Transfer files from Google Drive to Backblaze B2

Server to server, without downloading anything to your computer.

How it works

Connect both accounts once. ShiftMyData then talks to Google Drive and Backblaze B2 directly and streams the files between them in memory — nothing is written to our disks, and nothing travels down to your machine and back up again. The job runs on a worker, so closing the tab does not stop it.

Will every file be verified?

Both sides expose SHA-1, so every file is compared by checksum after it lands. A file that arrived corrupted or truncated is detected rather than assumed good, and an unchanged file is skipped on the next run without re-reading it.

Before you start

The largest single file Backblaze B2 accepts is 10 TB. A bigger one is reported as failed and the rest of the transfer carries on.
Google Drive allows two files with exactly the same name in one folder, and Backblaze B2 does not. Only one of each such pair is copied; rename duplicates before you start if you need both.
Backblaze B2 has no real folders, only names with slashes in them, so empty folders are not created there. Every folder that holds a file arrives as expected.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides arrive as Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Files shared with you and shared drives are separate roots in the explorer, not part of My Drive: copy them as well if you want them.
On a mirror into Backblaze B2: a B2 bucket keeps every version by default: a file overwritten or deleted by a mirror becomes a hidden version that is still stored and billed until a lifecycle rule removes it.
A transfer copies each file's current content, name and modification time; sharing and version history stay behind on Google Drive. Business migration carries them where both sides support them.

Sources: support.google.com · rclone.org · www.backblaze.com · www.backblaze.com

Worth knowing about Google Drive

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are not files in the ordinary sense -- they have no bytes to copy and no size until they are exported. ShiftMyData exports them to their Office equivalents on the way out; a native Doc cannot be preserved as a Doc anywhere except another Drive.

Worth knowing about Backblaze B2

B2 charges nothing for uploads, and downloads are free up to three times what you store in a month, which makes it a cheap destination. Moving a whole archive back out in one month can pass that allowance, so check before you start.

Steps

On the Clouds screen, add Google Drive: sign in with Google and allow access.
Add Backblaze B2 the same way: paste an application key ID and key from the Backblaze console, ideally one limited to the bucket involved.
Pick the source folder in the left pane and the destination bucket in the right.
Choose a mode — copy, mirror, move, or two-way — and start the transfer.
Leave it. Progress is on the Jobs screen, and a webhook can tell you when it ends.

Questions

Do I have to download my files from Google Drive first?

No. The transfer is streamed from Google Drive to Backblaze B2 on our servers, so nothing is written to your machine and your home upload speed is not the limit.

What happens if I close my laptop?

The job keeps running. It is queued on a worker rather than in your browser, and the progress is there when you come back.

How do I know every file arrived?

Is there a size limit?

None imposed by us. What you move is drawn from your prepaid allowance (30 GB free, then 500 GB for ₹100 or 2,500 GB for ₹500, each valid a year). Backblaze B2 takes single files up to 10 TB, and its own storage quota applies.

Move a folder now