Drive Commands

Manage files, folders, and shared drives with Google Drive API

Overview

The Drive service provides access to Google Drive v3 API for managing files, folders, permissions, and shared drives.

API: drive (v3)

Common Use Cases

• List and search files
• Upload and download files
• Manage permissions and sharing
• Organize files in folders
• Work with shared drives

Helper Commands

+upload

Upload a file with automatic metadata detection:

gws drive +upload ./report.pdf
gws drive +upload ./report.pdf --parent FOLDER_ID
gws drive +upload ./data.csv --name 'Sales Data.csv'

Features:

• Automatic MIME type detection
• Infers filename from local path
• Optional parent folder assignment

Command Examples

List Files

List recent files

gws drive files list --params '{"pageSize": 10, "orderBy": "modifiedTime desc"}'

Example Response

{
  "kind": "drive#fileList",
  "files": [
    {
      "kind": "drive#file",
      "id": "1abc...",
      "name": "Q1 Report.pdf",
      "mimeType": "application/pdf",
      "modifiedTime": "2026-03-01T10:30:00.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

Get File Metadata

gws drive files get --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}'

Example Response

{
  "kind": "drive#file",
  "id": "1abc...",
  "name": "Budget 2026.xlsx",
  "mimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet",
  "createdTime": "2026-01-15T09:00:00.000Z",
  "modifiedTime": "2026-03-01T14:30:00.000Z",
  "owners": [
    {
      "displayName": "Alice Smith",
      "emailAddress": "[e-mail]"
    }
  ]
}

Create a File

Create empty file

gws drive files create --json '{"name": "My Document", "mimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.document"}'

Upload file with metadata

gws drive files create --json '{"name": "report.pdf", "parents": ["FOLDER_ID"]}' --upload ./report.pdf

Create a Folder

gws drive files create --json '{"name": "Projects", "mimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.folder"}'

Update File Metadata

Rename file

gws drive files update --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"name": "New Name.pdf"}'

Move to folder

gws drive files update --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID", "addParents": "NEW_FOLDER_ID", "removeParents": "OLD_FOLDER_ID"}'

Delete a File

Move to trash

gws drive files update --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"trashed": true}'

Permanent delete

gws drive files delete --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}'

Manage Permissions

Share with user

gws drive permissions create --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"type": "user", "role": "reader", "emailAddress": "[e-mail]"}'

Share with domain

gws drive permissions create --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"type": "domain", "role": "reader", "domain": "example.com"}'

Make public

gws drive permissions create --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"type": "anyone", "role": "reader"}'

List permissions

gws drive permissions list --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}'

Export Google Workspace Files

Export Doc as PDF

gws drive files export --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID", "mimeType": "application/pdf"}' > document.pdf

Export Sheet as CSV

gws drive files export --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID", "mimeType": "text/csv"}' > data.csv

Copy a File

gws drive files copy --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"name": "Copy of Document"}'

Advanced Queries

The q parameter supports powerful search operators:

Files modified after date

gws drive files list --params '{"q": "modifiedTime > '\''2026-01-01T00:00:00'\''"}}'

Files owned by user

gws drive files list --params '{"q": "'\''[e-mail]'\'' in owners"}'

Shared files

gws drive files list --params '{"q": "sharedWithMe"}'

Starred files

gws drive files list --params '{"q": "starred = true"}'

Combine conditions

gws drive files list --params '{"q": "name contains '\''budget'\'' and mimeType = '\''application/pdf'\''"}}'

Resources

• files - File and folder operations
• permissions - Sharing and access control
• drives - Shared drive management
• comments - File comments
• replies - Comment replies
• revisions - File version history

Use gws drive <resource> --help to see all available methods.

Related Commands

Sheets

Work with spreadsheet data

Docs

Edit document content