Google Takeout Workflow

How to get your Google data (Photos, Gmail, Drive, etc.) safely backed up to Backblaze B2, the NAS, or DigitalOcean.

The Problem

Google Takeout can export your data but cannot send it directly to Backblaze, a NAS, or a custom server. It only supports: direct download, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box. So you need a routing strategy.

Three Options

Option 1: Takeout → Google Drive → Backblaze No Local Disk Needed

Best when local disk space is tight. Takeout pushes to your Google Drive, then rclone syncs Drive to B2.

In Google Takeout, choose "Send to Google Drive" as destination
Wait for export to land in your Drive
Install rclone: winget install Rclone.Rclone
Configure rclone for Google Drive + B2: rclone config
Sync: rclone sync gdrive:Takeout b2:walhus-photos/takeout

Pros: Never touches your local disk. Cons: Requires Google Drive storage (uses your 15 GB or paid plan). Rclone setup is a one-time chore.

Option 2: Takeout → Download to NAS → Backblaze Recommended

Simplest and most reliable. Download the ZIP files directly to the NAS, then sync to B2.

In Google Takeout, choose "Download"
When the browser save dialog appears, save to Z:\google-photos-takeout\
Unzip the archives on Z:
Sync to B2: python sync_to_backblaze.py or rclone sync Z:\google-photos-takeout b2:walhus-photos/takeout

Pros: Simple, reliable, NAS has 11 TB free. Cons: Uses your internet bandwidth twice (download + upload).

Option 3: Takeout → Download → rsync to DO Droplet Limited Space

For small exports only. The DO droplet has only 4.6 GB free.

Download to NAS (same as Option 2)
Rsync to droplet: rsync -az Z:\takeout\ root@143.198.182.180:/opt/takeout/

Pros: Web-accessible. Cons: Only 4.6 GB free on droplet — photos and large exports won't fit.

Current Backblaze B2 Buckets

Bucket	Type	Contents	Size
`walhus-lifelog`	Private	Limitless lifelog archive (audio + transcripts + summaries)	~24 GB (uploading)
`walhus-photos`	Public	Google Photos backup	33.5 GB
`walhus-private`	Private	Other private files	0.8 GB

B2 Pricing

Tier	Cost
First 10 GB storage	Free
Above 10 GB	$0.006/GB/month
Downloads (first 1 GB/day)	Free
Downloads above 1 GB/day	$0.01/GB

At current usage (~58 GB across all buckets): roughly $0.29/month.

Key Files & Credentials

What	Where
B2 credentials	`~/.backblaze_key` (keyID:appKey)
Lifelog sync script	`Z:\lifelog\sync_to_backblaze.py`
Limitless API key	`~/.limitless_api_key`
Anthropic API key	`~/.anthropic_api_key`

Quick Commands

# Sync lifelog to B2 (skip existing files)
python Z:\lifelog\sync_to_backblaze.py

# Sync lifelog without audio (fast, text only)
python Z:\lifelog\sync_to_backblaze.py --no-audio

# Check B2 bucket contents
b2 ls walhus-lifelog --recursive | wc -l

# Install rclone (for Drive-to-B2 workflow)
winget install Rclone.Rclone

← Back to WholeTech