How to Install OneDrive on Linux Mint

Trying to keep your files in one place by figuring out how to install OneDrive on Linux Mint? Here’s everything you need to know about it. 

Storing important files locally on your computer can be a huge risk. If you don’t have backups of your files, then all it takes to lose them is for your HDD to decide to give up one day. 

Backing up important files is highly recommended, at the very least they should be on a separate disk. But if a power surge hits your computer, although there are protection systems in place, there is still a chance that it can kill components in your computer and possibly all of your drives. 

So storing the files on a different disk on a different computer is an even better option, but there are still risks. Fires can always break out, and earthquakes can happen, so it would be best to have the files stored in a completely different part of the world.

Doing this ourselves takes a lot of time & money. Luckily there are cloud storage options that already do this for us. One of those cloud storage services is Microsoft’s OneDrive, which we will show you how to install and sync on Linux Mint today, although the installation process should be the same for all Ubuntu-based distros.

Update Your Current Package List

Firstly, we are going to update our current package list by running the apt update.

$ sudo apt update

Install OneDrive Using apt

OneDrive is available in Mint’s official repositories, we can simply install it using apt.

$ sudo apt install onedrive -y

The -y flag at the end will automatically accept any [Yes/no] prompts that may appear.

Install From openSUSE’s repositories (optional)

At the time of writing this blog, OneDrive from Mint’s official repositories is a couple of versions behind the one in openSUSE’s repositories, therefore if you want the latest version, follow the next steps to install it from openSUSE’s repositories.

If you have already installed OneDrive from the official Mint repositories, begin by removing it. 

$ sudo apt remove onedrive

Next, we need to add the repository key and download the openSUSE OneDrive repository with the following commands.

$ wget -q0 - https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/npreining:/debian-ubuntu-onedrive/xUbuntu_22.04/Release.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/obs-onedrive.gpg > /dev/null

Now download the repository.

$ echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/obs-onedrive.gpg] https://download.openuse.org/repositories/home:/npreining:/debian-ubuntu-onedrive/xUbuntu_22.04/ ./" | sudo tee/etc/apt/sources.list.d/onedrive.list

After that, we need to refresh our package list using the apt update command.

$ sudo apt update

Now, we can simply install it with the apt command.

$ sudo apt install onedrive -y

You can check the version of OneDrive you have installed by calling onedrive with the –version flag.

$ onedrive --version onedrive v2.4.21 - 1+npl

Sync OneDrive With Your Account

To sync OneDrive with your account, simply run the onedrive command in the terminal.

You need to open the link in your browser of choice and log in using your credentials. You can open the link by either clicking on it whilst holding the CTRL key so that the combination would be CTRL + LMB, or you can select the link with your mouse, right-click, and select “Copy Link”.

After logging in with your Microsoft account, you will be redirected to a blank page, simply copy the link to this page.

And paste it into the Terminal.

$ onedrive

Press enter, and you should see a message that the application has been successfully authorized.

For more information, you can also view the manual page for OneDrive by running the man onedrive command.

As previously mentioned having backups is extremely important when storing any kind of sensitive information. But that isn’t the only reason why cloud storage is good for us. We can easily share and view files across multiple devices. At any given point in time, as long as we have an internet connection. And we also don’t have to worry about filling up our storage space and running out of it.

Now, even though cloud storage sounds great so far, it definitely does have its own downsides.

First of all, cloud storage can be pricey. There are free tiers on most cloud storage services that allow you to store anywhere between 5 and 15 GB. Usually, for free, after that, you will have to start paying a monthly fee for their service. 

The price of OneDrive storage at the time of writing this blog is $1.99 USD per month for 100 GB of storage and $6.99 for 1 TB of storage. Considering that you can get a 1 TB HDD for as low as $30. Cloud storage simply may not be worth it for you.

But if you are looking to run a PC 24/7, at home, there are some other things you need to consider. Such as the cost of electricity, scalability, and heat & noise generation. With cloud storage, you can expand your capacity with the click of a button, whilst when doing it yourself, you need to buy the HDD yourself and install it, and on top of all of that, there are only so many SATA ports on your motherboard that will allow you to connect several drives.

All in all, cloud storage is a great solution for someone looking to store their data in a safe & secure manner and be able to redistribute that data across multiple devices with ease.

If this guide helped you, please share it.