Google Drive
Connect Google Drive to the rest of your business: accounts, files, mail and calendars kept in step.
23 ways to read, 11 ways to write, each write switched on by you.
Quality checks
Built and tested with example responses.
- Ready to connect: doneEvery listed action is built in.
- Built and tested with example responses: doneEach action is built from the provider’s published API and tested against example responses, errors, rate limits and paging.
Connected, approved, proven.
The things teams do most with Google Drive, an example flow with a person in the loop, and what Nexra keeps as proof.
Top actions
- Add file comment
comments.createApproval by rule - Copy file
file_copies.createApproval by rule - List changes
changes.listRead
Example flow
- Google Drive · List changes
changes.listDone - Google Drive · Add file comment
comments.createMaker-checker - Nexra · Record the decision and result in the evidence chainProven
Example workflow. Routine runs go through on their own. Only a change your rules flag, such as one over a limit you set, waits for the right person, who sees the exact change and the rule before it reaches Google Drive.
What gets logged
- Whether it ran on its own or who approved it, and under which rule
- A fingerprint of the exact request sent to Google Drive
- Google Drive's reply: what it created or changed
- One entry in the evidence chain, linked to the one before
Try this in the sandbox
Run the whole flow with test data in your sandbox, then connect a Google test account before you go live.
For developers
Technical detail
Google Drive files, change tracking, folders, copies, sharing, comments and replies, revisions, shared drives, labels and Google Docs text export.
Google API docs- Source actions
- 23
- Destination actions
- 11
- Data types
- 20
What you can map
Reads are always available. Writes are off until you switch them on for a connection, and governed writes follow your policies.
about1
- Get accountSource
The authorised user and storage quota.
changes start token1
- Get changes start tokenSource
A token for the current state of the user's Drive (or one shared drive). Save it and pass it to List changes later.
changes1
- List changesSourceIncremental
Files added, changed, trashed or removed since a saved page token, with the file metadata. The last page returns the next start token.
comments4
- Add file commentDestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Adds an unanchored comment to a file.
- Get file commentSource
One comment with its replies.
- List file commentsSourceIncremental
Comments and replies on a file, optionally modified since a time.
- Edit file commentDestinationProvider duplicate protectionApproval before production
Changes the text of a comment the user wrote.
drives2
- Get shared driveSource
One shared drive with its restrictions and capabilities.
- List shared drivesSource
Shared drives the user is a member of.
export formats1
- List export formatsSource
For each Google Workspace type, the formats Drive can export it to.
export links1
- Get export linksSource
The formats a Google Workspace file can be exported to, with their export links.
file content1
- Download a fileSource
Copies a file stored in Drive (PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, images and other uploaded files) into Nexra, for example to read its text and tables. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides use Export a Google file instead.
file copies1
- Copy fileDestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Copies a file, for example a template document, into a folder with a new name.
file export content1
- Export a Google fileSource
Copies a Google Doc, Sheet or Slides file into Nexra as PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV or text, for example to read its text and tables with page numbers.
file labels1
- List file labelsSource
Drive labels applied to a file, with their field values.
file text1
- Export document textSource
Exports a Google Doc or Slides file as plain text, or a Google Sheet's first sheet as CSV.
file uploads1
- Save a file (up to 5 MB)DestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Saves a file Nexra holds (for example a workbook a flow made) into a Drive folder. Drive keeps files with the same name side by side, so nothing is ever overwritten.
files5
- Create Google file or shortcutDestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Creates an empty Google Doc, Sheet, Slides or Form, or a shortcut to another file. No binary content is uploaded.
- Get file metadataSource
Metadata for one file or folder.
- List filesSourceIncremental
All files and folders the user can access (excluding trash), newest change first, optionally modified since a time.
- Search filesSourceIncremental
Files and folders by folder, name, type, full text and modified time. Metadata only; excludes trash by default.
- Rename or move fileDestinationProvider duplicate protectionApproval before production
Renames a file or folder, changes its description or star, or moves it between folders.
folders1
- Create folderDestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Creates a folder, optionally inside a parent folder or shared drive.
labels1
- List labelsSource
Drive labels (taxonomies) available in the Google Workspace organisation.
large file uploads1
- Save a large file (resumable)DestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Saves a file Nexra holds into a Drive folder with a resumable upload, for files up to 2 GiB. Nothing is ever overwritten.
permissions3
- Share fileDestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Grants a user, group, domain or anyone-with-the-link access to a file. Drive does not send a notification email.
- Get file permissionSource
One permission on a file.
- List file permissionsSource
Who can access a file and with which role.
replies4
- Reply to file commentDestinationNot retried automaticallyApproval before production
Replies to a comment, optionally resolving or reopening it.
- Get comment replySource
One reply to a comment.
- List comment repliesSource
Replies to one comment.
- Edit comment replyDestinationProvider duplicate protectionApproval before production
Changes the text of a reply the user wrote.
revisions2
- Get file revisionSource
Metadata for one revision of a file.
- List file revisionsSource
Revision history metadata for a file.
Access and limits
- Authentication
- Google OAuth client and refresh token
- Plans and access
- Personal Google accounts and all Google Workspace editions. Requires a Google Cloud OAuth client. Restricted Drive scopes need Google verification for external users.
- Test environment
- Use a test Google account and an OAuth client in testing mode.
- Rate limits
- Per-project and per-user query quotas (about 12,000 queries per minute per user); HTTP 403/429 rate-limit errors with exponential backoff.
- Pagination
- nextPageToken cursors; changes.list continues from a saved start page token and returns newStartPageToken on its last page.
- Provider events
- Drive push notifications (changes.watch / files.watch channels). Flows run on demand, on a schedule, or when a scheduled check finds new or changed records.
Before you build a flow
- Files are downloaded into Nexra (file_content.get up to 250 MiB; Google Docs, Sheets and Slides through file_export_content.get up to 10 MB) and saved from Nexra (file_uploads.create up to 5 MB, large_file_uploads.create resumable up to 2 GiB). Uploads never overwrite and replacing a file's content is not implemented.
- Export is bounded by Google's 10 MB export limit and Nexra's 5 MB response limit; text is truncated to the requested length.
- Trashing, deleting, emptying trash, permission updates and removals, and ownership transfers are intentionally not implemented. Sharing (permissions.create) never sends a notification email.
- File, folder, copy and comment creation have no idempotency key; uncertain writes are not repeated automatically.
- Drive reports some rate limits as HTTP 403 rateLimitExceeded or userRateLimitExceeded; Nexra classifies those as rate limits and backs off.
- Labels are read through the Drive Labels API (drivelabels.googleapis.com), which must be enabled and needs the drive.labels.readonly scope; applying labels to files is not implemented.
Developer reference
- Create the Google credentials described above with the narrowest permissions your flows need.
- In Nexra, open Connect, then Connections, then New connection, choose Google Drive, enter its settings and credentials, and tick only the write actions you need. Connection guide
- Test the connection, then use its actions as flow sources and destinations. Flow guide
Machine-readable detail: GET /api/public/connect/connectors/google-drive and the Connections API.