I need to regularly upload many files to my Google Drive and want to automate this process. Is there a command line tool available for Windows that can handle Google Drive uploads? I’m looking for something similar to how AWS provides their CLI tools. My goal is to create a batch script that I can run automatically using Windows Task Scheduler. What options are available for uploading files to Google Drive from the Windows command prompt or through automation scripts?
I use Google’s Drive API with Python scripts for this stuff. Takes more setup than other tools, but you get full control over uploads. Write a simple Python script that authenticates with service account credentials, then call it from your batch files. Authentication persists, and you can handle errors, track progress, and organize files into folders programmatically. The google-api-python-client library makes it easy once you nail the OAuth setup. Works great with Task Scheduler and you’re not stuck with third-party tools that break when Google updates their API.
gdrive cli is really handy for uploads. Just set up oauth once, then it’s as easy as gdrive upload filename. I’ve been using it with task scheduler and it works flawlessly, no issues at all!
Rclone’s another solid choice - works with Google Drive plus tons of other cloud providers. You’ll need to set up auth through your browser first, but after that it’s just simple commands like rclone copy localfolder gdrive:remotefolder for batch stuff. I’ve had great luck with large transfers since it automatically resumes if your connection drops. Config sticks around after reboots, so it’s perfect for scheduled tasks. Docs are solid and they update regularly, so you won’t run into compatibility problems.