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Got Your Back (GYB) is a command-line utility developed by Jay Lee that enables users to create local backups of their Gmail messages by leveraging the Gmail API over HTTPS. Designed for individuals and administrators who need offline access to email archives, the tool exports entire mailboxes or selected labels to standard mbox or maildir files, preserving metadata, attachments, and threading information. Typical use cases include migrating messages between accounts, complying with data-retention policies, safeguarding against accidental deletion, and preparing for disaster recovery. Because it communicates directly with Google’s servers through OAuth 2.0, GYB requires only read-only Gmail scope authorization, ensuring that credentials are not exposed to third parties. The current stable release, version 1.90, is the fifth major iteration since the project’s inception, incorporating incremental improvements in speed, memory efficiency, and API error handling. Written in Python, the utility is cross-platform and can be scheduled through cron or Task Scheduler for unattended nightly backups, while advanced filters allow incremental exports that skip already-archived messages, reducing bandwidth and storage overhead. Administrators frequently deploy GYB in educational and enterprise environments where Google Workspace data must be retained beyond the default 30-day deletion window, and privacy-conscious individuals value the fact that messages remain under their own filesystem encryption rather than residing solely in the cloud. The software is available for free on get.nero.com, with downloads provided via trusted Windows package sources such as winget, always delivering the latest version, and supporting batch installation of multiple applications.
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