Class DriveApp

Allows scripts to create, find, and modify files and folders in Google Drive. To access files or folders in shared drives, use the advanced Drive service.

// Logs the name of every file in the user's Drive.
var files = DriveApp.getFiles();
while (files.hasNext()) {
  var file = files.next();
  console.log(file.getName());
}

Properties

Property	Type	Description
`Access`	`Access`	An enum representing classes of users who can access a file or folder, besides any individual users who have been explicitly given access.
`Permission`	`Permission`	An enum representing the permissions granted to users who can access a file or folder, besides any individual users who have been explicitly given access.

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`continueFileIterator(continuationToken)`	`FileIterator`	Resumes a file iteration using a continuation token from a previous iterator.
`continueFolderIterator(continuationToken)`	`FolderIterator`	Resumes a folder iteration using a continuation token from a previous iterator.
`createFile(blob)`	`File`	Creates a file in the root of the user's Drive from a given `Blob` of arbitrary data.
`createFile(name, content)`	`File`	Creates a text file in the root of the user's Drive with the given name and contents.
`createFile(name, content, mimeType)`	`File`	Creates a file in the root of the user's Drive with the given name, contents, and MIME type.
`createFolder(name)`	`Folder`	Creates a folder in the root of the user's Drive with the given name.
`createShortcut(targetId)`	`File`	Creates a shortcut to the provided Drive item ID, and returns it.
`createShortcutForTargetIdAndResourceKey(targetId, targetResourceKey)`	`File`	Creates a shortcut to the provided Drive item ID and resource key, and returns it.
`enforceSingleParent(value)`	`void`	Enables or disables enforceSingleParent behavior for all calls affecting item parents.
`getFileById(id)`	`File`	Gets the file with the given ID.
`getFileByIdAndResourceKey(id, resourceKey)`	`File`	Gets the file with the given ID and resource key.
`getFiles()`	`FileIterator`	Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive.
`getFilesByName(name)`	`FileIterator`	Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive that have the given name.
`getFilesByType(mimeType)`	`FileIterator`	Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive that have the given MIME type.
`getFolderById(id)`	`Folder`	Gets the folder with the given ID.
`getFolderByIdAndResourceKey(id, resourceKey)`	`Folder`	Gets the folder with the given ID and resource key.
`getFolders()`	`FolderIterator`	Gets a collection of all folders in the user's Drive.
`getFoldersByName(name)`	`FolderIterator`	Gets a collection of all folders in the user's Drive that have the given name.
`getRootFolder()`	`Folder`	Gets the folder at the root of the user's Drive.
`getStorageLimit()`	`Integer`	Gets the number of bytes the user is allowed to store in Drive.
`getStorageUsed()`	`Integer`	Gets the number of bytes the user is currently storing in Drive.
`getTrashedFiles()`	`FileIterator`	Gets a collection of all the files in the trash of the user's Drive.
`getTrashedFolders()`	`FolderIterator`	Gets a collection of all the folders in the trash of the user's Drive.
`searchFiles(params)`	`FileIterator`	Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive that match the given search criteria.
`searchFolders(params)`	`FolderIterator`	Gets a collection of all folders in the user's Drive that match the given search criteria.

Deprecated methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`addFile(child)`	`Folder`	Adds the given file to the root of the user's Drive.
`addFolder(child)`	`Folder`	Adds the given folder to the root of the user's Drive.
`removeFile(child)`	`Folder`	Removes the given file from the root of the user's Drive.
`removeFolder(child)`	`Folder`	Removes the given folder from the root of the user's Drive.

Detailed documentation

`continueFileIterator(continuationToken)`

Resumes a file iteration using a continuation token from a previous iterator. This method is useful if processing an iterator in one execution exceeds the maximum execution time. Continuation tokens are generally valid for one week.

// Continues getting a list of all 'Untitled document' files in the user's Drive.
// Creates a file iterator named 'previousIterator'.
const previousIterator = DriveApp.getFilesByName('Untitled document');

// Gets continuation token from the previous file iterator.
const continuationToken = previousIterator.getContinuationToken();

// Creates a new iterator using the continuation token from the previous file iterator.
const newIterator = DriveApp.continueFileIterator(continuationToken);

// Resumes the file iteration using a continuation token from 'firstIterator' and
// logs the file name.
if (newIterator.hasNext()) {
  const file = newIterator.next();
  console.log(file.getName());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`continuationToken`	`String`	A continuation token from a previous file iterator.

Return

FileIterator — A collection of files that remained in a previous iterator when the continuation token was generated.

`continueFolderIterator(continuationToken)`

Resumes a folder iteration using a continuation token from a previous iterator. This method is useful if processing an iterator in one execution exceeds the maximum execution time. Continuation tokens are generally valid for one week.

// Continues getting a list of all folders in user's Drive.
// Creates a folder iterator named 'previousIterator'.
const previousIterator = DriveApp.getFolders();

// Gets continuation token from the previous folder iterator.
const continuationToken = previousIterator.getContinuationToken();

// Creates a new iterator using the continuation token from the previous folder iterator.
const newIterator = DriveApp.continueFolderIterator(continuationToken);

// Resumes the folder iteration using a continuation token from the previous iterator and logs
// the folder name.
if (newIterator.hasNext()) {
  const folder = newIterator.next();
  console.log(folder.getName());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`continuationToken`	`String`	A continuation token from a previous folder iterator.

Return

FolderIterator — A collection of folders that remained in a previous iterator when the continuation token was generated.

`createFile(blob)`

Creates a file in the root of the user's Drive from a given Blob of arbitrary data.

// Create an image file in Google Drive using the Maps service.
var blob = Maps.newStaticMap().setCenter('76 9th Avenue, New York NY').getBlob();
DriveApp.createFile(blob);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`blob`	`BlobSource`	The data for the new file.

Return

File — The new file.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`createFile(name, content)`

Creates a text file in the root of the user's Drive with the given name and contents. Throws an exception if content is larger than 50 MB.

// Create a text file with the content "Hello, world!"
DriveApp.createFile('New Text File', 'Hello, world!');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	The name of the new file.
`content`	`String`	The content for the new file.

Return

File — The new file.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`createFile(name, content, mimeType)`

Creates a file in the root of the user's Drive with the given name, contents, and MIME type. Throws an exception if content is larger than 10MB.

// Create an HTML file with the content "Hello, world!"
DriveApp.createFile('New HTML File', '<b>Hello, world!</b>', MimeType.HTML);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	The name of the new file.
`content`	`String`	The content for the new file.
`mimeType`	`String`	The MIME type of the new file.

Return

File — The new file.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`createFolder(name)`

Creates a folder in the root of the user's Drive with the given name.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	The name of the new folder.

Return

Folder — The new folder.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`createShortcut(targetId)`

Creates a shortcut to the provided Drive item ID, and returns it.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`targetId`	`String`	The file ID of the target file or folder.

Return

File — The new shortcut.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`createShortcutForTargetIdAndResourceKey(targetId, targetResourceKey)`

Creates a shortcut to the provided Drive item ID and resource key, and returns it. A resource key is an additional parameter that needs to be passed to access the target file or folder that has been shared using a link.

// Creates shortcuts for all folders in the user's drive that have a specific name.
// TODO(developer): Replace 'Test-Folder' with a valid folder name in your drive.
const folders = DriveApp.getFoldersByName('Test-Folder');

// Iterates through all folders named 'Test-Folder'.
while (folders.hasNext()) {
  const folder = folders.next();

  // Creates a shortcut to the provided Drive item ID and resource key, and returns it.
  DriveApp.createShortcutForTargetIdAndResourceKey(folder.getId(), folder.getResourceKey());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`targetId`	`String`	The ID of the target file or folder.
`targetResourceKey`	`String`	The resource key of the target file or folder.

Return

File — The new shortcut.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`enforceSingleParent(value)`

Enables or disables enforceSingleParent behavior for all calls affecting item parents.

See the Simplifying Google Drive’s folder structure and sharing models blog for more details.

// Enables enforceSingleParent behavior for all calls affecting item parents.
DriveApp.enforceSingleParent(true);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`value`	`Boolean`	The new state of the enforceSingleParent flag.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFileById(id)`

Gets the file with the given ID. Throws a scripting exception if the file does not exist or the user does not have permission to access it.

// Gets a list of all files in Google Drive with the given name.
// TODO(developer): Replace 'Test' with your file name.
const files = DriveApp.getFilesByName('Test');

if (files.hasNext()) {
  // Gets the ID of each file in the list.
  const fileId = files.next().getId();

  // Gets the file name using its ID and logs it to the console.
  console.log(DriveApp.getFileById(fileId).getName());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	The ID of the file.

Return

File — The file with the given ID.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFileByIdAndResourceKey(id, resourceKey)`

Gets the file with the given ID and resource key. Resource keys are an additional parameter which need to be passed to access files that have been shared using a link.

Throws a scripting exception if the file doesn't exist or the user doesn't have permission to access it.

// Gets a list of all files in Drive with the given name.
// TODO(developer): Replace 'Test' with your file name.
const files = DriveApp.getFilesByName('Test');
if (files.hasNext()) {

  // Gets the first file in the list.
  const file = files.next();

  // Gets the ID and resource key.
  const key = file.getResourceKey();
  const id = file.getId();

  // Logs the file name to the console using its ID and resource key.
  console.log(DriveApp.getFileByIdAndResourceKey(id, key).getName());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	The ID of the file.
`resourceKey`	`String`	The resource key of the folder.

Return

File — The file with the given ID.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFiles()`

Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive.

Return

FileIterator — A collection of all files in the user's Drive.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFilesByName(name)`

Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive that have the given name.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	The name of the files to find.

Return

FileIterator — A collection of all files in the user's Drive that have the given name.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFilesByType(mimeType)`

Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive that have the given MIME type.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`mimeType`	`String`	The MIME type of the files to find.

Return

FileIterator — A collection of all files in the user's Drive that have the given MIME type.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFolderById(id)`

Gets the folder with the given ID. Throws a scripting exception if the folder does not exist or the user does not have permission to access it.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	The ID of the folder.

Return

Folder — The folder with the given ID.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFolderByIdAndResourceKey(id, resourceKey)`

Gets the folder with the given ID and resource key. Resource keys are an additional parameter which need to be passed to access folders that have been shared using a link.

Throws a scripting exception if the folder doesn't exist or the user doesn't have permission to access it.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	The ID of the folder.
`resourceKey`	`String`	The resource key of the folder.

Return

Folder — The folder with the given ID.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFolders()`

Gets a collection of all folders in the user's Drive.

Return

FolderIterator — A collection of all folders in the user's Drive.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getFoldersByName(name)`

Gets a collection of all folders in the user's Drive that have the given name.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	The name of the folders to find.

Return

FolderIterator — A collection of all folders in the user's Drive that have the given name.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getRootFolder()`

Gets the folder at the root of the user's Drive.

// Gets the user's My Drive folder and logs its name to the console.
console.log(DriveApp.getRootFolder().getName());

// Logs the Drive owner's name to the console.
console.log(DriveApp.getRootFolder().getOwner().getName());

Return

Folder — The root folder of the user's Drive.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getStorageLimit()`

Gets the number of bytes the user is allowed to store in Drive.

// Gets the number of bytes the user can store in Drive and logs it to the console.
console.log(DriveApp.getStorageLimit());

Return

Integer — The number of bytes the user is allowed to store in Drive.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getStorageUsed()`

Gets the number of bytes the user is currently storing in Drive.

// Gets the number of bytes the user is currently storing in Drive and logs it to the console.
console.log(DriveApp.getStorageUsed());

Return

Integer — The number of bytes the user is currently storing in Drive.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getTrashedFiles()`

Gets a collection of all the files in the trash of the user's Drive.

// Gets a list of all the files in the trash of the user's Drive.
const trashFiles = DriveApp.getTrashedFiles();

// Logs the trash file names to the console.
while (trashFiles.hasNext()) {
  const file = trashFiles.next();
  console.log(file.getName());
}

Return

FileIterator — A collection of files in the trash.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`getTrashedFolders()`

Gets a collection of all the folders in the trash of the user's Drive.

// Gets a collection of all the folders in the trash of the user's Drive.
const trashFolders = DriveApp.getTrashedFolders();

// Logs the trash folder names to the console.
while (trashFolders.hasNext()) {
  const folder = trashFolders.next();
  console.log(folder.getName());
}

Return

FolderIterator — A collection of folders in the trash.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`searchFiles(params)`

Gets a collection of all files in the user's Drive that match the given search criteria. The search criteria are detailed in the Google Drive SDK documentation. Note that the Drive service uses v2 of the Drive API and some query fields differ from v3. Review the field differences between v2 and v3.

The params argument is a query string that can contain string values, so take care to escape quotation marks correctly (for example "title contains 'Gulliver\\'s Travels'" or 'title contains "Gulliver\'s Travels"').

// Logs the name of every file in the user's Drive that modified after February 28,
// 2022 whose name contains "untitled.""
var files = DriveApp.searchFiles(
    'modifiedDate > "2022-02-28" and title contains "untitled"');
while (files.hasNext()) {
  var file = files.next();
  console.log(file.getName());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`params`	`String`	The search criteria, as detailed in the Google Drive SDK documentation.

Return

FileIterator — A collection of all files in the user's Drive that match the search criteria.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`searchFolders(params)`

Gets a collection of all folders in the user's Drive that match the given search criteria. The search criteria are detailed in the Google Drive SDK documentation. Note that the Drive service uses v2 of the Drive API and some query fields differ from v3. Review the field differences between v2 and v3.

// Logs the name of every folder in the user's Drive that you own and is starred.
var folders = DriveApp.searchFolders('starred = true and "me" in owners');
while (folders.hasNext()) {
  var folder = folders.next();
  console.log(folder.getName());
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`params`	`String`	The search criteria, as detailed in the Google Drive SDK documentation.

Return

FolderIterator — A collection of all folders in the user's Drive that match the search criteria.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

Deprecated methods

`addFile(child)`

Deprecated. Instead, use File.moveTo(destination) or Folder.createShortcut(targetId).

Adds the given file to the root of the user's Drive. This method does not move the file out of its existing parent folder; a file can have more than one parent simultaneously.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`child`	`File`	The child file to add.

Return

Folder — The new parent of the file added as a child.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`addFolder(child)`

Deprecated. Instead, use Folder.moveTo(destination) or Folder.createShortcut(targetId).

Adds the given folder to the root of the user's Drive. This method does not move the folder out of its existing parent folder; a folder can have more than one parent simultaneously.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`child`	`Folder`	The child folder to add.

Return

Folder — The new parent of the folder added as a child.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`removeFile(child)`

Deprecated. Instead, use File.moveTo(destination).

Removes the given file from the root of the user's Drive. This method does not delete the file, but if a file is removed from all of its parents, it cannot be seen in Drive except by searching for it or using the "All items" view.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`child`	`File`	The child file to remove.

Return

Folder — The previous parent of the child.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

`removeFolder(child)`

Deprecated. Instead, use Folder.moveTo(destination).

Removes the given folder from the root of the user's Drive. This method does not delete the folder or its contents, but if a folder is removed from all of its parents, it cannot be seen in Drive except by searching for it or using the "All items" view.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`child`	`Folder`	The child folder to remove.

Return

Folder — The previous parent of the child.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive