Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Eraiyanbupeterfrancis/AutoBackupTool/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

AutoBackupTool reads its configuration from a file named backup.env in your project directory. This file is loaded automatically at startup using python-dotenv (load_dotenv("backup.env")). It controls the two settings required for the app to function: your encryption key and the path to your Google OAuth credentials.

​
backup.env.example

The repository includes backup.env.example as a starting point: 
# Rename this file to backup.env and fill in your own keys before running the project

ENCRYPTION_KEY=YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY_HERE
CLIENT_SECRETS_FILE=client_secrets.json

​
Variable reference

​
ENCRYPTION_KEY

FieldValue
RequiredYes
TypeString — Fernet key (32 URL-safe base64 bytes)
Your Fernet symmetric encryption key. Every backup is encrypted with this key before upload, and decrypted with it during restore. Generate a valid key by running: 
python encrypt.py
The output is a base64-encoded string starting with characters like gAAAAAB.... Paste the entire string as the value — do not add quotes.

​
CLIENT_SECRETS_FILE

FieldValue
RequiredYes
Defaultclient_secrets.json
TypeString — file path (relative or absolute)
The path to your Google OAuth client secrets JSON file, downloaded from Google Cloud Console. You can use a path relative to the directory where you run backup_gui.py, or an absolute path. See Connect AutoBackupTool to Google Drive for instructions on obtaining this file.

​
How to create backup.env

1

Copy the example file

cp backup.env.example backup.env
2

Generate your encryption key

python encrypt.py
Copy the full key string that is printed to your terminal.
3

Paste the key into backup.env

Open backup.env and replace YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY_HERE with the key you copied:
ENCRYPTION_KEY=gAAAAAB...
CLIENT_SECRETS_FILE=client_secrets.json
4

Confirm the client_secrets.json path

Make sure CLIENT_SECRETS_FILE points to wherever you placed your downloaded Google credentials file. If it is in the same directory as backup_gui.py, the default value client_secrets.json is correct.

​
Keep backup.env out of git

backup.env contains your encryption key and indirectly controls access to your Google Drive. Add it to .gitignore before your first commit.
The README includes the following .gitignore entries that cover all sensitive files AutoBackupTool uses: 
backup.env
client_secrets.json
mycreds.txt
*.enc
*.zip
Add these to your .gitignore file if they are not already present.

​
Next steps

Once backup.env is configured, you are ready to run your first backup.

Running backups

Learn how to select a folder, choose a schedule, and start backing up to Google Drive.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us