE-T for rclone mount.
Rclone GUI Options for Mac
| Built-in web GUI | Rclone UI | RcloneView | Rclone Browser | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Browser page | Desktop app | Desktop app | Desktop app |
| Price | Free | Free and open source; paid license from $7 for extras | Free; Plus $19.80/year; Lifetime $99.80 | Free, open source |
| Mac build | Yes (part of rclone) | Yes, Apple Silicon and Intel | Yes (architecture not listed) | Yes, old builds only |
| Installs rclone for you | Comes with it | Yes, or uses yours | Not stated | No |
| Scheduled jobs | No | Yes | Paid tiers | No |
| Still updated | Yes | Yes | Yes | No release since 2020 |
Prices from each project's site, October 2026.
1. Rclone's built-in web GUI
Run this in Terminal:
rclone gui
Rclone starts a local server and opens a browser tab already logged in, with a username and password it generated for the session. From there you can browse remotes, copy and move files between them, and watch transfers. The interface ships inside the rclone binary, so there's nothing else to install. Older guides use rclone rcd --rc-web-gui, which does the same thing.
Two limits. Terminal has to stay open for the GUI to keep running, and rclone's docs warn against exposing it to your network, so keep it on localhost. It's a good way to see what rclone can do before committing to a desktop app.
2. Rclone UI
Rclone UI is a free, open-source desktop app for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux. It works with an rclone install you already have, or installs rclone for you, which makes it the easiest start for someone who has never used Terminal. It covers browsing remotes, syncing, mounting (including mounting at startup), and scheduled tasks that run in the background. A paid license, from $7, adds extra features and future updates.
For a native window instead of a browser tab, at no cost, this is the one to install.
3. RcloneView
RcloneView is the most polished of the four. Its free plan covers browsing, two-pane transfers between remotes, mounting clouds as local drives, and basic folder comparison. Scheduled sync jobs, filtered comparisons, and multi-window work need Plus ($19.80 per license per year, two devices) or Lifetime ($99.80 one-time, three devices), according to its pricing page in October 2026. The free plan includes a 14-day Plus trial.
If you move files between clouds every week and want scheduled jobs without writing a cron entry, the Plus license pays for itself in saved setup time.
4. Rclone Browser
Rclone Browser (the kapitainsky fork) was the go-to rclone GUI for years, and it still comes up first in many forum answers. Its last release, 1.8.0, is from February 2020, and it doesn't know about features rclone added since. Fine if it already works for you; for a new setup, use one of the three above.
Rclone Is a Copy Tool. A GUI Doesn't Make It a Backup.
Rclone copies and syncs files very well. Used as a backup, three things are up to you:
- Deletions.
rclone syncmakes the destination match the source, so a file you delete locally is deleted in the cloud on the next run. Rclone's--backup-dirflag can keep deleted and changed files, if you set it up. - Verification. Rclone compares sizes and modification times by default, and hashes where both sides support the same hash type. Whether a given copy was checked by content depends on the providers and flags involved.
- Knowing what's where. Rclone has no record of which files you've backed up to which remote over time. Each run looks at both sides fresh.
None of that is a criticism; rclone is a power tool that does what you tell it. If what you actually wanted was "my project files, backed up to a drive and a bucket, and I know it worked," these Mac apps do it without the scripting.
Mac Apps That Do the Backup Job Without Rclone
Arq is the closest thing to "rclone, but a backup." It backs up folders to S3, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, Google Drive, Dropbox, and others, keeps versions, encrypts everything, and handles retention. Choose it for versioned, encrypted cloud backup of your Mac. Our best cloud backup for Mac guide compares it with the alternatives.
Mountain Duck and Cyberduck cover the "browse and mount my cloud" side. Cyberduck is a free file browser for S3, B2, Google Drive, SFTP, and more; Mountain Duck mounts the same services as drives in Finder.
Tusk is for project files that need to live in several places at once.
Tusk is a Mac app that automatically backs up your project folders to multiple locations and tracks where every file lives — even when your drives aren't connected.
You create a project for a folder (a shoot, an edit, a client job) and add backup destinations: external drives, an S3-compatible bucket such as B2, Wasabi, or R2, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Tusk copies every file to every destination and checks each copy with a BLAKE3 hash. It keeps a record of which file is on which destination, so you can still see that a project is on two drives and in B2 while the drives are unplugged.
The trade-offs against rclone: Tusk is Mac only, it's built around backing up projects rather than moving arbitrary files between clouds, and it connects to fewer providers. It costs $49 for the first 100 licenses, $79 after, one-time, with a 14-day trial. To see what cloud storage costs per TB for any of these setups, try our cloud storage cost calculator.
Which One Should You Use?
- You want to try rclone with a GUI today:
rclone gui. - You want a free desktop app: Rclone UI.
- You move files between clouds every week and want schedules: RcloneView Plus.
- You want versioned, encrypted backup to a bucket: Arq.
- You want project files on drives and cloud, verified, and to know where everything is: Tusk.
FAQ
Yes. Rclone includes a web-based GUI: run rclone gui (or rclone rcd --rc-web-gui on older versions) and it opens in your browser, logged in with generated credentials. Terminal must stay open while you use it. Separate desktop apps include Rclone UI (free, open source), RcloneView (free with paid tiers), and the older Rclone Browser.
For a free desktop app, Rclone UI, which runs natively on Apple Silicon and can install rclone for you. For the most features, including scheduled jobs, RcloneView with a Plus ($19.80/year) or Lifetime ($99.80) license. For a quick look without installing another app, rclone's built-in web GUI.
Its last release, version 1.8.0, came out in February 2020. It still works for basic browsing and transfers, but it doesn't support newer rclone features. For a new setup, Rclone UI or RcloneView are actively developed.
With Homebrew: brew install rclone. Then run rclone config to add a remote such as Backblaze B2, Amazon S3, or Google Drive. To mount a remote in Finder, use rclone nfsmount, or install macFUSE or FUSE-T and use rclone mount.
Yes, with care. rclone sync mirrors deletions, so use --backup-dir if you want to keep deleted and changed files, and schedule it yourself with launchd or cron. Rclone doesn't keep a history of what was backed up where. Backup apps like Arq (versioned cloud backup) or Tusk (project files across drives and cloud, verified with BLAKE3) handle those parts for you.