I have a question about how Google Drive API handles authentication in Java applications. I know that the best practice is to create one Drive object instance and reuse it across multiple threads in your app. But what happens if my application runs for a really long time without stopping? Will the authentication tokens expire at some point and force me to log in again? Or does the API automatically handle token refresh behind the scenes? I’m trying to understand if I need to worry about session timeouts in long-running server applications.
I’ve worked with the Google Drive API quite a bit. Make sure you’re using the right credential flow for automatic token refresh - GoogleCredentials with proper scopes will handle this for you. But here’s the catch: if your app sits idle too long without hitting the API, the refresh token can expire. For batch processes that don’t run often, I’d add a periodic health check that makes a simple API call to keep things active. Also, wrap your Drive API calls in try-catch blocks since auth issues pop up.
yeah, drive api handles token refresh automatically, but dont count on it completely. i had a long-running service that worked perfectly for months, then auth errors started popping up out of nowhere. the refresh token got revoked somehow. now i store credentials properly and built a fallback that redirects users back to oauth when refresh fails. check your credential storage setup too.
Indeed, Google Drive API tokens have an expiration period in Java applications. The access tokens are valid for about an hour, while refresh tokens typically have a longer lifespan. If you configure the offline access scope during authentication, the client library will manage the refresh process automatically. In my experience, I’ve maintained Java applications running for extended periods without needing to log in again, thanks to this automatic refresh. However, it’s essential to implement error handling for API calls in the event that the refresh fails, as refresh tokens can also become invalid or expire, necessitating occasional re-authentication.