How to automate image downloads from Google Drive with Node.js using a service account?

Other Questions Google drive
1

Hey everyone! I’m working on an automated test script and I’m stuck. I want to download images from Google Drive without having to manually add tokens every time. It’s a real pain!

I’ve heard that using a service account might be the way to go, but I’m not sure how to set it up with Node.js. Can anyone walk me through the process? I’m looking for a step-by-step guide that even a beginner like me can follow.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

const { google } = require('googleapis');
const fs = require('fs');

// I'm not sure what to put here
const auth = new google.auth.GoogleAuth({
  // ???
});

const drive = google.drive({ version: 'v3', auth });

// How do I use this to download images?

Any tips or code examples would be super helpful! Thanks in advance!

2

I’ve worked with Google Drive automation before, and using a service account is definitely the right approach. Here’s a quick rundown on how to set it up:

First, create a service account in Google Cloud Console and download the JSON key file. Then, install the required packages:

npm install googleapis fs-extra

Next, initialize the Drive client like this:

const { google } = require(‘googleapis’);
const fs = require(‘fs-extra’);

const auth = new google.auth.GoogleAuth({
keyFile: ‘/path/to/your-service-account-key.json’,
scopes: [‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly’]
});

const drive = google.drive({ version: ‘v3’, auth });

To download images, you can use the files.get method with the alt: ‘media’ option. This will give you the raw file content. Remember to handle errors and close file streams properly.

Let me know if you need more details on implementing the download function!

3

I’ve been down this road before, and service accounts are definitely the way to go for automated tasks like this. Here’s what worked for me:

  1. Set up your service account in Google Cloud Console and download the key file.
  2. Install the necessary packages: npm install googleapis fs-extra
  3. Use this code to initialize the Drive client:
const { google } = require('googleapis');
const fs = require('fs-extra');

const auth = new google.auth.GoogleAuth({
  keyFile: '/path/to/your-service-account-key.json',
  scopes: ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly']
});

const drive = google.drive({ version: 'v3', auth });

To download images, you can use the files.get method with the alt: 'media' option. Here’s a function to do that:

async function downloadImage(fileId, destPath) {
  const res = await drive.files.get(
    { fileId, alt: 'media' },
    { responseType: 'stream' }
  );
  await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    const dest = fs.createWriteStream(destPath);
    res.data
      .on('end', resolve)
      .on('error', reject)
      .pipe(dest);
  });
}

Hope this helps you get started!

4

hey there! i’ve used service accounts before for this. you’ll need to create one in google cloud console and download the json key file. then use it like this:

const auth = new google.auth.GoogleAuth({
keyFile: ‘path/to/your-service-account-key.json’,
scopes: [‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly’]
});

hope that helps get u started!