I’m working on an ASP.NET 4.0 project where I need to automate folder creation in Google Drive.
Basically, I have a collection of email addresses and I want to create a separate folder for each person, then give them access to their respective folder. I’m not sure what’s the best approach to handle this programmatically.
Has anyone done something similar? What Google Drive API methods should I use for creating folders and managing permissions? Any code examples would be really helpful.
I’ve been looking into the Google Drive API documentation but I’m a bit confused about the authentication flow and how to set up the sharing permissions correctly.
the worst part is when things fail halfway thru a batch. i’ve seen users get folders without permissions, or permissions without folders. built a rollback system that tracks what actually got created. also heads up - special characters in folder names will break everything, so clean up those email addresses first.
Been there with bulk Drive operations. The API works but gets messy fast - authentication, rate limits, error handling for multiple folders becomes a nightmare.
I automated this exact thing using Latenode and it’s way cleaner. Set up a flow that reads your email list, creates the folders, and handles permissions automatically. No messing with service accounts or batching logic.
Best part is the built-in error handling and retry logic - no custom code needed. Need to modify it later? Add folder templates or notification emails? Just drag and drop new nodes.
Mine runs on a schedule, but you can trigger it from your ASP.NET app via webhook. Takes maybe 10 minutes to build.
Check it out: https://latenode.com
Drive API v3 makes this pretty easy once you get through the setup. For folders, just set mimeType to ‘application/vnd.google-apps.folder’ in your request. For permissions, pass the user’s email with ‘writer’ or ‘reader’ role. Here’s a gotcha - don’t try sharing folders right after creating them. There’s usually a brief delay before the folder ID works for permissions. I added a small retry and that fixed it. Also, external users get email invites, which sucks for bulk operations. Use shared drives instead if you need better control over sharing.
Built something almost identical last year for a client management system. The service account setup will get you - you’ve got to enable domain-wide delegation in Google Admin Console for G Suite accounts or the permission calls just fail silently. With ASP.NET 4.0, watch your Google.Apis.Drive NuGet package version. Some newer ones break compatibility. I created a parent folder first, then dropped individual user folders under it. Way easier to manage later. Heads up on quota limits - they’ll nail you if you’re spinning up hundreds of folders at once. Definitely implement exponential backoff for rate limiting.
i’ve done similar stuff, so it’s not too hard. use drive.files.create for the folders and drive.permissions.create to share. just ensure your service account is properly set with domain-wide delegation to avoid auth problems. batching requests can be a bit tricky when dealing with many users tho.
The complexity everyone’s talking about is why I ditched the Drive API for bulk stuff like this.
Service account setup, rate limits, partial failures, auth flows - these problems just burn through dev time. Then you’re stuck maintaining code that breaks whenever Google changes things.
I use automation for this workflow instead. Feed it your email list, it creates folders and sets permissions in the background. No retry logic, quota headaches, or cleanup when things fail.
Best part? Super easy to extend later. Want welcome emails when folders are ready? Email templates for different user types? Starter files copied to each folder? Just add more steps.
Your ASP.NET app triggers it and gets pinged when it’s done. Much cleaner than cramming all that API logic into your main code.
Built mine in 15 minutes and it’s been rock solid for months, handling hundreds of users at once.
Check it out: https://latenode.com