I’m building a web application that uses the Google Drive JavaScript API to manage files and folders. When I use API calls like creating new directories, my app shows the changes right away. But when I check the actual Google Drive website, those folders don’t appear there.
Is this normal behavior? Does it take some time for the web interface to sync with API changes? I need users to see their modifications on both my app and the official Google Drive site immediately after making changes.
Any ideas what might be causing this sync issue?
first, double-check that your API permissions are correct. you might be missing the drive.file scope or using drive.readonly by mistake. and yeah, google drive does have some propagation delays. can take a few mins for changes to show up on the website. maybe try adding a delay after your API calls.
This happens all the time. Google Drive’s API and web interface don’t sync right away - they’re running on different data layers. I’ve seen it mostly with folders. Files show up quick, but folder structures lag behind. What worked for me was adding a polling check that waits until the API’s list operations actually see the changes before telling users it’s done. The API will say “success” but the backend’s still catching up. Also double-check your parent folder IDs when making directories. Wrong IDs will dump your stuff in weird places or make it invisible on the web interface.
Had this exact problem six months ago while building a document management system. It’s usually a caching and authentication issue. Google Drive’s web interface caches folder structures, but the bigger problem is mixed authentication contexts. If you’re switching between service account credentials and OAuth user credentials, your changes happen in different contexts. Also double-check you’re not accidentally working in a shared drive instead of the user’s personal drive. Quick fix: force refresh the browser or clear cache. Real fix: make sure your API calls use the same authentication flow as the user’s actual Google Drive session.