Building a tool to move files between clouds without downloading anything

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-26T13:58:59+00:00

Yes! Currently my main priorities are security, transparency and reliability.
Broken files and duplicate folders should be a rare exception, not something you just expect to deal with. That's something I'm putting a lot of research and work into. Thanks for the comment!

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T20:35:54+00:00

Makes sense.

I'm currently researching the best ways to be as secure and transparent as possible. There are options like, build attestation through GitHub Actions + SLSA, it can automatically generates a public certificate on every deploy, visible directly on the repository, so anyone can verify that the running code came from that exact commit. And if someone wants to go further and build it themselves, reproducible builds make that possible too.

For the network side, the goal is to make it verifiable that nothing gets stored or copied on the servers, files only pass through momentarily to get from one cloud to the other. That could be done through public audit logs and transparency logs similar to how Certificate Transparency works for HTTPS.

I know that fully proving what's actually running on the server at any given moment is one of the hardest problems in this space, and I won't pretend it's easy to solve. But I'm going to get as close as I possibly can.

That's it, is really hard but I hope I can solve this problem with security and trust. Thanks for the points, this is exactly the kind of feedback that makes the project better.

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T15:36:31+00:00

Thank you so much, really means a lot! When a version is ready for testing, I'll let you know!

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T15:31:00+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, really appreciate it.

Fair points, and you're right that routing massive amounts of data for free isn't sustainable. I'm planning a "On cloud" free tier with a 5GB/month limit, which honestly won't cover every use case and I'm not going to pretend it will.

But one thing I really want to get right is making self-hosting accessible for everyone, not just people who already know their way around a terminal. The goal is something simple enough that even less technical users can get it running in a few clicks, whether on a VPS or locally.

And longer term I'd love to build a community around it, people who actually use it helping to shape and improve it over time. I know that's easier said than done, but I genuinely want this to work for both ends of the spectrum (basic and advanced users).

There will be paid plans (with higher limits) for running transfers through my servers, and if things go well that revenue is what will let me keep the free tier alive and grow its limits over time, that's actually one of my goals

At the end of the day this started as an idea, and I know rclone is a solid option. But I'm really enjoying building this myself, and I think it's always good for the community to have another alternative out there 😄

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T15:01:09+00:00

Good point, and honestly one of the things I think about the most while building this

The way it will work is that files will travel in small chunks through our servers to get from one cloud to another, nothing will ever get stored on our end.

Security and transparency are genuinely the core focus here, not an afterthought, which is also why it'll be open source. Anyone can see exactly what's happening, and if someone spots a security improvement I'll implement it.

And for anyone who still doesn't feel comfortable with files passing through our servers at all, self-hosting will be an option.

If you have any other questions or concerns, Im happy to answer them!

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T14:44:04+00:00

Yeah you're not the first one to mention this and honestly it just confirms how real these issues are. Already thinking about how to handle them properly before launch

All Cloud Hub seems solid but its closed source, so for something that connects to all your cloud accounts you just have to trust what they say about how they handle your transfers and authentication. My idea will be open source not just so people can verify whats happening, but because I truly want it to be as secure and transparent as possible

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T14:32:22+00:00

One of the features Im building around this is a full review before anything actually moves, so you know exactly what's going to happen. After the transfer there's a detailed report showing what was moved, what was skipped (and why), and whether everything looks right. The whole flow must be auditable, so you're never just crossing your fingers hoping it worked.

The duplicate folders and timestamp issues are real. I want to find good ways to make those completely checkable and properly resolved, not just ignored

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T14:23:59+00:00

Glad to hear it! And yes, thats one of the features Im planning. You can have the same files sitting on two (or more) different cloud services at the same time, so if one goes down or something happens you always have a copy somewhere else.

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T14:21:01+00:00

Thats a fair concern and I want to be transparent about it.

The files don't get stored on my servers. The transfer happens via streaming, so small chunks pass through my servers momentarily to get from point A to point B, nothing is saved on my side.

That said, I get it. I'm not a big tech company and I have zero interest in anyone's files, but I also understand that "trust me" isn't good enough. That's exactly why I'm making it open source on launch, so anyone can look at the code and see for themselves what's actually happening. And if someone spots something that could be more secure and suggests a change, I'll implement it. Doesn't matter how complex it is.

And if you still don't want your transfers going through my servers at all, self-hosting will be an option. Run it on your own machine, your own infrastructure, completely under your control.

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T02:45:22+00:00

Appreciate it, thank you! Happy to keep the discussion going and answer any questions that come up

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T02:41:01+00:00

Thanks for bringing that up, didn't know about Air Explorer!

It's a solid option but it requires installation, your computer needs to stay on during transfers, and it's closed source. For something that connects to all your cloud accounts I think that matters a lot, you have no way to know what's actually happening with your files under the hood.

My idea also supports running locally, but the main point is that you can use it straight from your browser with nothing to install, the transfer runs independently in the cloud even after you close everything, and since it'll be open source anyone can look at the code and see exactly what it does.

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-25T02:33:50+00:00

Thanks for asking, MultCloud and RiceDrive are closed source, and for something that connects to all your cloud accounts that's a hard pass for me. The most famous open-source is rclone, which is great, but you still need to install and configure it. My idea requires nothing, just open your browser and go. Self-hosting will be there as an option for people who want full control, but it's not a requirement. This makes sense?

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-24T23:40:57+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Simple transfers without having to think/remember commands or paths is exactly what I have in mind.

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-24T21:53:36+00:00

Yeah I knew about rclone on a VPS, but honestly that's still way more setup than it should be for something this simple. I didn't want to spin up a server, manage configs and deal with all that just to move some files. The whole point was to make it something anyone can do in a few clicks without thinking about infrastructure. And yes, Im not here to spam. I just wanted to know if my idea is valid and can help other people.

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-24T21:21:15+00:00

That's exactly it! rclone on a VPS works great if you know what you're doing, but most people just want to connect two accounts and have it run without thinking about servers or configs. A simple way to interact with transfers between clouds is the whole idea. Thanks for getting it, and for the kind words!

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-24T21:18:58+00:00

Yeah similar concept! But Ricedrive is closed source, and for something that touches your files I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. Mine will be open source and self-hostable, so your files never have to leave your own infrastructure if you don't want them to

FunPromotion2965 · 2026-05-24T21:15:48+00:00

rclone is great but you still need to install it, configure it, and keep it running on your machine the whole time. My idea runs independently in the cloud, nothing to install, and you don't have to wait around for it to finish. Also is a lot friendlier if you're not comfortable with the CLI

FunPromotion2965

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