Google Drive Backup with rClone

by | Apr 22, 2026 | Cloud Drive

rClone is a free, open-source command-line tool that syncs and copies files to and from cloud storage — including Google Drive. This guide covers installing rClone on Windows via Chocolatey, authenticating with Google, and copying your entire Drive to C:\data\gDrive.

1
Install rClone via Chocolatey

Open an Elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell

Press Win + X and choose Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). Chocolatey requires administrator rights to install packages.

Run the Install Command

choco install rclone -y

Chocolatey downloads the latest stable rClone build, installs it, and adds it to your system PATH automatically.

Verify the Installation

rclone version

You should see output similar to:

rclone v1.68.x
– os/version: windows/10.0.xxxxx
– os/type: windows
– os/arch: amd64
💡 NoteIf rclone is not recognized after install, close and reopen your terminal to reload the PATH, or run refreshenv in your Chocolatey-aware shell.

2
Configure a Google Drive Remote

rClone uses named remotes to represent cloud storage sources. You will create one called gdrive.

Launch the Configuration Wizard

rclone config

Create a New Remote

  1. At the menu, type n (New remote) and press Enter.
  2. Enter the name gdrive and press Enter.
name> gdrive

Select Google Drive as the Storage Type

rClone displays a numbered provider list. Type drive (or the number next to Google Drive, commonly #18) and press Enter.

Storage> drive

Leave Client ID and Secret Blank

  1. At client_id> — press Enter to leave blank.
  2. At client_secret> — press Enter to leave blank.
💡 NoteUsing rClone’s default OAuth credentials is fine for personal use. For MSP/production environments handling client data, register your own OAuth credentials at console.cloud.google.com.

Select the Drive Scope

Type 1 for full Drive access and press Enter.

scope> 1 (Full access to all files)

Leave root_folder_id and service_account_file blank (press Enter at each).

Skip Advanced Configuration

At Edit advanced config?, type n and press Enter.

3
Authenticate with Google (OAuth Login)

Auto-Launch Browser (Recommended)

At the Use auto config? prompt, type y and press Enter. rClone will automatically open your browser to Google’s login page.

Sign In to Google

  1. A browser window opens to accounts.google.com.
  2. Sign in with the Google account that owns the Drive you want to copy.
  3. Review the permission consent screen and click Allow.
  4. After granting access, the browser will display:
Success! All done. Please go back to rClone.
⚠️ Headless / SSH Server?If rClone is running without a browser (e.g., an LXC container or SSH session), type n at “Use auto config?”. rClone will output a URL — open it in a browser on another machine, authenticate, then paste the resulting authorization code back into the terminal.

Team Drive Prompt

At Configure this as a Shared Drive (Team Drive)?, type n — unless you are specifically copying a Google Workspace Shared Drive.

Save the Remote

  1. Review the configuration summary rClone displays.
  2. Type y at “Yes, this is OK” and press Enter.
  3. Type q to quit the config wizard.

4
Verify the Remote

Before copying, confirm rClone can see your Drive:

rclone lsd gdrive: # Lists top-level folders

You should see your Google Drive folders listed. To list all files recursively:

rclone ls gdrive:

5
Create the Local Destination Folder
mkdir C:\data\gDrive

6
Copy Google Drive Data to C:\data\gDrive

Basic Copy Command

rclone copy gdrive: C:\data\gDrive –progress –transfers 4 –checkers 8
  • --progress — Display real-time transfer progress in the terminal.
  • --transfers 4 — Transfer 4 files simultaneously (increase to 8 on fast connections).
  • --checkers 8 — Use 8 checkers to compare source vs. destination, speeding up incremental runs.

Recommended Command with Logging

For larger drives or unattended/scheduled runs, add a log file:

rclone copy gdrive: C:\data\gDrive ^
  –progress ^
  –transfers 8 –checkers 16 ^
  –log-file C:\data\gDrive\rclone_copy.log ^
  –log-level INFO
💡 NoteThe caret (^) is the Windows CMD line-continuation character. In PowerShell, use a backtick (`) instead.

copy vs. sync — Which Should I Use?

  • rclone copy — Copies files from source to destination. Never deletes files at the destination that no longer exist on the source. Recommended for backups.
  • rclone sync — Makes the destination an exact mirror of the source, including deleting files not on the source. Use with caution.
⚠️ Google Docs / Sheets / SlidesNative Google Workspace files (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms) are not real files on disk. rClone automatically exports them as Office formats (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX) or PDF unless you configure otherwise. This is expected behavior.

7
Incremental Runs & Windows Task Scheduler

After the initial copy, subsequent runs of the same command only transfer new or changed files — rClone automatically skips files that already match the destination.

Create a Batch File

Save the following as C:\scripts\gdrive_backup.bat:

@echo off
rclone copy gdrive: C:\data\gDrive ^
  –transfers 8 –checkers 16 ^
  –log-file C:\data\gDrive\rclone_copy.log ^
  –log-level INFO

Schedule with Windows Task Scheduler

  1. Open Task Scheduler (search in the Start menu).
  2. Click Create Basic Task…
  3. Name it Google Drive Backup; set your desired trigger (e.g., Daily at 11:00 PM).
  4. Set Action: Start a program → browse to C:\scripts\gdrive_backup.bat.
  5. On the Properties dialog, check Run with highest privileges.

8
Quick Reference — Useful rClone Commands
Command Purpose
rclone config Open the configuration wizard
rclone listremotes List all configured remotes
rclone lsd gdrive: List top-level folders in Drive
rclone ls gdrive: List all files recursively
rclone size gdrive: Show total size of your Drive
rclone copy gdrive: C:\data\gDrive –progress Copy Drive to local (incremental-safe)
rclone sync gdrive: C:\data\gDrive –dry-run Preview a sync without making changes
rclone check gdrive: C:\data\gDrive Verify local files match Drive
rclone config reconnect gdrive: Re-authenticate if token expires
rclone version Show installed rClone version

9
Troubleshooting

Token Expired / Authentication Error

If rClone returns an oauth2: token expired error, re-run authentication:

rclone config reconnect gdrive:

rclone Not Recognized After Install

Close and reopen your terminal to reload the PATH, or run refreshenv in a Chocolatey-aware shell.

Rate Limit / Too Many Requests (403)

Google Drive throttles high-speed transfers. Reduce parallel threads:

rclone copy gdrive: C:\data\gDrive –transfers 2 –tpslimit 5

Copying a Shared / Team Drive

List available Shared Drives first, then copy with the shared flag:

rclone backend drives gdrive:
rclone copy gdrive: C:\data\gDrive –drive-shared-with-me
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