I’ve recently set up automated backups to Google Drive on my CentOS 7 Linux VPS to protect my blog posts from data loss. I don’t know why it took so long for me to care about backups of my own data. I chose to back up to Google Drive since I already have a Google One plan that has plenty of available storage space.
Research
I had to do some research to find the best tool for the job. I stumbled upon gdrive which is no longer maintained. There’s also Insync which requires a payment. I then found rclone which seems to be really popular on GitHub and actively maintained.
Implementation
Configuring rclone
Configuring rclone was the most difficult part as I didn’t want the machine to have access to my whole Google Drive data.
Create client_id and client_secret
To ensure you get the best transfer speed you should create your own client_id from Google Cloud Platform Console by following rclone Making your own client_id guide. Take a note of your client_id and client_secret.
Create root folder
Create a directory in your Google Drive and go to it. In the URL bar you will see a long string which is your root_folder_id. e.g. if your URL is drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/abc123, your root_folder_id is “abc123”.
Configure rclone
Execute “rclone config” command and fill in the details as follows. Output shortened for
e/n/d/r/c/s/q> n # n for New remote
name> gd # name your storage. I named mine "gd" here
Type of storage to configure.
Storage> 15 # Enter the number corresponding to Google Drive "drive"
Google Application Client Id
client_id> 124124214-214afasfas.apps.googleusercontent.com # REPLACE
OAuth Client Secret
client_secret> abc1234 # REPLACE with your own client_secret
Scope
scope> drive.file # use this to avoid giving access to whole drive
ID of the root folder
root_folder_id> abc123 # Use the folder you created above
Service Account Credentials JSON file path
service_account_file> # Leave BLANK, press enter to skip
Edit advanced config? (y/n)
y/n> n # No need to modify advanced configuration
Use auto config?
y/n> n # Unless you're backing up your local machine, type "n"
Please go to the following link: https://path/to/auth
# Go to link above and click allow to obtain verification code below
Enter verification code> ccc\ddd123
Configure this as a Shared Drive (Team Drive)?
y) Yes
n) No (default)
y/n> n # this is "n" for most cases
# Your configuration will be printed below
type = drive
client_id = 124124214-214afasfas.apps.googleusercontent.com
client_secret = abc1234
scope = drive.file
root_folder_id = abc123
token = {some JSON}
y) Yes this is OK (default)
e) Edit this remote
d) Delete this remote
y/e/d> y # Type "y"
Current remotes:
Name Type
==== ====
gd drive
e) Edit existing remote
n) New remote
d) Delete remote
r) Rename remote
c) Copy remote
s) Set configuration password
q) Quit config
e/n/d/r/c/s/q> q # Type "q" to finish
Test your configuration
Run “rclone ls gd:” to ensure it works. The “:” at the end is important.
Backup script
Backup script will do the work for you. Change it according to your needs.
Final thoughts
I was really happy to discover rclone project. Now I am sponsoring it on Patreon. Hope you can also benefit from this amazing tool. You should also support the project if you can afford to.
Best idea thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing with us!! this is Really useful for me.
Very informative. Thank you!