I’m having trouble with the Google Drive API when trying to download revision histories. Here’s what’s happening:
- Some files work fine, but others just hang and time out
- Only the latest revision seems to download consistently
- The problem occurs both through the API and the drive.google.com interface
- In Chrome, it says ‘starting download’ but nothing happens
I’m wondering if this is related to revisions not being pinned. Are unpinned revisions purged? Can we only access pinned revisions? It looks like none of the revisions are pinned.
Has anyone else run into this? Any ideas on how to fix it or work around the issue? I’d really appreciate any help or insights. Thanks!
I’ve dealt with similar headaches using the Drive API for revision histories. One thing that’s worked for me is breaking down the retrieval process into smaller chunks. Instead of trying to grab the entire history at once, I fetch revisions in batches of say, 10 or 20 at a time. This approach has helped avoid those frustrating timeouts.
Another trick I’ve found useful is to implement exponential backoff for API requests. Sometimes the API can be temperamental, and retrying with increasing delays between attempts has improved my success rate significantly.
As for the pinning issue, you’re right to be concerned. Google does indeed purge unpinned revisions after a while. I’ve started programmatically pinning important revisions as part of my workflow to ensure I can access them later. It’s a bit of extra work, but it’s saved me from losing crucial data more than once.
Hope these tips help you out. The Drive API can be a beast, but with some persistence, you’ll get there!
I’ve encountered similar issues with the Google Drive API, particularly when dealing with revision histories. From my experience, the problem often stems from how Google handles older revisions. One workaround I’ve found effective is to use the ‘files.export’ method instead of ‘files.get’ for older revisions. This approach seems to be more reliable, especially for documents and spreadsheets.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Google does indeed purge unpinned revisions after a certain period. This could explain why you’re only consistently accessing the latest revision. To mitigate this, consider implementing a system to automatically pin important revisions in your workflow.
Lastly, if you’re dealing with large files, try implementing a chunked download approach. This can help circumvent timeout issues and improve overall reliability when working with the API.
hey sofiaP, i’ve had similar probs with the drive API. try increasing ur timeout settings and maybe use the ‘export’ endpoint instead of ‘get’ for older revisions. also check if the files r too big, that can cause timeouts. good luck!