Python script to fetch files from Google Drive: Troubleshooting needed

Other Questions Google drive
1

I’m working on a Python program to get files from my Google Drive. I’ve looked at different ways to do this but I’m stuck. Here’s what I’ve tried:

import pickle
import os.path
from googleapiclient.discovery import create_service
from google_auth_oauthlib.flow import FlowRunner
from google.auth.transport.requests import AuthRequest

PERMISSIONS = ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.metadata.readonly']

def start():
    auth = None
    if os.path.exists('auth.pickle'):
        with open('auth.pickle', 'rb') as token:
            auth = pickle.load(token)
    if not auth or not auth.valid:
        if auth and auth.expired and auth.refresh_token:
            auth.refresh(AuthRequest())
        else:
            flow = FlowRunner.from_client_secrets_file('client_secret.json', PERMISSIONS)
            auth = flow.run_local_server(port=0)
        with open('auth.pickle', 'wb') as token:
            pickle.dump(auth, token)

    service = create_service('drive', 'v3', credentials=auth)
    file_id = 'example_file_id'
    request = service.files().get_media(fileId=file_id)
    # More code for downloading...

I fixed an indentation error but now the file isn’t downloading. The program runs without errors but nothing happens. What am I missing? I also tried PyDrive but had no luck. Any ideas on how to make this work?

2

I’ve encountered similar issues when working with Google Drive APIs. One crucial point you’re missing is proper error handling. Without it, you might not be seeing error messages that could guide you to the root cause.

Try wrapping your code in a try-except block to catch and print any exceptions:

try:
    service = create_service('drive', 'v3', credentials=auth)
    file_id = 'example_file_id'
    request = service.files().get_media(fileId=file_id)
    # Your download code here
except Exception as e:
    print(f'An error occurred: {str(e)}')

This way, you’ll see if there are any authentication issues or problems with the file ID. Also, make sure you’re using the correct scopes for file access, not just metadata. The ‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly’ scope should work for downloading files.

Lastly, double-check that your client_secret.json file is up to date and correctly placed in your working directory. Outdated or misplaced credentials can cause silent failures.

3

hey, i’ve had similar problems. make sure ur using the right scope for downloading files. try ‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly’ instead. Also, u need to actually download the file after making the request. heres a quick example:

file = io.BytesIO()
downloader = MediaIoBaseDownload(file, request)
done = False
while not done:
_, done = downloader.next_chunk()

hope this helps!

4

I’ve worked with Google Drive APIs quite a bit, and I can see a couple of issues with your approach. First, you’re only requesting read-only metadata permissions, which won’t allow you to download files. You need to use ‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly’ instead.

Secondly, you’re not actually executing the download request. After creating the request, you need to execute it and handle the file content. Here’s a snippet that should work:

file_request = service.files().get_media(fileId=file_id)
fh = io.BytesIO()
downloader = MediaIoBaseDownload(fh, file_request)
done = False
while done is False:
    status, done = downloader.next_chunk()
    print(f'Download {int(status.progress() * 100)}%.')

Make sure you’ve got the correct file_id. You can get this from the URL when viewing the file in Google Drive.

Also, don’t forget to enable the Google Drive API in your Google Cloud Console and download the correct client_secret.json file. These steps are often overlooked but crucial for the API to work properly.