Google Drive

Google Drive (opens new window) is a popular file storage and collaboration environment. The Google Drive connector enables you to build powerful automations around Google Drive and connect with other applications.

API version

The Google Drive connector uses the Google Drive API v3 (opens new window).

Connection setup

The Google Drive connector supports the following authentication types:

• OAuth 2.0 authentication
• Service account

OAuth 2.0 authentication

Minimum and default scopes

Workato requests the following scopes by default in addition to the scopes you select:

• drive: See, edit, create, and delete all your Google Drive files
• drive.readonly: See and download all your Google Drive files

Additionally, your Google account must have the Edit permission for all files and folders that you plan to use in Workato recipes.

Connect to Google Drive using OAuth 2.0

Complete the following steps to set up an OAuth 2.0 connection to Google Drive in Workato:

1

Click Create > Connection.

2

Search for and select Google Drive as your connection on the New Connection page.

3

Enter a name for your connection in the Connection name field.

Google Drive connection setup

4

Use the Location drop-down menu to select the project where you plan to store the connection.

5

Use the Authentication type drop-down menu to select OAuth 2.0.

6

Optional. Expand the Advanced settings section and use the Requested permissions drop-down menu to specify OAuth scopes to request for your connection.

7

Optional. Use the Custom OAuth profile drop-down menu to select a custom OAuth profile to use for the connection.

8

Click Sign in with Google.

9

Click Allow to authorize Workato to access your Google Drive.

Service account authentication

A Google service account is a specialized Google account associated with a Google Cloud Project (GCP) that can run API requests on your behalf.

Service accounts provide the following benefits:

• Continuous operation: Service accounts ensure that operations continue even if individual user permissions change.
• Dedicated permissions: Service accounts can only access projects that you share with them.
• Dedicated API quotas: You can manage a service account's API quotas through GCP and request quota increases directly from Google.

Refer to the Google service account documentation (opens new window) to learn more about service accounts.

Set up a Google service account

Complete the following steps to set up a Google service account:

1

Create a service account (opens new window) in your GCP project.

2

Go to IAM & Admin > Service accounts. Ensure your dashboard is scoped to the project that contains your service account. Check the scope of your dashboard.

3

Click the Email of the service account you intend to use. Click the Email of the service account you intend to use.

4

Copy the service account's Email and save it to configure your connection later.
Copy the account's Email.

5

Go to the KEYS tab.

6

Generate a private key (opens new window) and download it in JSON format. You can only download the key once.

7

Open the JSON file, then copy the entire private key from -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY----- to -----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n (inclusive) and save it to configure your connection later.

Connect to Google Drive using service account authentication

Service account authentication requires the following prerequisites:

• Create a service account and generate a private key
• Enable the Google Workspace API (opens new window)

Complete the following steps to set up a service account connection to Google Drive in Workato:

1

Click Create > Connection.

2

Search for Google Drive and select it as your app.

3

Enter a name for your connection in the Connection name field.

4

Use the Location drop-down menu to select the project where you plan to store the connection.

5

Use the Authentication type drop-down menu to select Service account.

6

Enter the service account's email address in the GCP project service account email field.

Retrieve your GCP Project service account email

7

Enter the Private key. Retrieve the private key from the downloadable JSON. Include both -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY----- and -----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n.

8

Optional. Enter the User email of the account to impersonate. If left blank, Workato accesses the service account's Drive.

User impersonation lets the service account act on behalf of a designated user, accessing and managing events in their Google Drive. Impersonating a user ensures data accuracy and enforces the permissions and access controls set for that user in Google Drive. Refer to Google's Service account impersonation (opens new window) guide for more information.

9

Optional. Expand the Advanced settings section and use the Requested permissions drop-down menu to specify OAuth scopes to request for your connection.

10

Click Sign in with Google.