Create and populate folders

Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Folders are files that only contain metadata and can be used to organize files in Google Drive. Specifically,

  • a folder is a file with the MIME type application/vnd.google-apps.folder and with no extension.
  • you can use the alias root to refer to the root folder anywhere a file ID is provided.

This guide explains how to perform some basic folder-related tasks.

Create a folder

To create a folder, use the files.create method with the application/vnd.google-apps.folder MIME type and a title. The following code snippet shows how to create a folder using a client library:

Java

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/main/java/CreateFolder.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive;
import com.google.api.services.drive.DriveScopes;
import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Arrays;

/* Class to demonstrate use of Drive's create folder API */
public class CreateFolder {


  /**
   * Create new folder.
   *
   * @return Inserted folder id if successful, {@code null} otherwise.
   * @throws IOException if service account credentials file not found.
   */
  public static String createFolder() throws IOException {
    // Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    // TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
    // guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application.
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Arrays.asList(DriveScopes.DRIVE_FILE));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Build a new authorized API client service.
    Drive service = new Drive.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Drive samples")
        .build();
    // File's metadata.
    File fileMetadata = new File();
    fileMetadata.setName("Test");
    fileMetadata.setMimeType("application/vnd.google-apps.folder");
    try {
      File file = service.files().create(fileMetadata)
          .setFields("id")
          .execute();
      System.out.println("Folder ID: " + file.getId());
      return file.getId();
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      System.err.println("Unable to create folder: " + e.getDetails());
      throw e;
    }
  }
}

Python

drive/snippets/drive-v3/file_snippet/create_folder.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def create_folder():
    """ Create a folder and prints the folder ID
    Returns : Folder Id

    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
    """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()

    try:
        # create drive api client
        service = build('drive', 'v3', credentials=creds)
        file_metadata = {
            'name': 'Invoices',
            'mimeType': 'application/vnd.google-apps.folder'
        }

        # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
        file = service.files().create(body=file_metadata, fields='id'
                                      ).execute()
        print(F'Folder ID: "{file.get("id")}".')
        return file.get('id')

    except HttpError as error:
        print(F'An error occurred: {error}')
        return None


if __name__ == '__main__':
    create_folder()

Node.js

drive/snippets/drive_v3/file_snippets/create_folder.js
/**
 * Create a folder and prints the folder ID
 * @return{obj} folder Id
 * */
async function createFolder() {
  // Get credentials and build service
  // TODO (developer) - Use appropriate auth mechanism for your app

  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive',
  });
  const service = google.drive({version: 'v3', auth});
  const fileMetadata = {
    name: 'Invoices',
    mimeType: 'application/vnd.google-apps.folder',
  };
  try {
    const file = await service.files.create({
      resource: fileMetadata,
      fields: 'id',
    });
    console.log('Folder Id:', file.data.id);
    return file.data.id;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO(developer) - Handle error
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/DriveCreateFolder.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
function createFolder()
{
    try {
        $client = new Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Drive::DRIVE);
        $driveService = new Drive($client);
        $fileMetadata = new Drive\DriveFile(array(
            'name' => 'Invoices',
            'mimeType' => 'application/vnd.google-apps.folder'));
        $file = $driveService->files->create($fileMetadata, array(
            'fields' => 'id'));
        printf("Folder ID: %s\n", $file->id);
        return $file->id;

    }catch(Exception $e) {
       echo "Error Message: ".$e;
    }
}

.NET

drive/snippets/drive_v3/DriveV3Snippets/CreateFolder.cs
using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Drive.v3;
using Google.Apis.Services;

namespace DriveV3Snippets
{
    // Class to demonstrate use of Drive create folder API.
    public class CreateFolder
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a new folder.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>created folder id, null otherwise</returns>
        public static string DriveCreateFolder()
        {
            try
            {
                /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
                 TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for 
                 guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
                GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
                    .CreateScoped(DriveService.Scope.Drive);

                // Create Drive API service.
                var service = new DriveService(new BaseClientService.Initializer
                {
                    HttpClientInitializer = credential,
                    ApplicationName = "Drive API Snippets"
                });

                // File metadata
                var fileMetadata = new Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data.File()
                {
                    Name = "Invoices",
                    MimeType = "application/vnd.google-apps.folder"
                };

                // Create a new folder on drive.
                var request = service.Files.Create(fileMetadata);
                request.Fields = "id";
                var file = request.Execute();
                // Prints the created folder id.
                Console.WriteLine("Folder ID: " + file.Id);
                return file.Id;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
                if (e is AggregateException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Credential Not found");
                }
                else
                {
                    throw;
                }
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}

Create a file in a folder

To create a file in a folder, use the files.create method and specify the folder ID in the parents property of the file. The following code snippet shows how to create a file in a specific folder using a client library:

Java

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/main/java/UploadToFolder.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.FileContent;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive;
import com.google.api.services.drive.DriveScopes;
import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collections;

/* Class to demonstrate Drive's upload to folder use-case. */
public class UploadToFolder {

  /**
   * Upload a file to the specified folder.
   *
   * @param realFolderId Id of the folder.
   * @return Inserted file metadata if successful, {@code null} otherwise.
   * @throws IOException if service account credentials file not found.
   */
  public static File uploadToFolder(String realFolderId) throws IOException {
    // Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    // TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
    // guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application.
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Arrays.asList(DriveScopes.DRIVE_FILE));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Build a new authorized API client service.
    Drive service = new Drive.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Drive samples")
        .build();

    // File's metadata.
    File fileMetadata = new File();
    fileMetadata.setName("photo.jpg");
    fileMetadata.setParents(Collections.singletonList(realFolderId));
    java.io.File filePath = new java.io.File("files/photo.jpg");
    FileContent mediaContent = new FileContent("image/jpeg", filePath);
    try {
      File file = service.files().create(fileMetadata, mediaContent)
          .setFields("id, parents")
          .execute();
      System.out.println("File ID: " + file.getId());
      return file;
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      System.err.println("Unable to upload file: " + e.getDetails());
      throw e;
    }
  }
}

Python

drive/snippets/drive-v3/file_snippet/upload_to_folder.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError
from googleapiclient.http import MediaFileUpload


def upload_to_folder(folder_id):
    """Upload a file to the specified folder and prints file ID, folder ID
    Args: Id of the folder
    Returns: ID of the file uploaded

    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
    """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()

    try:
        # create drive api client
        service = build('drive', 'v3', credentials=creds)

        file_metadata = {
            'name': 'photo.jpg',
            'parents': [folder_id]
        }
        media = MediaFileUpload('download.jpeg',
                                mimetype='image/jpeg', resumable=True)
        # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
        file = service.files().create(body=file_metadata, media_body=media,
                                      fields='id').execute()
        print(F'File ID: "{file.get("id")}".')
        return file.get('id')

    except HttpError as error:
        print(F'An error occurred: {error}')
        return None


if __name__ == '__main__':
    upload_to_folder(folder_id='1s0oKEZZXjImNngxHGnY0xed6Mw-tvspu')

Node.js

drive/snippets/drive_v3/file_snippets/upload_to_folder.js
/**
 * Upload a file to the specified folder
 * @param{string} folderId folder ID
 * @return{obj} file Id
 * */
async function uploadToFolder(folderId) {
  const fs = require('fs');
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');
  // Get credentials and build service
  // TODO (developer) - Use appropriate auth mechanism for your app
  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive',
  });
  const service = google.drive({version: 'v3', auth});

  // TODO(developer): set folder Id
  // folderId = '1lWo8HghUBd-3mN4s98ArNFMdqmhqCXH7';
  const fileMetadata = {
    name: 'photo.jpg',
    parents: [folderId],
  };
  const media = {
    mimeType: 'image/jpeg',
    body: fs.createReadStream('files/photo.jpg'),
  };

  try {
    const file = await service.files.create({
      resource: fileMetadata,
      media: media,
      fields: 'id',
    });
    console.log('File Id:', file.data.id);
    return file.data.id;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO(developer) - Handle error
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/DriveUploadToFolder.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
function uploadToFolder($folderId)
{
    try {
        $client = new Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Drive::DRIVE);
        $driveService = new Drive($client);
        $fileMetadata = new Drive\DriveFile(array(
            'name' => 'photo.jpg',
            'parents' => array($folderId)
        ));
        $content = file_get_contents('../files/photo.jpg');
        $file = $driveService->files->create($fileMetadata, array(
            'data' => $content,
            'mimeType' => 'image/jpeg',
            'uploadType' => 'multipart',
            'fields' => 'id'));
        printf("File ID: %s\n", $file->id);
        return $file->id;
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        echo "Error Message: " . $e;
    }
}
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
uploadToFolder();

.NET

drive/snippets/drive_v3/DriveV3Snippets/UploadToFolder.cs
using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Drive.v3;
using Google.Apis.Services;

namespace DriveV3Snippets
{
    // Class to demonstrate use of Drive upload to folder.
    public class UploadToFolder
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Upload a file to the specified folder.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="filePath">Image path to upload.</param>
        /// <param name="folderId">Id of the folder.</param>
        /// <returns>Inserted file metadata if successful, null otherwise</returns>
        public static Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data.File DriveUploadToFolder
            (string filePath, string folderId)
        {
            try
            {
                /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
                 TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
                 guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
                GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
                    .CreateScoped(DriveService.Scope.Drive);

                // Create Drive API service.
                var service = new DriveService(new BaseClientService.Initializer
                {
                    HttpClientInitializer = credential,
                    ApplicationName = "Drive API Snippets"
                });

                // Upload file photo.jpg in specified folder on drive.
                var fileMetadata = new Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data.File()
                {
                    Name = "photo.jpg",
                    Parents = new List<string>
                    {
                        folderId
                    }
                };
                FilesResource.CreateMediaUpload request;
                // Create a new file on drive.
                using (var stream = new FileStream(filePath,
                           FileMode.Open))
                {
                    // Create a new file, with metadata and stream.
                    request = service.Files.Create(
                        fileMetadata, stream, "image/jpeg");
                    request.Fields = "id";
                    request.Upload();
                }
                var file = request.ResponseBody;
                // Prints the uploaded file id.
                Console.WriteLine("File ID: " + file.Id);
                return file;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
                if (e is AggregateException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Credential Not found");
                }
                else if (e is FileNotFoundException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("File not found");
                }
                else if (e is DirectoryNotFoundException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Directory Not found");
                }
                else
                {
                    throw;
                }
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}

The parents property can be used when creating files in a top-level folder or any other folder.

Move files between folders

To add or remove parents for an existing file, use files.update method with the addParents and removeParents query parameters. The following code snippet moves a file between folders using a client library::

Java

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/main/java/MoveFileToFolder.java

import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive;
import com.google.api.services.drive.DriveScopes;
import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

/* Class to demonstrate use case for moving file to folder.*/
public class MoveFileToFolder {


  /**
   * @param fileId   Id of file to be moved.
   * @param folderId Id of folder where the fill will be moved.
   * @return list of parent ids for the file.
   */
  public static List<String> moveFileToFolder(String fileId, String folderId)
      throws IOException {
        /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
        TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
        guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application.*/
    GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
        .createScoped(Arrays.asList(DriveScopes.DRIVE_FILE));
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);
    // Build a new authorized API client service.
    Drive service = new Drive.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Drive samples")
        .build();

    // Retrieve the existing parents to remove
    File file = service.files().get(fileId)
        .setFields("parents")
        .execute();
    StringBuilder previousParents = new StringBuilder();
    for (String parent : file.getParents()) {
      previousParents.append(parent);
      previousParents.append(',');
    }
    try {
      // Move the file to the new folder
      file = service.files().update(fileId, null)
          .setAddParents(folderId)
          .setRemoveParents(previousParents.toString())
          .setFields("id, parents")
          .execute();

      return file.getParents();
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      System.err.println("Unable to move file: " + e.getDetails());
      throw e;
    }
  }
}

Python

drive/snippets/drive-v3/file_snippet/move_file_to_folder.py
from __future__ import print_function

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def move_file_to_folder(file_id, folder_id):
    """Move specified file to the specified folder.
    Args:
        file_id: Id of the file to move.
        folder_id: Id of the folder
    Print: An object containing the new parent folder and other meta data
    Returns : Parent Ids for the file

    Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
    TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
    for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
    """
    creds, _ = google.auth.default()

    try:
        # call drive api client
        service = build('drive', 'v3', credentials=creds)

        # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
        # Retrieve the existing parents to remove
        file = service.files().get(fileId=file_id, fields='parents').execute()
        previous_parents = ",".join(file.get('parents'))
        # Move the file to the new folder
        file = service.files().update(fileId=file_id, addParents=folder_id,
                                      removeParents=previous_parents,
                                      fields='id, parents').execute()
        return file.get('parents')

    except HttpError as error:
        print(F'An error occurred: {error}')
        return None


if __name__ == '__main__':
    move_file_to_folder(file_id='1KuPmvGq8yoYgbfW74OENMCB5H0n_2Jm9',
                        folder_id='1jvTFoyBhUspwDncOTB25kb9k0Fl0EqeN')

Node.js

drive/snippets/drive_v3/file_snippets/move_file_to_folder.js
/**
 * Change the file's modification timestamp.
 * @param{string} fileId Id of the file to move
 * @param{string} folderId Id of the folder to move
 * @return{obj} file status
 * */
async function moveFileToFolder(fileId, folderId) {
  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  // Get credentials and build service
  // TODO (developer) - Use appropriate auth mechanism for your app
  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive',
  });
  const service = google.drive({version: 'v3', auth});

  try {
    // Retrieve the existing parents to remove
    const file = await service.files.get({
      fileId: fileId,
      fields: 'parents',
    });

    // Move the file to the new folder
    const previousParents = file.data.parents
        .map(function(parent) {
          return parent.id;
        })
        .join(',');
    const files = await service.files.update({
      fileId: fileId,
      addParents: folderId,
      removeParents: previousParents,
      fields: 'id, parents',
    });
    console.log(files.status);
    return files.status;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO(developer) - Handle error
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/DriveMoveFileToFolder.php
use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
use Google\Service\Drive\DriveFile;
function moveFileToFolder($fileId,$folderId)
{
    try {
        $client = new Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Drive::DRIVE);
        $driveService = new Drive($client);
        $emptyFileMetadata = new DriveFile();
        // Retrieve the existing parents to remove
        $file = $driveService->files->get($fileId, array('fields' => 'parents'));
        $previousParents = join(',', $file->parents);
        // Move the file to the new folder
        $file = $driveService->files->update($fileId, $emptyFileMetadata, array(
            'addParents' => $folderId,
            'removeParents' => $previousParents,
            'fields' => 'id, parents'));
        return $file->parents;
    } catch(Exception $e) {
        echo "Error Message: ".$e;
    }
}

.NET

drive/snippets/drive_v3/DriveV3Snippets/MoveFileToFolder.cs
using Google;
using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Drive.v3;
using Google.Apis.Services;

namespace DriveV3Snippets
{
    // Class to demonstrate use-case of Drive move file to folder.
    public class MoveFileToFolder
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Move specified file to the specified folder.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="fileId">Id of file to be moved.</param>
        /// <param name="folderId">Id of folder where the fill will be moved.</param>
        /// <returns>list of parent ids for the file, null otherwise.</returns>
        public static IList<string> DriveMoveFileToFolder(string fileId,
            string folderId)
        {
            try
            {
                /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
                 TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for 
                 guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
                GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
                    .CreateScoped(DriveService.Scope.Drive);

                // Create Drive API service.
                var service = new DriveService(new BaseClientService.Initializer
                {
                    HttpClientInitializer = credential,
                    ApplicationName = "Drive API Snippets"
                });

                // Retrieve the existing parents to remove
                var getRequest = service.Files.Get(fileId);
                getRequest.Fields = "parents";
                var file = getRequest.Execute();
                var previousParents = String.Join(",", file.Parents);
                // Move the file to the new folder
                var updateRequest =
                    service.Files.Update(new Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data.File(),
                        fileId);
                updateRequest.Fields = "id, parents";
                updateRequest.AddParents = folderId;
                updateRequest.RemoveParents = previousParents;
                file = updateRequest.Execute();

                return file.Parents;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
                if (e is AggregateException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Credential Not found");
                }
                else if (e is GoogleApiException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("File or Folder not found");
                }
                else
                {
                    throw;
                }
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}