RecordFlow for users

Managing recordings for several people on a Zoom account? Read the admin guide →

Last updated: June 12, 2026

RecordFlow automatically archives the Zoom cloud recordings you host to a Google Drive folder of your choice. This guide covers everything from install to troubleshooting.

Install RecordFlow

The only setup you need is a sign-in — your Zoom account is your RecordFlow account, with no separate registration.

Steps:

  1. Go to recordflow.org/sign-in and click "Sign in as a Zoom user".
  2. Review the requested Zoom permissions and click "Allow" to authorize.
  3. You land on the RecordFlow dashboard, where you connect Google Drive and start archiving.

Connecting Google Drive

Connect your Google Drive so RecordFlow has a destination to archive recordings.

Prerequisites:

  • A Google account with access to Google Drive.
  • If archiving to a shared Drive, you must have write access to that shared Drive.

Steps:

  1. Sign in to RecordFlow and go to your dashboard.
  2. Click "Connect Google Drive".
  3. Authorize your Google account when prompted.
  4. By default RecordFlow creates a "RecordFlow Recordings" folder in your Google Drive and archives there. To choose a different location instead, click "Change" and use the Google Picker to select a folder from your personal Drive or a shared Drive.
  5. Click "Save & Connect" to confirm.

RecordFlow only ever has access to the folder it creates or the one you explicitly pick — it can't see the rest of your Drive.

Folder picker not opening, or showing an "API developer key" error? Here's the two-minute fix.

Once connected, RecordFlow begins syncing your recordings automatically.

Enable Zoom cloud recording

RecordFlow can only back up recordings stored in Zoom's cloud — not recordings saved locally to a computer. If cloud recording isn't on, there's nothing for RecordFlow to archive.

Cloud recording is a feature of paid Zoom plans (Pro, Business, Business Plus, or Enterprise). Zoom doesn't make cloud recordings available on the free plan, so no third-party tool can access them.

How to turn it on:

  1. Open the Zoom recording settings.
  2. Toggle Cloud recording on.
  3. Save.

Whose recordings are archived

RecordFlow archives the cloud recordings owned by the Zoom user who installed the app — the recordings under your own recordings in Zoom. Destination: your own Google Drive folder.

RecordFlow archives Zoom Meeting cloud recordings only. It does not back up Zoom Phone call recordings or voicemail.

Need a colleague's recordings too? That's RecordFlow for admins — one install that archives every member of your Zoom account you enable.

Folder structure

Recordings are organized in your Google Drive by year and meeting:

  • <your-folder> → Year → Date – Meeting Topic

<your-folder> is the RecordFlow Recordings folder we create by default, or whichever folder you picked when connecting Drive. For example: RecordFlow Recordings → 2026 →2026-03-21 – Weekly Standup.

Deduplication. RecordFlow stores the Zoom file ID in each Drive file's description. If a recording is already in your Drive, it's skipped automatically — you won't get duplicates. This also means that if you move, rename, or delete a file in Drive after it's been archived, RecordFlow will not re-create it on the next sync. Your files are yours to manage. RecordFlow also won't create an empty meeting folder: a folder is only created when there's actually a new file to put in it.

Automatic and manual sync

RecordFlow archives new Zoom cloud recordings automatically without any manual action. You can also trigger a sync immediately from the dashboard.

How automatic sync works:

  • Near-real-time: When a recording is completed, Zoom notifies us and RecordFlow transfers it within minutes.
  • Hourly safety check: A scheduled job runs every hour to catch anything that slipped through.

To trigger a manual sync:

  1. Go to your RecordFlow dashboard.
  2. Click "Sync now".
  3. RecordFlow checks for new recordings and transfers them to Drive.

File types archived

RecordFlow archives the following file types from your Zoom cloud recordings:

  • Video — MP4
  • Audio — M4A
  • Transcript — VTT, plus a formatted Google Doc version for easy reading and searching in Drive
  • Chat — TXT
  • Meeting summary — when Zoom's AI summary is enabled
  • Timeline — meeting timestamp markers, when available

Settings

Settings live on the dashboard.

Transcript-only sync

If you only need meeting transcripts (not video or audio), enable transcript-only mode. When active, RecordFlow archives only the VTT transcript file for each recording, skipping video, audio, chat, and summary files.

Steps:

  1. Go to your RecordFlow dashboard.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Toggle Transcript-only sync on.

This applies to future syncs only — recordings already archived retain all their files in Google Drive.

Auto-delete after archive (optional)

RecordFlow can optionally move Zoom cloud recordings to your Zoom Trash after they've been safely copied to your Google Drive. This frees up Zoom cloud storage without manual cleanup.

How it works:

  • We delete recordings from Zoom once they're safely in Drive. RecordFlow waits at least 3 days after the archive completes before issuing the trash call.
  • After that, Drive is yours: you can move, rename, or even delete the Drive file. The Zoom-side cleanup runs on the same schedule regardless — your choices about your Drive copies don't pause it.
  • Recordings are moved to your Zoom Trash (not permanently deleted). Zoom keeps a 30-day Trash window if you change your mind.

Steps to enable:

  1. Go to your RecordFlow dashboard.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Toggle Auto-delete after archive on.
  4. Authorize the additional Zoom permission when prompted.

If you have the auto-delete feature enabled, you can also delete individual recordings from Zoom on demand without waiting for the 3-day grace period: open a synced meeting in your sync history, click "Delete from Zoom", and confirm. RecordFlow checks that the recording was successfully transferred to Drive before issuing the trash call.

You can turn auto-delete off at any time. Pending deletions are cancelled, but deletions already issued cannot be undone through RecordFlow (recover via the Zoom web interface within 30 days). Auto-delete is being rolled out gradually; if you don't see it in Settings yet, email us at support@recordflow.org.

Email notifications

Get notified by email each time recordings are synced to your Google Drive, with direct links to the archived files.

Steps:

  1. Go to your RecordFlow dashboard.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Toggle Email notifications on or off.

Removing RecordFlow

To remove RecordFlow from your Zoom account:

  1. Go to the Zoom App Marketplace.
  2. Click Manage → Added Apps.
  3. Find RecordFlow in the list and click "Remove".
  4. Confirm the removal when prompted.

When you remove RecordFlow, syncing stops immediately, your Zoom and Google OAuth tokens are revoked, all your account data (encrypted tokens, sync history, settings) is automatically and permanently deleted from RecordFlow, and any recordings already in your Google Drive remain there untouched. RecordFlow sends one confirmation email to the address on file after the deletion completes and never contacts you again.

If you also want to revoke RecordFlow's access to Google Drive independently, go to your Google Account → Security → Third-party apps and remove RecordFlow from the list.

When something's not working

My recordings aren't syncing →

The most common cause is a cloud-vs-local recording mix-up — the fix article walks through it step by step.

I get an authorization error when connecting

Connecting RecordFlow takes two approvals: one for Zoom and one for Google Drive. If you hit an authorization error part-way through, reload the page and start the connection again, making sure to approve the access RecordFlow asks for in both the Zoom and Google windows. If the error keeps coming back, email us at support@recordflow.org with a screenshot of the message and we'll help you get unblocked.

I see duplicate files

RecordFlow uses deduplication to prevent duplicate files. If you see what appear to be duplicates, they likely have different Zoom recording IDs (for example, from separate recording sessions of the same meeting).

Sync is slow

Large recordings are transferred in 10 MB chunks. An hour-long meeting may take a few minutes to fully transfer. This is normal and ensures reliable delivery even for large files.

My video shows "not ready for playback" in Drive →

That's Google Drive preparing a freshly uploaded video — your recording is already safely backed up. The fix article explains what to expect.

Need more help?

Start with the common problems, fixed list. For anything else, contact us at support@recordflow.org — please include the email address associated with your Zoom account and a description of the problem.