Google Drive is the easiest place to keep a copy of an Airtable base: most teams already have it, you can browse the files from any browser, and the storage is billed by Google rather than the backup tool. What matters is what ends up in the folder: records you can read, and the attachment files themselves rather than links that expire.
Ways to get Airtable data into Drive
| Approach | Records | Attachment files | Runs on a schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download CSVs and upload them | One file per view | No, only expiring links | No |
| Zapier or Make scenario | You build the export | Only if you add a download step for each file | Yes |
| A backup service writing to your Drive | Yes | Depends on the service | Yes |
A home-made Zapier or Make scenario works for small bases, but it has to page through every table, download each attachment while its link is valid, and tell you when a run fails. For most teams a backup service is less work.
Services that can write to Google Drive include On2Air, Airhistory, ProBackup (on its Pro plan, as Google Sheets plus files) and KeepMyBase. The backup tools comparison covers the differences.
Setting it up with KeepMyBase
- Create an account at keepmybase.com and choose a plan. Backups start once the payment is confirmed.
- Connect Airtable. In Connections, choose Connect Airtable and select the bases to back up. KeepMyBase gets read-only access to those bases.
- Connect Google Drive. Choose Connect Google Drive and approve access. KeepMyBase asks only for permission to manage the files it creates, so it can't see anything else in your Drive.
- Create the backup. Pick the base and the Drive destination. The first copy starts within a few minutes; you can also choose Back up now.
- Turn on daily backups. After the first copy completes, enable the daily schedule and choose how long to keep older copies.
If a run can't finish, for example because the Airtable connection expired or Drive is full, you get an email with the reason and your last complete copy stays in place.
What lands in your Drive
KeepMyBase creates a folder called KeepMyBase, with a folder for each backup inside it. Each day's copy is a folder containing:
records.csvandrecords.jsonfor every table, with each record's Airtable ID;schema.json, the tables, fields and field types;manifest.json, with record counts and a checksum for every file.
Attachment files are saved in the backup's files folder. Each file is uploaded once and every later copy that still contains it links to the same file, so a daily backup doesn't fill your Drive with duplicates. Every copy is checked against its checksums after it's written. You can download a sample archive to see the format.
Things to check
- Storage space. The copy counts against your Google account's storage, which is shared with Gmail and Google Photos. Attachments are usually most of the size.
- Leave the files where they are. KeepMyBase keeps track of each file it saved. Moving files out of the folder or deleting them makes older copies incomplete.
- Shared drives and permissions. The folder belongs to the Google account you connect. Share the folder with colleagues from Drive if they need access.
- What isn't included. Interfaces, automations, view settings, comments and revision history stay in Airtable.
When to use S3 instead
Google Drive suits most bases. If your base holds hundreds of gigabytes of attachments, you want lifecycle rules or object lock, or your company keeps data in a specific region, a storage bucket may fit better. See backing up Airtable to Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2.