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Overview

The gws drive +upload helper command simplifies uploading files to Google Drive by automatically detecting MIME types and handling metadata. It wraps the Drive API’s files.create method with intelligent defaults.

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Command Syntax

gws drive +upload <file> [--parent FOLDER_ID] [--name FILENAME]

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Parameters

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file
string
required
Path to the local file to upload
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parent
string
Parent folder ID where the file should be uploaded. If not specified, the file is uploaded to the root of “My Drive”
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name
string
Target filename in Drive. If not specified, uses the source filename from the local path

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Examples

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Basic upload

Upload a file to the root of My Drive: 
gws drive +upload ./report.pdf

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Upload to specific folder

Upload a file to a specific parent folder: 
gws drive +upload ./report.pdf --parent 1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j

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Upload with custom name

Upload a file with a different name than the source: 
gws drive +upload ./data.csv --name 'Sales Data Q1 2026.csv'

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Combined options

gws drive +upload ./presentation.pptx --parent 1a2b3c4d --name 'Team Meeting March.pptx'

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Output Format

Returns a JSON object containing the uploaded file’s metadata: 
{
  "id": "1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j",
  "name": "report.pdf",
  "mimeType": "application/pdf",
  "parents": ["1x2y3z4a5b6c7d8e9f0g"],
  "createdTime": "2026-03-05T10:30:00.000Z",
  "modifiedTime": "2026-03-05T10:30:00.000Z"
}

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How It Works

  1. MIME Type Detection: Automatically detects the file’s MIME type based on its extension
  2. Filename Handling: Uses the source filename unless --name is provided
  3. Metadata Building: Constructs the required metadata JSON with name and optional parents fields
  4. Upload: Executes the Drive API files.create method with multipart upload
  • gws-drive-upload skill — AI agent integration
  • For more advanced upload options (custom properties, permissions), use the raw API: 
    gws drive files create --params '{...}' --upload ./file.pdf