Google Drive

Google Drive

Access the Google Drive API with managed OAuth authentication. List, search, create, and manage files and folders.

Quick Start

# List files
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/drive/v3/files?pageSize=10')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Base URL

https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/{native-api-path}

Maton proxies requests to www.googleapis.com and automatically injects your OAuth token.

Authentication

All requests require the Maton API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY

Environment Variable: Set your API key as MATON_API_KEY:

export MATON_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Getting Your API Key

1. Sign in or create an account at maton.ai
2. Go to maton.ai/settings
3. Copy your API key

Connection Management

Manage your Google OAuth connections at https://api.maton.ai.

List Connections

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections?app=google-drive&status=ACTIVE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Create Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({'app': 'google-drive'}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Get Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Response:

{
  "connection": {
    "connection_id": "{connection_id}",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "creation_time": "2025-12-08T07:20:53.488460Z",
    "last_updated_time": "2026-01-31T20:03:32.593153Z",
    "url": "https://connect.maton.ai/?session_token=...",
    "app": "google-drive",
    "metadata": {}
  }
}

Open the returned url in a browser to complete OAuth authorization.

Delete Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}', method='DELETE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Specifying Connection

If you have multiple Google Drive connections, specify which one to use with the Maton-Connection header:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/drive/v3/files?pageSize=10')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Maton-Connection', '{connection_id}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

If you have multiple connections, always include this header to ensure requests go to the intended account.

Security & Permissions

• Access is scoped to files, folders, permissions, and sharing within the connected Google Drive account.
• All write operations require explicit user approval. Before executing any create, update, or delete call, confirm the target resource and intended effect with the user.

API Reference

List Files

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files?pageSize=10

With query:

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files?q=name%20contains%20'report'&pageSize=10

Only folders:

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files?q=mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.folder'

Files in specific folder:

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files?q='FOLDER_ID'+in+parents

With fields:

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files?fields=files(id,name,mimeType,createdTime,modifiedTime,size)

Get File Metadata

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}?fields=id,name,mimeType,size,createdTime

Download File Content

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}?alt=media

Export Google Docs

GET /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}/export?mimeType=application/pdf

Create File (metadata only)

POST /google-drive/drive/v3/files
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "New Document",
  "mimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.document"
}

Create Folder

POST /google-drive/drive/v3/files
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "New Folder",
  "mimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.folder"
}

Update File Metadata

PATCH /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Renamed File"
}

Move File to Folder

PATCH /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}?addParents=NEW_FOLDER_ID&removeParents=OLD_FOLDER_ID

Delete File

DELETE /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}

Copy File

POST /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}/copy
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Copy of File"
}

File Uploads

Google Drive supports three upload types depending on file size and whether you need to include metadata.

Simple Upload (Media)

For files up to 5MB when you don't need to set metadata.

POST /google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files?uploadType=media
Content-Type: text/plain

<file content>

Python Example:

import urllib.request, os

file_content = b'Hello, this is file content!'

url = 'https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files?uploadType=media'
req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=file_content, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'text/plain')
response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)

Multipart Upload

For files up to 5MB when you need to include metadata (name, description, etc.).

POST /google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files?uploadType=multipart
Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary=boundary

--boundary
Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8

{"name": "myfile.txt", "description": "My file"}
--boundary
Content-Type: text/plain

<file content>
--boundary--

Python Example:

import urllib.request, os, json

boundary = '----Boundary'
metadata = json.dumps({'name': 'myfile.txt', 'description': 'My file'})
file_content = 'File content here'

body = f'''--{boundary}\r
Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8\r
\r
{metadata}\r
--{boundary}\r
Content-Type: text/plain\r
\r
{file_content}\r
--{boundary}--'''.encode()

url = 'https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files?uploadType=multipart'
req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=body, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', f'multipart/related; boundary={boundary}')
response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)

Resumable Upload (Large Files)

For large files (recommended for files > 5MB). This approach:

1. Initiates a session - Gets an upload URI
2. Uploads in chunks - Sends file in pieces
3. Supports resume - Can continue from where it left off if interrupted

Step 1: Initiate Upload Session

POST /google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files?uploadType=resumable
Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8
X-Upload-Content-Type: application/octet-stream
X-Upload-Content-Length: <file_size>

{"name": "large_file.bin"}

Response includes Location header with the upload URI.

Step 2: Upload Content

PUT <upload_uri>
Content-Length: <file_size>
Content-Type: application/octet-stream

<file content>

Python Example (Complete):

import urllib.request, os, json

file_path = '/path/to/large_file.bin'
file_size = os.path.getsize(file_path)

# Step 1: Initiate resumable upload session
url = 'https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files?uploadType=resumable'
metadata = json.dumps({'name': 'large_file.bin'}).encode()

req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=metadata, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json; charset=UTF-8')
req.add_header('X-Upload-Content-Type', 'application/octet-stream')
req.add_header('X-Upload-Content-Length', str(file_size))

response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)
upload_uri = response.headers['Location']

# Step 2: Upload file in chunks (e.g., 5MB chunks)
chunk_size = 5 * 1024 * 1024
with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
    offset = 0
    while offset < file_size:
        chunk = f.read(chunk_size)
        end = offset + len(chunk) - 1

        req = urllib.request.Request(upload_uri, data=chunk, method='PUT')
        req.add_header('Content-Length', str(len(chunk)))
        req.add_header('Content-Range', f'bytes {offset}-{end}/{file_size}')

        response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)
        offset += len(chunk)

result = json.load(response)
print(f"Uploaded: {result['id']}")

Resuming Interrupted Uploads:

If an upload is interrupted, query the upload URI to get current status:

req = urllib.request.Request(upload_uri, method='PUT')
req.add_header('Content-Length', '0')
req.add_header('Content-Range', 'bytes */*')
response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)
# Check Range header in response to get current offset

Update File Content

To update an existing file's content:

PATCH /google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files/{fileId}?uploadType=media
Content-Type: text/plain

<new file content>

Python Example:

import urllib.request, os

file_id = 'YOUR_FILE_ID'
new_content = b'Updated file content!'

url = f'https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/upload/drive/v3/files/{file_id}?uploadType=media'
req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=new_content, method='PATCH')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'text/plain')
response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)

Upload to Specific Folder

Include the folder ID in the metadata:

metadata = json.dumps({
    'name': 'myfile.txt',
    'parents': ['FOLDER_ID']
})

Share File

POST /google-drive/drive/v3/files/{fileId}/permissions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "role": "reader",
  "type": "user",
  "emailAddress": "user@example.com"
}

Query Operators

Use in the q parameter:

• name = 'exact name'
• name contains 'partial'
• mimeType = 'application/pdf'
• 'folderId' in parents
• trashed = false
• modifiedTime > '2024-01-01T00:00:00'

Combine with and:

name contains 'report' and mimeType = 'application/pdf'

Common MIME Types

• application/vnd.google-apps.document - Google Docs
• application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet - Google Sheets
• application/vnd.google-apps.presentation - Google Slides
• application/vnd.google-apps.folder - Folder
• application/pdf - PDF

Code Examples

JavaScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/drive/v3/files?pageSize=10',
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.MATON_API_KEY}`
    }
  }
);

Python

import os
import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/drive/v3/files',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}'},
    params={'pageSize': 10}
)

Notes

• Use fields parameter to limit response data
• Pagination uses pageToken from previous response's nextPageToken
• Export is for Google Workspace files only
• Upload Types: Use uploadType=media for simple uploads (up to 5MB), uploadType=multipart for uploads with metadata (up to 5MB), uploadType=resumable for large files (recommended for > 5MB)
• Upload Endpoint: File uploads use /upload/drive/v3/files (note the /upload prefix)
• Resumable Uploads: For large files, use resumable uploads with chunked transfer (256KB minimum chunk size, 5MB recommended)
• Max File Size: Google Drive supports files up to 5TB
• IMPORTANT: When using curl commands, use curl -g when URLs contain brackets (fields[], sort[], records[]) to disable glob parsing
• IMPORTANT: When piping curl output to jq or other commands, environment variables like $MATON_API_KEY may not expand correctly in some shell environments. You may get "Invalid API key" errors when piping.

Error Handling

Troubleshooting: API Key Issues

1. Check that the MATON_API_KEY environment variable is set:

echo $MATON_API_KEY

2. Verify the API key is valid by listing connections:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://api.maton.ai/connections')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Troubleshooting: Invalid App Name

1. Ensure your URL path starts with google-drive. For example:

• Correct: https://api.maton.ai/google-drive/drive/v3/files
• Incorrect: https://api.maton.ai/drive/v3/files

Resources

• Drive API Overview
• List Files
• Get File
• Create File
• Update File
• Delete File
• Export File
• Upload Files
• Resumable Uploads
• Search Query Syntax
• Maton Community
• Maton Support