Install to custom prefix ========================= You can install kio-gdrive to your preferred installation prefix, as long as kdeinit5 has been installed in the same prefix. Locate Debug Output =================== You will not see the slave's output in the terminal where you started e.g. Dolphin. On systemd distros the output will go in the journalctl (assuming Qt built with the -journald option). A quick way to locate the relevant logs is the following command: journalctl -b | grep kf5.kio.gdrive This will only show the logs since the last boot. To retrieve also older logs, you can filter the messages by the process who emitted them (kdeinit5): journalctl $(which kdeinit5) | grep kf5.kio.gdrive Enable Debug Output =================== Th gdrive slave uses categorized debug output. Normally you would enable its output with a simple: export QT_LOGGING_RULES="kf5.kio.gdrive.debug=true" However, you need to make sure this variable is present in the environment of kdeinit5, which is the process that starts the ioslave. A simpler alternative is to create (or edit) ~/.config/QtProject/qtlogging.ini with the following content: [Rules] kf5.kio.gdrive.debug=true