How to create a direct download URL for Google Drive files?

Other Questions Google drive
1

Hey everyone, I’m trying to set up a system where users can download files from Google Drive without having to open the web page. I wrote some PHP code to do this, but it’s not working anymore. Here’s what I’ve got:

<?php
$fileId = 'abc123XYZ789';

$curl = curl_init('https://drive.google.com/uc?id=' . $fileId . '&export=download');
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, []);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ['Content-Type: application/json']);

$response = curl_exec($curl);

$data = json_decode(trim($response, ')]}\''));

header('Location: ' . $data->downloadUrl);
exit();
?>

This used to work fine, but now it’s not redirecting to the download URL. Has anyone run into this issue or know how to fix it? I’m wondering if Google changed something on their end. Any help would be awesome!

2

I’ve dealt with similar issues recently. Google’s security measures have become stricter, which makes direct downloads trickier. Instead of relying on cURL, I’ve found that using the official Google Drive API is more reliable in the long term. This approach requires setting up OAuth2 authentication and incorporating the Google Client Library.

A recommended strategy is to authenticate your application, use the files.get method to retrieve the necessary file metadata, extract the webContentLink, and then append ‘&confirm=t’ to enforce the download. While this method demands additional setup, it tends to maintain stability and adheres to Google’s policies. Be sure to implement proper error handling and monitor API quotas to avoid service disruptions.

3

yo, google’s always changin stuff. i had the same problm. try usin the official drive API insted. it’s a bit more work but way more reliable. you gotta set up OAuth2 and use their client library. grab the webContentLink and add ‘&confirm=t’ to force download. it’s a pain but it works

4

I’ve encountered this issue recently too. Google has indeed made changes to their Drive API, which has affected many direct download scripts.

Instead of using the old method, I’ve had more success by retrieving the file metadata through the Google Drive API and extracting the webContentLink. Then I append the parameter &confirm=t to this link to force a download. This approach requires setting up OAuth2 authentication and using the Google Client Library, but it has proven to be more reliable. Additionally, implementing rate limiting and caching has helped me manage Google’s quota limits and maintain stable performance.