How to set up Cozy cloud sync on Linux
Cozy is a cloud sync service similar to Dropbox, Google Drive, and others. When users sign up for the service, they get 5 GB free of data storage space. Users can access their Cozy account on a variety of platforms. Officially, the service supports Mac, Windows, and Linux, as well as mobile platforms like iOS and Android.
In this tutorial, we’re going to cover the Cozy cloud sync Linux application. We’ll talk about how to download and install the syncing application on all modern Linux operating systems. Also, we’ll talk about how to set up the app!
Note: to use Cozy on Linux, you must create a free account. Head over to the official website, find “create a Cozy for free” and select it to get started.
Install Cozy cloud
The Cozy cloud desktop sync app works on Linux, but there aren’t any downloadable DEB or RPM packages to speak of. Instead, if you’re interested in syncing your files on a Linux computer with this service, you must download the standalone AppImage file, update the permissions and execute it much like an EXE file on a Windows PC.
Getting the Cozy cloud app on Linux is very easy, and the official website lays out how to get it on the web page. However, they don’t explain how the AppImage works in detail, so if you’re a new user to Linux looking to get your Cozy files, you may be lost.
In this section, we’re going to go over how to get Cozy installed via AppImage. It starts by heading over to the website, clicking on the “Download” button, and looking for the “Cozy Drive for GNU/Linux.” Once there, look at the page. Click on “Cozy Drive for GNU/Linux 64 bits” if you need a 64-bit version or, for 32-bit, click on “Cozy Drive for GNU/Linux 32 bits”.
Let the Cozy AppImage file download. Once it’s done, launch a terminal window and use the CD command to move the terminal into the ~/Downloads folder.
cd ~/Downloads
Next, create a new folder (using the mkdir command) labeled “AppImages” in your Home directory (~/).
mkdir -p ~/AppImages
Move the Cozy desktop file into the new AppImage folder. Keeping the file here will ensure that it is in a safe place, out of the way so that it won’t be deleted by accident.
mv CozyDrive*.AppImage ~/AppImages
With the file moved, CD into the ~/AppImages folder.
cd ~/AppImages
Then, update the permissions of the Cozy AppImage, so that it is possible to run on Linux. If you do not update these permissions, it’s very likely that the security settings on your Linux desktop will block it from working.
To update permissions, run the chmod command.
chmod +x CozyDrive*.AppImage
Set up Cozy Drive
Now that Cozy Drive is up and running on your Linux PC, it’s time to set it up. To launch the program, you’ll need to open up the file manager.
Once the file manager is open, click on the “AppImages” folder. Then, double-click on the Cozy Drive AppImage file to launch the program for the first time.
Note: you will not need to launch Cozy this way in the future. After running it for the first time, it should create a desktop shortcut automatically.
When Cozy Drive opens for the first time, you’ll see a sign-in page. Click “Sign in to my cozy” to log in.
After logging in to the app, you’ll see an authorization page. Read the prompt it gives then, click the “authorize access” button to continue.
Files should instantly start syncing to your Linux PC.
Add new files to Cozy
All of your Cozy Drive data on Linux is in the ~/Cozy Drive folder. If you need to add new files and folders to this area but are unsure how, here’s what to do.
First, launch the file manager, locate the “Cozy Drive” folder and click on it with the mouse. Once in the folder, drag items in and it should instantly sync up to the cloud.
Add new files via terminal
As Cozy Drive uses a traditional folder structure, it’s straightforward to add files and folders to your account via the command-line. To do it, launch a terminal and follow the command examples below.
Single file
Using the CD command, move your terminal session to the location of the file you’d like to sync.
cd /location/of/file
Once you’re in the folder, run the cp command and make a copy of the files into the ~/Cozy Drive directory.
cp file ~/'Cozy Drive'
Entire directory
Need to copy an entire directory? Make use of the cp command’s r switch. For example:
cp -r /location/of/folder ~/'Cozy Drive'
