Google Drive Backup Downloader copies your whole Drive to a local folder or external disk in one click — same folder structure, resumable downloads, and later runs fetch only what changed.
Choose any disk, external drive or network path. The Drive is scanned, free space is checked, then hit Back Up Entire Drive and watch it go.
Re-run anytime: only changes download
First launch: the .exe isn’t code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say “Windows protected your PC”. Click More info → Run anyway. Google will also show “Google hasn’t verified this app” for your personal key — click Continue; that is expected because the key is yours. See every screen in the setup guide.
Screenshots
See it in action
From first sign-in to a finished backup.
Overview. Your Drive at a glance: files, folders, total size and backup status.
Backup. Overall progress, speed, ETA and a live per-file queue. Pause, resume or cancel anytime.
Setup. Pick the destination and review what’s left to download against free space before you start.
Settings. Concurrency, export formats, theme and the new keep-awake option.
Welcome. Connect your Google account securely in your browser.
Privacy & security
Your files go to one place: your disk
Data flows Google → Google Drive API → your PC. That is the only path it takes.
Read-only access. Requests only the drive.readonly scope — it cannot modify or delete anything in your Drive.
Your password is never seen. Sign-in happens entirely in your browser, on Google’s own domain.
Tokens stay protected. Stored in Windows Credential Manager and masked out of every log.
No telemetry, no analytics. The only host contacted is Google’s own API.
Your own OAuth client. Access is never shared with or routed through anyone else.
Open source. Every line is on GitHub for you to read, audit or build yourself.
Yes. It asks Google only for read-only access (the drive.readonly scope), so it cannot modify or delete anything in your Drive. You sign in on Google’s own page in your browser, so the app never sees your password. Your sign-in token is stored in Windows Credential Manager, and the app contacts no server other than Google’s own API: no telemetry, no analytics. The full source code is on GitHub.
Is it really free?
Yes. It is free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid tier, no sign-up and no ads. Creating the Google Cloud project it needs is free as well.
Does it download Google Docs, Sheets and Slides?
Yes. Google Workspace files are exported to regular formats: Docs to DOCX or PDF, Sheets to XLSX or CSV, Slides to PPTX or PDF, and Drawings to PNG, SVG or PDF. Google Forms, Sites and My Maps have no export format in the Drive API, so they are reported with the reason instead of being silently skipped.
How is it different from Google Takeout?
Takeout packs your Drive into zip archives that you have to request, wait for, download and extract, and you start over every time. Google Drive Backup Downloader copies your Drive straight into a normal folder with the same structure, resumes interrupted downloads, and on later runs only fetches new and changed files.
Can I back up to an external hard drive or a NAS?
Yes. The destination can be any local disk, an external HDD or SSD, or a network path. Before starting, the app checks that there is enough free space. If the drive disconnects mid-backup, reconnect it and resume: completed and partially downloaded files are still there.
What happens if my internet connection drops?
Nothing is lost. Each file downloads into a temporary .part file and continues from the exact byte where it stopped, using HTTP Range requests, whether the network dropped, the app crashed or you paused. Temporary errors are retried automatically with backoff, and files that still fail are listed so you can retry them.
Does it work on Mac or Linux?
The ready-to-run download is for Windows 10 and 11. The app is written in Python, and its code also runs on macOS and Linux if you run it from source with Python 3.12 or newer.
Why do I need to create my own Google Cloud credentials?
The app talks to Google directly from your PC, with no server in between, so it signs in with an OAuth client that belongs to you. Creating one is a free, one-time setup that takes about five minutes, and it means your access is never routed through anyone else.
Why does Windows show a SmartScreen warning?
The .exe is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say “Windows protected your PC” the first time you run it. Click More info, then Run anyway. You can also review the source code or build the .exe yourself from the repository.
Will it ever delete my files?
No. It cannot change anything in your Google Drive because it only has read-only access, and it never deletes local files either: not when a file disappears from Drive, not on cancel and not on disconnect. Removing files is always your decision.
Own a copy of your Google Drive
Free, open source and read-only. Set it up once, then keep your backup current with a single click.
