how do i transfer files via usb c cable from a pixel 6a (grapheneos) to linux mint?

This might be obvious but when you connect your phone to your PC have you enabled file transfers? Usually it defaults to charging only. It should show up in your notification bar.

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Plug in cable to PC, go into android USB setting and switch it to file transfer instead of charging mode, it should show in your file manager as a connected USB drive. ( you can tell everyone is a linux or phone techy, everone gave the complicated merhods that didn't address the question asked, but @OP all the other methods work also )

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TBF, KDE Connect is pretty convenient for this and other stuff

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- Of course, it's awesome; so is GSConnect on Gnome, and syncthing is awesome, and fx on android with samba shares is great. Croc on mobile to PC, etc. just the dude asks how to use USB cable and gets recompile your kernel suggestion ( I'm being hyberbolic)
  
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- I have a Pixel 4a with GrapheneOS and I can never get it to find any other devices in KDE connect for some reason. Syncthing works fine though so I just use that instead.
  
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This is the way. MTP is horrible and adb is annoying.

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- MTP sucks, it's even slower than good WiFi and half the time it locks up in the middle of a transfer.
  
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syncthing doesnt use usb sadly

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Plug it in, unlock it, tap the USB notification and change it to "transfer files". I like to keep my screen on but you shouldn't have to.

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Mtp is your friend, here is hiw I do it on my devices (samsung a23 and both opensuse and arch):

I connect my phone to my pc. Then select mtp in the phone notification.
Start my file manager (dolphine or whatever) and access my phone storage from there.
Make sure to allow the notification on the phone asking if you want to sahre your storage with the external device.

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https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/5441-how-to-transfer-files-from-pc-to-graphene-os-via-usb-cable

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For my LineageOS phone I use ADB: adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera to get photos I've taken for example.

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OP may need to install ADB and enable USB debugging. Here's a guide if they don't know how

https://www.tecmint.com/install-android-debug-bridge-linux/

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- If OP installed GrapheneOS they likely already have adb and USB debugging configured.
  
  That said, as recommended in the FAQ, one should use android-file-transfer, since enabling USB debugging (and using adb) is a security breach
  
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Actually, I always end up using ADB tools to get files or photos, you can get recursive files to get them all. I do it even with people that tries to get photos from their Windows machines, so I don't think it's a problem with Linux neither. This is the best way to get safely and correctly all your files.

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search usb in settings, set it to file transfer while its plugged into your pc. Alternatively you can install kde connect on both of the devices and transfer files wirelessly

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You need the package gvfs-mtp installed, if you want to do it via file manager. Or the adb tools for cli.

But really something you could have googled 3x in the time you asked this.

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fun tip, if you have a samba share and your devices are in the same network, use a file manager that can connect to local network (like explorer by speed software), and transfer your files wirelessly. it seems to be equally fast too, i haven't used a cable for ages except for killing updaters and bloatware with adb.

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That's pretty neat. There's also an SMB client called CIFS Documents Provider (by Atsushi Wada) that's Free (MIT License) & open source.

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There is a package called android-transfer-file or something like that in the void repos but I'm not sure if its also in the mint repos, might be worth checking, its a gui app that makes it very straightforward to transfer files. Or in last resort you can always git clone the project and use 'make' to build manually the app

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