Method: files.update

Updates a file's metadata and/or content. When calling this method, only populate fields in the request that you want to modify. When updating fields, some fields might be changed automatically, such as modifiedDate. This method supports patch semantics.

This method supports an /upload URI and accepts uploaded media with the following characteristics:

  • Maximum file size: 5,120 GB
  • Accepted Media MIME types:*/*

Note: Specify a valid MIME type, rather than the literal */* value. The literal */* is only used to indicate that any valid MIME type can be uploaded.

For more information on uploading files, see Upload file data.

HTTP request

  • Upload URI, for media upload requests:
    PATCH https://www.googleapis.com/upload/drive/v3/files/{fileId}
  • Metadata URI, for metadata-only requests:
    PATCH https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/{fileId}

The URL uses gRPC Transcoding syntax.

Path parameters

Parameters
uploadType

string

The type of upload request to the /upload URI. If you are uploading data with an /upload URI, this field is required. If you are creating a metadata-only file, this field is not required. Additionally, this field is not shown in the "Try this method" widget because the widget doesn't support data uploads.

Acceptable values are:

  • media - Simple upload. Upload the media only, without any metadata.
  • multipart - Multipart upload. Upload both the media and its metadata, in a single request.
  • resumable - Resumable upload. Upload the file in a resumable fashion, using a series of at least two requests where the first request includes the metadata.
fileId

string

The ID of the file.

Query parameters

Parameters
uploadType

string

The type of upload request to the /upload URI. If you are uploading data with an /upload URI, this field is required. If you are creating a metadata-only file, this field is not required. Additionally, this field is not shown in the "Try this method" widget because the widget doesn't support data uploads.

Acceptable values are:

  • media - Simple upload. Upload the media only, without any metadata.
  • multipart - Multipart upload. Upload both the media and its metadata, in a single request.
  • resumable - Resumable upload. Upload the file in a resumable fashion, using a series of at least two requests where the first request includes the metadata.
addParents

string

A comma-separated list of parent IDs to add.
enforceSingleParent
(deprecated)

boolean

Deprecated: Adding files to multiple folders is no longer supported. Use shortcuts instead.
keepRevisionForever

boolean

Whether to set the 'keepForever' field in the new head revision. This is only applicable to files with binary content in Google Drive. Only 200 revisions for the file can be kept forever. If the limit is reached, try deleting pinned revisions.
ocrLanguage

string

A language hint for OCR processing during image import (ISO 639-1 code).
removeParents

string

A comma-separated list of parent IDs to remove.
supportsAllDrives

boolean

Whether the requesting application supports both My Drives and shared drives.
supportsTeamDrives
(deprecated)

boolean

Deprecated: Use supportsAllDrives instead.
useContentAsIndexableText

boolean

Whether to use the uploaded content as indexable text.
includePermissionsForView

string

Specifies which additional view's permissions to include in the response. Only 'published' is supported.
includeLabels

string

A comma-separated list of IDs of labels to include in the labelInfo part of the response.

Request body

The request body contains an instance of File.

Response body

If successful, the response body contains an instance of File.

Authorization scopes

Requires one of the following OAuth scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.appdata
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.metadata
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.scripts

Some scopes are restricted and require a security assessment for your app to use them. For more information, see the Authorization guide.