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Consolidating Multiple Cloud Accounts Into One (Without Losing Folder Structure)

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Consolidating multiple cloud accounts into one without losing folder structure

To consolidate files spread across several clouds, pick one destination, then copy each source into its own folder there so nothing collides, keeping the original folder tree intact. The hard part is doing it without flattening your folders or creating a thousand duplicates.

Most people accumulate clouds by accident: a personal Dropbox, a work Google Drive, an old S3 bucket from a project, a free account that came with a device. Finding one file means remembering which silo it is in, and a careful consolidation ends that.

Decide the destination first

Before moving anything, choose where everything will live. Match it to how you work:

  • Google Drive or Dropbox if you mostly open and share documents and want easy collaboration.
  • A NAS or external drive if you want the files under your own roof and off a subscription.
  • Object storage like Backblaze B2 or Wasabi if it is mostly a large archive you rarely touch.

Pick one, because a second destination brings back the question of which place holds a file.

Keep each source in its own folder

Consolidations usually go wrong when two sources both have a folder named "Projects," they merge, and now you cannot tell which file came from where. Give each source its own top-level folder in the destination, for example from-dropbox/, from-drive/, from-old-s3/, and copy each source's tree underneath. You keep every original path, and nothing overwrites anything.

Blober keeps the folder structure when it copies, so the destination gets the same tree you had in each source. Point it at a source, choose the destination folder, and it recreates the hierarchy there.

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides live in Google's editor rather than as files. When Google Drive is one of your sources, Blober exports them as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx while it copies, so the consolidated library holds documents you can open anywhere. Some formatting may change in the export, and Google Forms can't be downloaded at all. See Google Drive for the full list.

Copy one source at a time, then verify

Run the moves source by source so you can check each one when it finishes. When everything is in place, open a few files from each from-* folder and confirm the counts look right. Once you trust the consolidated copy, you can retire the old accounts on your own schedule.

Frequently asked questions

How do I combine files from different cloud accounts? Choose one destination, then copy each source into its own folder there so nothing collides. Blober copies from one account to another through your computer and keeps the folder structure intact.

Will consolidating clouds create duplicate files? Not if you give each source its own top-level folder in the destination. That keeps same-named folders from merging and overwriting each other.

Does moving files between clouds keep my folder structure? With Blober, yes. It recreates the source's folder tree in the destination, so files do not end up flattened into one folder.

What happens to Google Docs when I consolidate? Blober exports them as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx as it copies, so they arrive as Office documents. Some formatting may differ after the export.