I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to get the raw data of files stored on Google Drive. When I use the regular share link, it just shows me a sharing page. But what I really want is to access the actual content of the file directly.
For example, let’s say I have a JavaScript file saved on my Drive. Is there some kind of special URL I can use to get the raw JS code? I’d love to be able to include it directly in an HTML file, like this:
<script src="some_google_drive_url"></script>
Does anyone know if this is possible? Or am I out of luck and need to find another way to host my files? Any help would be much appreciated!
Indeed, accessing raw file content from Google Drive is possible. The method involves using the file’s unique ID in a specific URL structure. To obtain this ID, navigate to your file in Google Drive and select ‘Get link’. The ID is the string of characters in the sharing URL after ‘/d/’.
This URL will serve the raw file content. For your JavaScript example, you could use it like this:
Remember to set appropriate sharing permissions for the file. Also, be aware that this method may not be suitable for frequently accessed or large files due to potential bandwidth limitations.
yea, u can totally do that! just gotta use the file ID in the URL. go to ur file in Drive, click ‘Get link’, and grab the ID from there. then use this format:
Hey there! I’ve actually gone through this exact same issue before. While the other responses are spot-on about using the file ID, there’s a crucial caveat to keep in mind.
Google Drive isn’t really designed to be a content delivery network (CDN). I learned this the hard way when my site suddenly stopped working because I hit some undocumented quota limit.
What worked better for me was using Google Cloud Storage instead. It’s designed for this kind of use case and gives you more control. You get a proper URL that you can use directly in your script tags.
If you’re set on using Drive though, just remember to implement some fallback option. Maybe host a copy of your JS file somewhere else as a backup. Trust me, it’ll save you a headache down the line if Drive decides to act up!