In this post, I want to share my experience setting up a daily backup procedure using Rclone on a Windows server, with backups sent directly to Google Drive. This project was essential to protect critical FileMaker files and ensure an efficient and organized backup workflow. It took some time, a few challenges, and helpful support from ChatGPT to reach a solid result.

🎯 Objectives and Requirements

• Runs every weekday at 8:00 PM
• Finds all `.fmp12` FileMaker files in the daily backup folder and its subfolders
• Compresses them into ZIP archives, split into parts if larger than 2 GB
• Uploads the ZIP files to Google Drive using Rclone
• Organizes the uploads into a daily folder named with the current date
• Keeps only the last 4 daily, 4 weekly, and 4 monthly backups on Google Drive
• Sends email notifications at the beginning and end of the process
• Deletes all temporary files from the local SSD after upload

⚙️ Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Installing Rclone and Setting Up Google Drive

I configured Rclone to access my Google Drive by following the official documentation. I used a headless authentication to generate the necessary token and successfully connected Rclone to a dedicated backup folder on my Drive.

2. PowerShell Script for Backup Automation

The PowerShell script performs the following:

• Scans for .fmp12 files recursively
• Uses 7-Zip to compress files, splitting large ones into 2 GB parts
• Creates a detailed log of every step
• Uploads each archive to a date-named folder on Google Drive
• Deletes local ZIPs after upload
• Sends email notifications on start and finish

3. Retention Policy Logic

Backup folders older than the 4 most recent (daily, weekly, monthly) are automatically deleted based on date parsing and naming.

🧪 Testing and Troubleshooting

I ran several tests with different file sizes, folder structures, and simulated connection failures. I also validated the deletion logic with dummy folders and verified logs for accuracy.

❌ Problems Solved (Thanks to ChatGPT!)

• Wrong 7-Zip syntax fixed
• Incorrect Rclone paths corrected
• Recursive search for files fixed
• Overwrite vs append log behavior adjusted
• Retention logic improved to avoid over-deletion

✅ Final Result

Now, every weekday at 8:00 PM:

• Files are compressed and split
• ZIPs are uploaded and sorted
• Old backups are deleted
• Logs are emailed
• Temporary files are removed

📝 Conclusion

This solution is now reliable, fast, and easy to monitor. The combination of PowerShell scripting, Rclone, and 7-Zip provides full control without third-party software dependencies.

Special thanks to ChatGPT for helping me resolve key issues and refine each step of the process!

⚙️ Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Installing Rclone and Setting Up Google Drive

I configured Rclone to access my Google Drive by following the official documentation. I used a headless authentication to generate the necessary token and successfully connected Rclone to a dedicated backup folder on my Drive.

2. PowerShell Script for Backup Automation

The PowerShell script performs the following:

• Scans for .fmp12 files recursively
• Uses 7-Zip to compress files, splitting large ones into 2 GB parts
• Creates a detailed log of every step
• Uploads each archive to a date-named folder on Google Drive
• Deletes local ZIPs after upload
• Sends email notifications on start and finish

3. Retention Policy Logic

Backup folders older than the 4 most recent (daily, weekly, monthly) are automatically deleted based on date parsing and naming.

💻 PowerShell Script Example

# Define paths
$backupSource = "D:\FileMakerBackups\Today"
$zipDestination = "D:\TempZIPs"
$logFile = "D:\Logs\backup_log_$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd').txt"
$gdriveTarget = "gdrive:backup_fmp12/$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd')"

# Create log
Add-Content -Path $logFile -Value "=== Backup started at $(Get-Date) ==="

# Compress files
Get-ChildItem -Path $backupSource -Recurse -Filter *.fmp12 | ForEach-Object {
    $zipName = "$zipDestination\$($_.BaseName).zip"
    & "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" a -v2g -tzip $zipName $_.FullName
    Add-Content -Path $logFile -Value "Compressed: $($_.FullName)"
}

# Upload to Google Drive using Rclone
& "C:\rclone\rclone.exe" copy $zipDestination $gdriveTarget --log-file=$logFile --log-level INFO

# Retention: delete local temp files
Remove-Item "$zipDestination\*" -Recurse -Force
Add-Content -Path $logFile -Value "Temporary ZIPs deleted."

# (Optional) Retention policy for Google Drive can be added using rclone delete or scripting

# Send email notification (example using Send-MailMessage)
Send-MailMessage -From "backup@yourdomain.com" -To "admin@yourdomain.com" `
    -Subject "✅ Backup Completed" `
    -Body "Backup completed at $(Get-Date). See attached log." `
    -SmtpServer "smtp.yourdomain.com" `
    -Attachments $logFile

Add-Content -Path $logFile -Value "=== Backup completed at $(Get-Date) ==="

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