Importing CSV from Google Drive to Colab: What's the best approach?

Other Questions Google drive
1

I’m new to Python and thought I’d give Google Colab a shot. I’ve got several CSV files in my Drive that I want to use with Colab. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

from pydrive.auth import GoogleAuth
from pydrive.drive import GoogleDrive
from google.colab import auth
from oauth2client.client import GoogleCredentials

auth.authenticate_user()
ga = GoogleAuth()
ga.credentials = GoogleCredentials.get_application_default()
drive = GoogleDrive(ga)

file_to_upload = drive.CreateFile({"my_data.csv": "/GoogleDrive/Projects/my_data.csv"})
file_to_upload.Upload()
print(f"Uploaded: {file_to_upload.get('title')}")

import pandas as pd
data = pd.read_csv('Untitled.csv')

Even though the file uploads, the title still shows as “Untitled”. Since the file ID changes every time I run the code, I can’t rely on it. I’ve attempted several methods to load the file:

data = pd.read_csv('Untitled.csv')
data = pd.read_csv('Untitled')
data = pd.read_csv('my_data.csv')

None of these options work. How can I assign a proper filename during upload and then successfully read the CSV into a DataFrame?

2

I’ve been using Colab with Google Drive for a while now, and I’ve found that the most reliable method is to use the built-in Google Drive integration. Here’s what works for me:

from google.colab import drive
drive.mount('/content/drive')

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv('/content/drive/MyDrive/path/to/your/file.csv')

This approach is straightforward and doesn’t require any additional authentication steps. Just make sure you have the correct path to your CSV file in Google Drive.

One tip: If you’re working with multiple CSV files, you can use glob to get all the files in a directory:

import glob
csv_files = glob.glob('/content/drive/MyDrive/path/to/your/directory/*.csv')
for file in csv_files:
    df = pd.read_csv(file)
    # Do something with each dataframe

This way, you can process multiple files without having to specify each one individually. It’s been a real time-saver for me when dealing with lots of data files.

3

hey harry, i’ve had similar issues. try using google.colab.files.upload() instead. it’s way simpler:

from google.colab import files
uploaded = files.upload()

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv(next(iter(uploaded)))

this lets u upload directly from ur computer & read it right away. hope this helps!

4

I’ve found a more streamlined approach for importing CSVs from Google Drive to Colab. Instead of using PyDrive, you can utilize the google.colab module directly:

from google.colab import drive

drive.mount('/content/drive')

import pandas as pd
data = pd.read_csv('/content/drive/My Drive/Projects/my_data.csv')

This method mounts your Google Drive into Colab, allowing you to access files using standard file paths while preserving their original filenames. Ensure you adjust the file path to match your Drive folder structure. This approach tends to be more reliable and straightforward than managing file IDs.