I’ve been working with the Google Drive API and I’m running into a frustrating issue. I can connect to the API just fine and even list all the files in my drive without any problems. But when I try to actually download or access a specific file, I keep getting this error message about the application not having proper read permissions.
I’m wondering if there’s something else I need to configure beyond just setting the scope in my code. Maybe there’s an additional setting I missed or a different permission level I should be requesting? Any help would be appreciated since I can browse files but can’t actually work with their content.
Others nailed the scope issue, but here’s another angle that’ll save you headaches later.
I’ve hit this same problem building integrations for our team. Yeah, you can fix the scope thing, but you’ll still slam into rate limits, auth refresh problems, and messy error handling as you scale up.
I moved all our Google Drive stuff to an automation platform that deals with the API mess for us. No more fighting OAuth flows, scope management, or credential refreshes.
Set up the Drive connection once with proper permissions, then build workflows that download files, process them, and trigger actions when files change. The platform handles API quirks and gives you a visual way to manage everything.
This saved me 20+ hours of API debugging this past year. Instead of wrestling with auth code, I work on actual business logic.
Besides adjusting the scope, make sure you handle the authentication flow correctly. I’ve hit similar issues with cached credentials from old sessions that had different permissions. Delete your token files (token.json or credentials.json) and re-authenticate - this usually fixes the access problems. You’ll get a fresh consent screen where users can approve the new permissions. Also double-check that your OAuth consent screen settings in Google Cloud Console match the scopes you’re actually using.
Had this exact same problem during a file migration. It’s a file ownership issue. The drive.file scope works fine for files your app creates, but existing files need explicit sharing with your service account or OAuth client. Even with broader scopes like drive.readonly, you’ll still get permission errors if files aren’t shared properly. Check if those specific files are actually accessible to your authenticated user - sometimes files show up in listings because of folder permissions, but individual file access is blocked. Test with a file you own first, then figure out the permission pattern from there.
Your scope is the problem. drive.file only lets you access files your app created or files the user opened through your app in Drive’s UI. You can’t grab random existing files from their Drive, even if they show up in listings. I encountered this same issue while building a backup tool last year. Consider switching to https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly for read-only access or https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive for full access. Just be aware that broader permissions may require extra verification from Google if you’re distributing your application publicly. The readonly scope should work fine for downloading files and will simplify the security review process.
Also check your client_secret.json - make sure it’s got the right project. I ran into this same error and my credentials were from a different GCP project that didn’t have Drive API enabled. Double-check the API is actually on in your console.
This permission error stumped me too when I hit it on a document management project. Yeah, the scope issue is real, but here’s what else tripped me up: even with the right scope, your app has to actually request access properly during authorization. Users need to explicitly approve file access, and sometimes the consent screen doesn’t make it clear what you’re asking for. I tested with a fresh Google account to figure out if the permission grant was actually working. Oh, and heads up - some enterprise Workspace accounts have extra restrictions that’ll block third-party apps from accessing files no matter what scope you use.