> V1.0.3 rc.2 > Integrations > Googlephotos
Version v1.0.3-rc.2

Google Photos integration documentation

Integration Package: Google Photos

Introduction

This integration allows you to snapshot and restore Google Photos data using Plakar to store it in a Kloset store, while minimizing storage usage and ensuring strong data security. It includes connectors that let you import and export snapshots to Google Photos itself, either from Google Photos or from other sources. A Viewer is also provided to inspect, search, and restore snapshots without requiring full extraction.

Use cases:

  • Cold backup of Google Photos library
  • Long-term archiving and disaster recovery
  • Portable export and vendor escape to other platforms

Target technologies:

  • Supported versions: All Google Photos accounts supported by Rclone
  • Supported editions: Personal and Business Google Photos
  • System compatibility: macOS, Linux, Windows via Rclone

Requirements:

  • Plakar version: >=1.0.3
  • Integration version: 0.1.0
  • Google Photos API credentials configured in Rclone

Architecture

                                Viewer (CLI/UI)
                                  ↑
Google Photos ← Source Connector → Kloset Store
                                  ↓
                  Google Photos ← Destination Connector → Other compatible resources

Components provided:

  • Source Connector: extract data from Google Photos
  • Destination Connector: restore snapshots to Google Photos
  • Viewer: browse and search snapshots in UI/CLI

Installation

Prerequisites

This integration is distributed as an Rclone-powered connector. You only need Plakar and Rclone installed.

Install Rclone: https://rclone.org/install/ Configure your Google Photos remote: https://rclone.org/googlephotos/

1rclone config

After you can install it in a few seconds using Plakar’s built-in tooling.

Install the package:

Run the following command to install the integration:

1plakar pkg add rclone

This will generate a portable .ptar archive and install it in your Plakar environment.

Verify installation:

Check that the integration appears in your available connectors:

1plakar pkg

You should now see the rclone.

Configuration

Once Rclone is configured, import it into Plakar.

Source Connector

To import your rclone config as a source connector (to make backups), run:

1rclone config show mygooglephotos | plakar source import

Destination Connector

To import your rclone config as a destination connector (to restore backups), run:

1rclone config show mygooglephotos | plakar destination import

Replace mygooglephotos with your Rclone remote name.

Usage

For the following examples, we will use @mygooglephotos as the Rclone remote name configured in Plakar.

First over all, we need to create a Kloset store to hold our snapshots:

1plakar at ./backup create

A folder named backup will be created in the current directory, which will hold the snapshots.

Snapshot

To back up your Google Photos data in the recently created Kloset store, use the following command:

1plakar at ./backup backup @mygooglephotos

The last line of the output will show the snapshot ID, which you can use to inspect or restore later.

Inspection

With Plakar, you can inspect your snapshots without extracting them. You can list or display the contents of the Kloset store:

1plakar at ./backup ls
2plakar at ./backup cat <snapshot-id>:/path/to/file
3plakar at ./backup ui

Restore

To restore a snapshot back to Google Photos, use the following command:

1plakar at ./backup restore -to @mygooglephotos <snapshot-id>

This will restore the snapshot to your Google Photos account, making it available in the same structure as it was when backed up.

Integration-specific behaviors

Limitations

  • Google Photos API has rate limits, heavy usage may require throttling
  • Only the latest version of files are snapshotted
  • Shared links and permissions are not preserved in snapshots
  • Cannot be used as a Kloset storage backend

Appendix