How to convert Google Drive file to base64 for OpenAI API?

Other Questions Google drive
1

I’m working on a project where I need to send a file from Google Drive to the OpenAI API for chat completion. I’ve managed to authenticate and retrieve the file from Google Drive, but I’m stuck on converting it to a base64 encoded string.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

const fileData = await getFileFromGoogleDrive('some_file_id');
const blob = new Blob([fileData]);
const arrayBuffer = await blob.arrayBuffer();
const uint8Array = new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer);

// First attempt
const base64String = btoa(String.fromCharCode.apply(null, uint8Array));

// Second attempt
const base64String = btoa(new TextDecoder().decode(uint8Array));

Both attempts result in errors. The first one gives a ‘Maximum call stack size exceeded’ error, and the second one throws a ‘DOMException’ about characters outside the Latin1 range.

I’m using a Supabase Edge Function for this. Is there a better way to handle this conversion? Or am I missing something obvious? Any help would be great!

2

I’ve encountered a similar issue in the past. The problem might be related to how you’re handling the file data. Instead of using Blob and ArrayBuffer, you could try working directly with the file content as a string.

Here’s an approach that might work:

const fileData = await getFileFromGoogleDrive('some_file_id');
const base64String = Buffer.from(fileData).toString('base64');

This method should handle the encoding more efficiently, especially for larger files. It bypasses the issues with character encoding that you encountered. If you’re still having trouble, you might want to check the format of the data you’re receiving from Google Drive. Make sure it’s in a format that can be easily converted to base64.

3

hey there! i’ve dealt with this before. try using the Buffer class instead:

const base64String = Buffer.from(uint8Array).toString('base64');

this should work better for binary data. let me know if you need more help!

4

I’ve faced this challenge before, and I found a solution that might help you out. Instead of messing with Blob and ArrayBuffer, you can use the ‘buffer’ package, which is available in most Node.js environments, including Supabase Edge Functions.

Here’s what worked for me:

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';

const fileData = await getFileFromGoogleDrive('some_file_id');
const base64String = Buffer.from(fileData).toString('base64');

This approach is straightforward and handles large files well. It also avoids the encoding issues you encountered. Just make sure you’ve imported the ‘buffer’ package correctly.

If you’re still having trouble, double-check the format of the data you’re getting from Google Drive. Sometimes, the file data comes in an unexpected format, which can throw a wrench in the works. Let me know if this helps!