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./proton-drive auth login
./proton-drive filesystem download /my-files/Documents ./Replace /my-files/Documents with the folder in your account and ./ with the directory where you want the restored files. This is a one-time download, not a permanent background synchronization job.
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What the restore command does
The Proton Drive CLI restore workflow copies files or folders that currently exist in your Drive account to a directory on the computer where the command runs. The documented operation is a download from a remote /my-files/... path to a local path. It does not turn on the desktop application’s continuous synchronization engine, and it does not by itself prove that an older revision or a deleted item can be recovered.
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Proton’s official backup guidance emphasizes that a backup is useful only when its restore has been tested. The practical goal is therefore twofold: retrieve the required data now, then verify that the resulting local copy opens and contains what you expect.
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Before you begin
- An active Proton account with access to the Drive folder you need.
- The official Proton Drive CLI binary for macOS, Windows, or Linux.
- A terminal, PowerShell session, or SSH session on the machine receiving the files.
- Enough free space for the download, including room for large files and any temporary data created during transfer.
- A destination that will not overwrite the only remaining copy of files you still need. A new, empty restore directory is safest.
- A working credential store for the account session. The official README documents macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, and Linux libsecret as defaults.
Storage limits on your Proton account still apply. Proton also says unusually high traffic may be temporarily throttled, so a repeated full-account download is not a normal substitute for a tested backup plan.
Install and check the CLI
Download the binary from Proton’s official distribution for your operating system. The exact filename and installation location vary by release, so use the path that matches the file you downloaded.
| Platform | Initial setup | Version check |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | In Terminal, change to the directory containing the binary and make it executable with chmod +x proton-drive. |
./proton-drive version |
| Linux | In a shell, change to the binary’s directory and run chmod +x proton-drive. |
./proton-drive version |
| Windows | Run the downloaded executable from PowerShell or Command Prompt. If it is not on your PATH, use its full path or change to its directory first. | Run the executable with its version subcommand, using the Windows path to the file. |
If the version command fails, fix that before attempting a restore. Typical causes are running the command from the wrong directory, using a filename that differs from proton-drive, or lacking execute permission on macOS or Linux. The installed binary’s own help output is authoritative for its available commands:
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./proton-drive filesystem download --helpOn Windows, substitute the executable’s actual name and path. Do not copy flags from a different CLI release without checking the help text for the version you installed.
Sign in without putting your password in the shell
Start an interactive login:
./proton-drive auth loginThe CLI opens a browser-based authentication flow. Complete sign-in and any account security checks in the browser; Proton’s documented flow does not ask you to place the account password on the command line.
After login, the session is stored in the operating system’s credential store rather than in a password argument. The official README lists these defaults:
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- macOS: Keychain.
- Windows: Windows Credential Manager.
- Linux: libsecret.
When the login completes, return to the terminal and continue with the filesystem commands. If the command reports that no credential store is available, install or enable the platform’s supported store, or configure one of the alternate stores documented by the CLI README. Avoid saving a plaintext token in a script.
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Find the exact remote path
Do not guess a folder name or rely on a local desktop path. List the Drive root first:
./proton-drive filesystem list /my-filesUse the output to confirm the spelling, capitalization, and nesting of the folder you intend to recover. Then list a deeper path if necessary. For example, if the root contains Documents, the remote path used for the download is /my-files/Documents.
Path confirmation matters because the destination command operates on the path you provide. A typo can produce an error, while selecting a valid but wrong folder can create a seemingly successful restore of the wrong data.
Choose a safe local destination
The second argument to filesystem download is the local destination. Proton’s support example uses the current directory, represented by ./:
./proton-drive filesystem download /my-files/Documents ./You can instead provide a dedicated directory, such as a restore folder on another volume. Create that directory first using your operating system’s normal tools, then check its free space and permissions. A separate destination is preferable when the computer already contains files with the same names, because it lets you compare the restored copy before replacing anything.
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An external drive is optional. It can serve as a restore destination or as an additional local copy, but the CLI download itself requires only a suitable writable path. A local drive does not, by itself, satisfy the off-site part of a multi-copy backup strategy.
Download the backed-up folder
Use the remote path confirmed with filesystem list and the local destination you selected:
./proton-drive filesystem download /my-files/YourFolder /path/to/restore-destinationFor a folder named Documents restored into the current directory, the complete documented example is:
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./proton-drive filesystem download /my-files/Documents ./The CLI runs the operation and exits. It is not the desktop app’s always-on sync service. If you need a second folder, run another download with that folder’s remote path and an appropriate destination. If you need only a particular file, consult ./proton-drive filesystem download --help for the file-path behavior supported by your installed version rather than assuming a flag from another release.
A cautious shell workflow
On macOS or Linux, a simple sequence keeps the source and destination explicit:
#!/bin/sh
set -eu
CLI="./proton-drive"
REMOTE="/my-files/Documents"
DEST="./restore-Documents"
"$CLI" auth login
"$CLI" filesystem list /my-files
mkdir -p "$DEST"
"$CLI" filesystem download "$REMOTE" "$DEST"This example does not add undocumented options. It pauses at the listing step so you can confirm the remote path before the download. Run authentication interactively; do not put a password in the script.
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PowerShell equivalent
In PowerShell, use the executable path appropriate to your installation and quote paths that contain spaces:
$cli = ".proton-drive.exe"
$remote = "/my-files/Documents"
$destination = ".restore-Documents"
& $cli auth login
& $cli filesystem list /my-files
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $destination | Out-Null
& $cli filesystem download $remote $destinationThe command syntax available in your release takes precedence over these wrapper examples. The important operation remains filesystem download.
Verify the restored copy
Do not delete the remote backup or overwrite the original local data immediately after a command returns. Check the result in the destination directory:
- Confirm that the expected top-level folder was created in the destination.
- Compare representative filenames and subfolders with what you know should be in the backup.
- Open several files, including different file types and at least one large or important file.
- Check that file sizes are plausible and that applications can read the files.
- For a critical recovery, keep the original Drive copy and the pre-recovery local copy until verification is complete.
A successful process exit tells you that the command completed according to the CLI; it is not a substitute for opening important files and checking the recovered directory.
Choose the right restore scope
| Need | Action | Why choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Recover an entire project or category | Download its containing folder to a new local directory. | Preserves the folder structure and avoids selecting files one by one. |
| Recover only one area of the account | List /my-files, identify the specific nested folder, and download that path. |
Reduces transfer time and local storage use. |
| Protect existing local files from replacement | Use an empty destination or a separate volume. | Lets you compare before merging. |
| Make an additional physical copy | Use an external drive as the local destination or copy the verified result there. | Adds another medium; it is optional for the CLI operation. |
Older revisions: what the documented CLI does not establish
The folder-download example retrieves the item currently available at the remote path. Proton’s backup guide discusses retaining changed-file history during upload, but the official CLI material reviewed here does not document a command or flag that selects a particular older revision for download.
Do not invent a revision argument or assume that a normal folder download will recover last month’s contents. If you need a historical version, check the current CLI help and Proton’s documentation for file-version history to determine whether your installed release exposes a supported selection workflow. If the required revision is available only through the Drive interface, use that documented interface rather than treating the ordinary download command as a historical restore.
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Trash recovery is a separate task
Downloading a folder and restoring an item that was moved to Drive’s trash are different operations. The official CLI support material confirms the download workflow but does not document a CLI trash-restore procedure. A missing item may therefore require the supported Drive trash interface or other current Proton instructions; do not assume that changing the path passed to filesystem download will undelete it.
Headless and scheduled restores
An interactive browser login is straightforward on a desktop, but scheduled jobs and SSH sessions may not have access to a graphical keyring. Proton’s backup guidance recommends the pass credential store for headless environments because desktop keyrings can depend on an active GUI session. Configure the store according to the official README and test it from the same user account and environment that will run the job.
Headless-environment checklist
- Authenticate once in an environment where the browser flow can complete.
- Confirm that the selected credential store is accessible to the scheduled-job user.
- Run
filesystem list /my-filesnon-destructively before scheduling a download. - Use an absolute destination path in automation so the result does not depend on the job’s working directory.
- Log command output and failure status, but never log passwords or secret credentials.
- Test the restore script periodically instead of assuming that an old session will remain valid indefinitely.
Credential-store configuration is version- and operating-system-dependent. Use the options documented for the binary you installed rather than copying a configuration intended for another release.
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| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
proton-drive cannot be run on macOS or Linux |
The file is not executable or you are in the wrong directory. | Change to the binary’s directory, run chmod +x proton-drive, and retry ./proton-drive version. |
| Login cannot save the session | The operating-system credential store is unavailable. | Check Keychain, Credential Manager, or libsecret; for headless use, configure a supported alternate such as pass. |
| The remote path is rejected | The path is misspelled or does not match the account’s hierarchy. | Run filesystem list /my-files and copy the confirmed path exactly. |
| The destination cannot be written | The directory does not exist, is read-only, or lacks space. | Create a dedicated directory, verify permissions, and check available storage. |
| The download is unexpectedly slow or interrupted | Network conditions, very large data, or temporary throttling. | Check connectivity, avoid launching repeated full downloads, and retry according to the installed CLI’s documented behavior. |
| The command finishes but files are not where expected | A relative destination such as ./ was resolved from a different working directory. |
Print or change the working directory, then use an explicit absolute destination for the next attempt. |
| The restored files are current, not historical | The ordinary download does not document revision selection. | Consult current version-history documentation and CLI help for a supported older-revision workflow. |
How upload choices affect future recovery
Proton’s October 5, 2026 backup guide treats the CLI as one part of a complete backup process: you must choose what to back up, how often to run it, how many versions to retain, and how to test a restore. The upload conflict strategy determines whether changed files remain available for later recovery.
| Upload conflict strategy | Effect described by Proton | Recovery implication |
|---|---|---|
create-new-revision |
Retains history when a changed file is uploaded. | Best fit when preserving prior contents matters, although the reviewed CLI material does not establish how to select an old revision for download. |
rename |
Keeps both copies under suffixed names. | Older content remains as a separate named item. |
replace |
Replaces the existing item. | The previous version is not retained by this strategy. |
skip |
Ignores a modified file during upload. | Unsuitable when the purpose is to protect later changes, because the changed copy is not uploaded. |
These are upload-side choices. They should not be read as evidence of a download flag for historical revisions.
Use the CLI as part of a tested backup plan
Proton’s published recommendation is at least three copies of your data, on at least two different media, with at least one copy offsite. This is a recommendation, not a measured failure-rate statistic. A Proton Drive copy can be the off-site copy; a verified local or external-drive copy can provide another medium. The CLI download is the mechanism for producing that local copy, but it is not the entire plan.
A practical restore-test schedule
- Choose a small representative folder and a separate empty destination.
- Authenticate with the same account and credential-store arrangement used by the real backup or scheduled job.
- List the remote path and download it.
- Open representative documents, images, archives, and other important file types.
- Record where the restored files landed and how long the operation took.
- Repeat the test after changing the script, CLI version, operating system, credential-store configuration, or destination volume.
Regular testing catches expired sessions, changed paths, unavailable keyrings, insufficient storage, and assumptions about historical versions before an emergency depends on them. As Proton Drive Foundation lead Michal Hořejšek put it in the October 5, 2026 guide: “A backup without a working restore is as good as no backup.”
Quick command reference
| Purpose | Command |
|---|---|
| Show general help | ./proton-drive --help |
| Confirm the binary runs | ./proton-drive version |
| Authenticate | ./proton-drive auth login |
| List the Drive root | ./proton-drive filesystem list /my-files |
| Show download-specific help | ./proton-drive filesystem download --help |
| Download a folder to the current directory | ./proton-drive filesystem download /my-files/Documents ./ |
| Download a folder to a chosen destination | ./proton-drive filesystem download /my-files/YourFolder /path/to/restore-destination |
Use the actual binary path and the syntax printed by your installed version. The reliable, documented core is authentication, path listing, and filesystem download to a local destination.
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