this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2025

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iCloud for Linux (lemmy.ca)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by Mongostein@lemmy.ca to c/linux@lemmy.ml

27 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

https://snapcraft.io/icloud-for-linux

I’m working on transitioning to Linux from Mac pretty casually and I’ll still be using this iPhone til it’s dead. So I’m figuring out solutions to my current computer-usage before I switch my main machine. I’d like to maintain some interoperability between my phone and desktop computer so this has me intrigued.

Is it well-maintained? Trustworthy? Easy to use?

I have an old Thinkpad T420 I’m testing stuff on before I take the plunge but I figured I’d ask before giving it my credentials.

Edit: thanks so much for all the advice. I’m going to try a couple different ways to do it and see what I like :)

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[–] IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago

I've been using Tresorit on Linux for 5 years. I even got it to work on NixOS somehow ;o

[–] bushvin@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

rclone is supposed to be a good alternative… unless you’ve enabled Advanced Data Protection

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This just seems to be the web app in weird packaging, and you would get very little benefit installing it.

Personally, I use an iPhone, and I just resort to the web app, and I can live with it. Not as fancy as on the Mac, but I manage. I'm able to access my Apple e-mails and photos just fine. I eventually just plan to jump the Apple ship, but like you, that's not possible for me at the moment.

As others have said, rclone might work for you, but I personally don't use iCloud Drive, so I don't know enough to speak about it.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A web app for the calendar could be handy… but I could just use another calendar app…

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 1 points 1 day ago

iCloud web app has a calendar web app, along with others I haven’t listed.

[–] vhstape@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This package is essentially comprised of web apps which open in their own windows. It will not have the deep system integration that you may be used to on native MacOS. You could use this, or you could use iCloud in your browser like one might do with GSuite

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Ah ok, thanks

I suppose the biggest thing I’m looking for a solution for is photos.

I have my phone to set up to sync to iCloud, which then automatically download to my desktop, which is then automatically backs up via Time Machine.

How could I transition this behaviour to Linux keeping in mind I’ll be using an iPhone for at least another 3 years?

[–] Cricket@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

You could also restructure your workflow slightly. Instead of downloading from iCloud, there are good options to sync directly from your phone to your PC. I use an app called PhotoSync. It allows you wirelessly offload photos from phone to PC at the touch of a button, or even automatically, I believe. It's a one-time purchase too, not subscription. It also supports Linux targets via open protocols.

[–] unixcat@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Syncthing is open source, so I’d personally prefer it. https://github.com/pixelspark/sushitrain is an iOS client written in native Swift.

[–] Cricket@lemmy.zip 1 points 16 hours ago

Good to know, thanks. I had heard of syncthing but didnt realize there were ios clients.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Cool I’ll check this out

[–] witness_me@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I have a Synology NAS (from 3 years ago). My photos are synced from my iPhone via the Synology photos application and can be accessed from my Linux desktop via nfs.

I found alternatives for almost everything except Apple Music. I just connect my phone via Bluetooth nowadays to play music at a higher bitrate than what Apple allows via browser. Wish they would build an official client.

[–] 0xtero@beehaw.org 2 points 2 days ago

Use Ente photos

[–] Vittelius@feddit.org 1 points 2 days ago

You could replicate this workflow by replacing iCloud with Nextcloud and Time Machine with Timeshift.

The iOS app for Nextcloud allows the automatic upload of photos, you just need an account with a Nextcloud provider (or just host your own instance).

Timeshift is preinstalled on a bunch of distros, including Linux Mint, and can be installed on all other major ones. See https://github.com/linuxmint/timeshift for details.

[–] smeg@feddit.uk 1 points 2 days ago

If you're comfortable with scripting CLI tools then rclone seems to support icloud, you can use it to sync everything to a local directory which you can then backup however you like

[–] crankyrebel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I prefer not to use any 'cloud' computing. Even the idea of having your private info sitting on someone else's server, gives me the willies. Use Syncthing, available on all devices, uses your own lan/wifi to connect and sync all your info. You can choose whatever storage option or redundancy you like. Keep your info in-house.

[–] smeg@feddit.uk 5 points 2 days ago

I use Cryptomator so I don't have to trust my cloud storage providers not to read my data

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This sounds like a good solution. Can I set it to sync when I’m off my home network?

[–] crankyrebel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You can by enabling global discovery and relaying in Syncthing. I am not that versed in this, as I only sync when I connect to my home wifi, which works so well for me. Do a search on it, lots of people have it setup for outside network as well.

[–] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

i think it does global syncing by default

[+] lemmus@szmer.info -11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why use linux if you want to use iCloud? Its a crime.

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

The difficult reality is many people, no matter how interested and technically skilled, aren’t going to have the time, money (yes, money, due to hardware), and energy to immediately go with fully self-hosted OSS paired with a LineageOS (or similar) phone.

For one, you have to either acquire the hardware to run a server for self-hosting or get a VPS (admittedly not a huge financial hurdle, but still effort required). Additionally, you then have to take the time to migrate from iCloud to the alternatives. There’s also the fact that it’s a moderately expensive proposition to purchase a new phone capable of running something more libre like LineageOS. Until you switch operating systems, Apple makes using at least a little bit of iCloud difficult; for instance, you’ll probably need to use Find My at least once.

These reasons largely explain why I’m still on iPhone for now. I usually don’t use iCloud for the storage, but I frequently have to use Photos, Mail, and Find My.

I certainly plan to jump ship, but being stuck for now due to personal circumstances, I can’t blame OP.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 20 hours ago

I’m planning a similar exodus. I like my apple stuff but considering its heavy reliance on the cloud, lower level system access I can’t control, and that it’s an American company operating under a Nazi regime, I really can’t trust it anymore.

Moving to Linux isn’t so bad, but I’m really struggling with leaving iOS. Android has a lot of limitations if you try to break free from Gemini-surveilled stuff. Simple things I take for granted like tap to pay wouldn’t be practical on such a device anymore.

It kills me there’s nothing I can do software-wise to make the Samsung z fold7 an acceptable option for me. Really impressed by that device and my carrier does have some compelling promos for it, but even under this regime, I don’t trust Samsungs software.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

You pretty much said what I would’ve said, but probably better :)

I have 3 Macs I want to switch to Linux, so I’m approaching this conversion piece by piece, using my thinkpads as placeholders. Figuring out new cloud software can wait until they’re all switched.

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 1 points 20 hours ago

Luckily, I’m down to just an iPhone.

I used to use iPad Minis, but I was otherwise more of a Windows guy until 2022.

The only other kind of Apple thing I have is a GPU-accelerated Hackintosh running under KVM, which mostly gets used for adding non-streaming songs to my Apple Music library these days. I do plan to quit Apple Music eventually - I’ve been collecting and ripping CDs by TMBG, which is mostly what I listen to anyway.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

Use Nextcloud and KDEConnect (or similar) and forget about iCloud.

[–] the_abecedarian@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

Seafile is a good option