Proton Drive client is (finally) coming to Linux

Proton has confirmed it is working on a Proton Drive client for Linux desktops.

The announcement slipped out as part of a broader platform update. Proton has rebuilt Drive around a new shared SDK, with a single codebase powering its official apps on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and web (rather than separate implementations as before).

It’s this unified approach that makes it easier for the Swiss-based company to add new features and integrations across all its official apps – and make an official client for Linux, which is being build on the SDK “from the ground up”, they say.

Proton VPN has supported Linux since launch, though a desktop GUI didn’t materialise until late 2023. Proton Pass and Proton Mail desktop Linux apps were released in 2024, a desktop 2FA app arrived in 2025.

Not that word of a Linux client is strictly new. Earlier this year Proton hinted that one was on its roadmap, but this June SDK post is the first time we’ve heard that it is actually in development. No release date or beta timeline has been given yet.

Proton Drive launched a Windows desktop client in July 2023, and a macOS client followed in November 2023. Linux users have had to make do with a web app.

Thankfully, not for much longer.

As well as powering the base of the Proton Drive Linux client, the new SDK brings other benefits, including faster speeds in the existing desktop and mobile clients. Uploads are reportedly up to 3x faster, downloads up to 2x faster and file encryption up to 4x faster.

I don’t use Proton Drive (on any supported platform). While Linux isn’t short of cloud-based storage services that can be accessed natively through varying methods, official or otherwise, official vendor support is always a welcome sign.

Proton Drive is free to use and offers 5 GB of encrypted cloud storage, though it does require signing up for an account. Paid plans offer considerable more storage. A £3.99/month plan gets you 200GB, for example.

The SDK is MIT-licensed and on GitHub if you want to poke around. It covers TypeScript and C#, with Kotlin and Swift bindings, though it’s not yet production-ready for third-party use – and separate terms govern interfacing with Proton services directly.