Connect Google Drive

Backups are stored in your own Google Drive, so you always own them, even if you stop using FlashBackup.

Connect

Open Settings in the dashboard. (Owners and admins only.)
Under Google Drive, click Connect Google Drive.
Choose the Google account where backups should go.
Google asks you to allow FlashBackup to "See, edit, create, and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app". Click Allow. Make sure the Drive box is ticked.

You're sent back to FlashBackup and the page shows Connected to your@email.

What FlashBackup can see

FlashBackup uses Google's most limited Drive permission. It can only see files and folders it created itself. It cannot see, read or change any of your other documents, photos or files.

Where to find your backups

In Google Drive, open the folder FlashBackup. Inside it:

FlashBackup/
  Main-website-server/          one folder per server
    mysql-shop/                 one folder per database or folder
      shop_2026-11-12_0200UTC.sql.gz.fbk
      shop_2026-11-13_0200UTC.sql.gz.fbk
    sqlite-cooperative.db/
      ...

Files end in .fbk because they are encrypted. See Restore a backup to open them.

Don't rename or move these files or folders. FlashBackup uses them to delete old backups automatically. If you need to keep a backup forever, copy it somewhere else.

How much space do I need?

Backups are compressed, typically to 10–30% of the database size. Multiply by the number of days you keep backups. For example, a 2 GB database might compress to 400 MB; keeping 7 days uses about 2.8 GB.

A free Google account includes 15 GB shared with Gmail and Photos. If you need more, buy a Google One or Google Workspace plan. If your Drive fills up, backups fail and you get an email.

Change or disconnect the account

Use another account: click Reconnect / use another account. New backups go to the new account; old ones stay in the old account.
Disconnect: click Disconnect. Backups stop until you connect again. Nothing is deleted from your Drive.

You can also remove FlashBackup's access from your Google Account at myaccount.google.com → Security → Third-party apps. FlashBackup will then show a red warning asking you to reconnect.