REST Resource: files  |  Google Drive  |  Google for Developers (original) (raw)

REST Resource: files

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Resource: File

The metadata for a file.

Some resource methods (such as files.update) require a fileId. Use the files.list method to retrieve the ID for a file.

JSON representation
{ "kind": string, "driveId": string, "fileExtension": string, "copyRequiresWriterPermission": boolean, "md5Checksum": string, "contentHints": { "indexableText": string, "thumbnail": { "image": string, "mimeType": string } }, "writersCanShare": boolean, "viewedByMe": boolean, "mimeType": string, "exportLinks": { string: string, ... }, "parents": [ string ], "thumbnailLink": string, "iconLink": string, "shared": boolean, "lastModifyingUser": { object (User) }, "owners": [ { object (User) } ], "headRevisionId": string, "sharingUser": { object (User) }, "webViewLink": string, "webContentLink": string, "size": string, "viewersCanCopyContent": boolean, "permissions": [ { object (Permission) } ], "hasThumbnail": boolean, "spaces": [ string ], "folderColorRgb": string, "id": string, "name": string, "description": string, "starred": boolean, "trashed": boolean, "explicitlyTrashed": boolean, "createdTime": string, "modifiedTime": string, "modifiedByMeTime": string, "viewedByMeTime": string, "sharedWithMeTime": string, "quotaBytesUsed": string, "version": string, "originalFilename": string, "ownedByMe": boolean, "fullFileExtension": string, "properties": { string: value, ... }, "appProperties": { string: value, ... }, "isAppAuthorized": boolean, "teamDriveId": string, "capabilities": { "canChangeViewersCanCopyContent": boolean, "canMoveChildrenOutOfDrive": boolean, "canReadDrive": boolean, "canEdit": boolean, "canCopy": boolean, "canComment": boolean, "canAddChildren": boolean, "canDelete": boolean, "canDownload": boolean, "canListChildren": boolean, "canRemoveChildren": boolean, "canRename": boolean, "canTrash": boolean, "canReadRevisions": boolean, "canReadTeamDrive": boolean, "canMoveTeamDriveItem": boolean, "canChangeCopyRequiresWriterPermission": boolean, "canMoveItemIntoTeamDrive": boolean, "canUntrash": boolean, "canModifyContent": boolean, "canMoveItemWithinTeamDrive": boolean, "canMoveItemOutOfTeamDrive": boolean, "canDeleteChildren": boolean, "canMoveChildrenOutOfTeamDrive": boolean, "canMoveChildrenWithinTeamDrive": boolean, "canTrashChildren": boolean, "canMoveItemOutOfDrive": boolean, "canAddMyDriveParent": boolean, "canRemoveMyDriveParent": boolean, "canMoveItemWithinDrive": boolean, "canShare": boolean, "canMoveChildrenWithinDrive": boolean, "canModifyContentRestriction": boolean, "canAddFolderFromAnotherDrive": boolean, "canChangeSecurityUpdateEnabled": boolean, "canAcceptOwnership": boolean, "canReadLabels": boolean, "canModifyLabels": boolean, "canModifyEditorContentRestriction": boolean, "canModifyOwnerContentRestriction": boolean, "canRemoveContentRestriction": boolean, "canDisableInheritedPermissions": boolean, "canEnableInheritedPermissions": boolean }, "hasAugmentedPermissions": boolean, "trashingUser": { object (User) }, "thumbnailVersion": string, "trashedTime": string, "modifiedByMe": boolean, "permissionIds": [ string ], "imageMediaMetadata": { "flashUsed": boolean, "meteringMode": string, "sensor": string, "exposureMode": string, "colorSpace": string, "whiteBalance": string, "width": integer, "height": integer, "location": { "latitude": number, "longitude": number, "altitude": number }, "rotation": integer, "time": string, "cameraMake": string, "cameraModel": string, "exposureTime": number, "aperture": number, "focalLength": number, "isoSpeed": integer, "exposureBias": number, "maxApertureValue": number, "subjectDistance": integer, "lens": string }, "videoMediaMetadata": { "width": integer, "height": integer, "durationMillis": string }, "shortcutDetails": { "targetId": string, "targetMimeType": string, "targetResourceKey": string }, "contentRestrictions": [ { object (ContentRestriction) } ], "resourceKey": string, "linkShareMetadata": { "securityUpdateEligible": boolean, "securityUpdateEnabled": boolean }, "labelInfo": { "labels": [ { object (Label) } ] }, "sha1Checksum": string, "sha256Checksum": string, "inheritedPermissionsDisabled": boolean }
Fields
kind string Output only. Identifies what kind of resource this is. Value: the fixed string "drive#file".
driveId string Output only. ID of the shared drive the file resides in. Only populated for items in shared drives.
fileExtension string Output only. The final component of fullFileExtension. This is only available for files with binary content in Google Drive.
copyRequiresWriterPermission boolean Whether the options to copy, print, or download this file, should be disabled for readers and commenters.
md5Checksum string Output only. The MD5 checksum for the content of the file. This is only applicable to files with binary content in Google Drive.
contentHints object Additional information about the content of the file. These fields are never populated in responses.
contentHints.indexableText string Text to be indexed for the file to improve fullText queries. This is limited to 128KB in length and may contain HTML elements.
contentHints.thumbnail object A thumbnail for the file. This will only be used if Google Drive cannot generate a standard thumbnail.
contentHints.thumbnail.image string (bytes format) The thumbnail data encoded with URL-safe Base64 (RFC 4648 section 5).A base64-encoded string.
contentHints.thumbnail.mimeType string The MIME type of the thumbnail.
viewedByMe boolean Output only. Whether the file has been viewed by this user.
mimeType string The MIME type of the file.Google Drive attempts to automatically detect an appropriate value from uploaded content, if no value is provided. The value cannot be changed unless a new revision is uploaded.If a file is created with a Google Doc MIME type, the uploaded content is imported, if possible. The supported import formats are published in the About resource.
exportLinks map (key: string, value: string) Output only. Links for exporting Docs Editors files to specific formats.An object containing a list of "key": value pairs. Example: { "name": "wrench", "mass": "1.3kg", "count": "3" }.
parents[] string The ID of the parent folder containing the file.A file can only have one parent folder; specifying multiple parents isn't supported.If not specified as part of a create request, the file is placed directly in the user's My Drive folder. If not specified as part of a copy request, the file inherits any discoverable parent of the source file. files.update requests must use the addParents and removeParents parameters to modify the parents list.
thumbnailLink string Output only. A short-lived link to the file's thumbnail, if available. Typically lasts on the order of hours. Not intended for direct usage on web applications due to Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policies, consider using a proxy server. Only populated when the requesting app can access the file's content. If the file isn't shared publicly, the URL returned in Files.thumbnailLink must be fetched using a credentialed request.
iconLink string Output only. A static, unauthenticated link to the file's icon.
shared boolean Output only. Whether the file has been shared. Not populated for items in shared drives.
lastModifyingUser object (User) Output only. The last user to modify the file. This field is only populated when the last modification was performed by a signed-in user.
owners[] object (User) Output only. The owner of this file. Only certain legacy files may have more than one owner. This field isn't populated for items in shared drives.
headRevisionId string Output only. The ID of the file's head revision. This is currently only available for files with binary content in Google Drive.
sharingUser object (User) Output only. The user who shared the file with the requesting user, if applicable.
webViewLink string Output only. A link for opening the file in a relevant Google editor or viewer in a browser.
webContentLink string Output only. A link for downloading the content of the file in a browser. This is only available for files with binary content in Google Drive.
size string (int64 format) Output only. Size in bytes of blobs and first party editor files. Won't be populated for files that have no size, like shortcuts and folders.
viewersCanCopyContent**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Use copyRequiresWriterPermission instead.
permissions[] object (Permission) Output only. The full list of permissions for the file. This is only available if the requesting user can share the file. Not populated for items in shared drives.
hasThumbnail boolean Output only. Whether this file has a thumbnail. This does not indicate whether the requesting app has access to the thumbnail. To check access, look for the presence of the thumbnailLink field.
spaces[] string Output only. The list of spaces which contain the file. The currently supported values are 'drive', 'appDataFolder' and 'photos'.
folderColorRgb string The color for a folder or a shortcut to a folder as an RGB hex string. The supported colors are published in the folderColorPalette field of the About resource.If an unsupported color is specified, the closest color in the palette is used instead.
id string The ID of the file.
name string The name of the file. This is not necessarily unique within a folder. Note that for immutable items such as the top level folders of shared drives, My Drive root folder, and Application Data folder the name is constant.
description string A short description of the file.
starred boolean Whether the user has starred the file.
trashed boolean Whether the file has been trashed, either explicitly or from a trashed parent folder. Only the owner may trash a file, and other users cannot see files in the owner's trash.
explicitlyTrashed boolean Output only. Whether the file has been explicitly trashed, as opposed to recursively trashed from a parent folder.
createdTime string The time at which the file was created (RFC 3339 date-time).
modifiedTime string The last time the file was modified by anyone (RFC 3339 date-time).Note that setting modifiedTime also updates modifiedByMeTime for the user.
modifiedByMeTime string Output only. The last time the file was modified by the user (RFC 3339 date-time).
viewedByMeTime string The last time the file was viewed by the user (RFC 3339 date-time).
sharedWithMeTime string Output only. The time at which the file was shared with the user, if applicable (RFC 3339 date-time).
quotaBytesUsed string (int64 format) Output only. The number of storage quota bytes used by the file. This includes the head revision as well as previous revisions with keepForever enabled.
version string (int64 format) Output only. A monotonically increasing version number for the file. This reflects every change made to the file on the server, even those not visible to the user.
originalFilename string The original filename of the uploaded content if available, or else the original value of the name field. This is only available for files with binary content in Google Drive.
ownedByMe boolean Output only. Whether the user owns the file. Not populated for items in shared drives.
fullFileExtension string Output only. The full file extension extracted from the name field. May contain multiple concatenated extensions, such as "tar.gz". This is only available for files with binary content in Google Drive.This is automatically updated when the name field changes, however it is not cleared if the new name does not contain a valid extension.
properties map (key: string, value: value (Value format)) A collection of arbitrary key-value pairs which are visible to all apps.Entries with null values are cleared in update and copy requests.An object containing a list of "key": value pairs. Example: { "name": "wrench", "mass": "1.3kg", "count": "3" }.
appProperties map (key: string, value: value (Value format)) A collection of arbitrary key-value pairs which are private to the requesting app.Entries with null values are cleared in update and copy requests.These properties can only be retrieved using an authenticated request. An authenticated request uses an access token obtained with an OAuth 2 client ID. You cannot use an API key to retrieve private properties.An object containing a list of "key": value pairs. Example: { "name": "wrench", "mass": "1.3kg", "count": "3" }.
isAppAuthorized boolean Output only. Whether the file was created or opened by the requesting app.
teamDriveId**(deprecated)** string Deprecated: Output only. Use driveId instead.
capabilities object Output only. Capabilities the current user has on this file. Each capability corresponds to a fine-grained action that a user may take.
capabilities.canChangeViewersCanCopyContent**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only.
capabilities.canMoveChildrenOutOfDrive boolean Output only. Whether the current user can move children of this folder outside of the shared drive. This is false when the item is not a folder. Only populated for items in shared drives.
capabilities.canReadDrive boolean Output only. Whether the current user can read the shared drive to which this file belongs. Only populated for items in shared drives.
capabilities.canEdit boolean Output only. Whether the current user can edit this file. Other factors may limit the type of changes a user can make to a file. For example, see canChangeCopyRequiresWriterPermission or canModifyContent.
capabilities.canCopy boolean Output only. Whether the current user can copy this file. For an item in a shared drive, whether the current user can copy non-folder descendants of this item, or this item itself if it is not a folder.
capabilities.canComment boolean Output only. Whether the current user can comment on this file.
capabilities.canAddChildren boolean Output only. Whether the current user can add children to this folder. This is always false when the item is not a folder.
capabilities.canDelete boolean Output only. Whether the current user can delete this file.
capabilities.canDownload boolean Output only. Whether the current user can download this file.
capabilities.canListChildren boolean Output only. Whether the current user can list the children of this folder. This is always false when the item is not a folder.
capabilities.canRemoveChildren boolean Output only. Whether the current user can remove children from this folder. This is always false when the item is not a folder. For a folder in a shared drive, use canDeleteChildren or canTrashChildren instead.
capabilities.canRename boolean Output only. Whether the current user can rename this file.
capabilities.canTrash boolean Output only. Whether the current user can move this file to trash.
capabilities.canReadRevisions boolean Output only. Whether the current user can read the revisions resource of this file. For a shared drive item, whether revisions of non-folder descendants of this item, or this item itself if it is not a folder, can be read.
capabilities.canReadTeamDrive**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canReadDrive instead.
capabilities.canMoveTeamDriveItem**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canMoveItemWithinDrive or canMoveItemOutOfDrive instead.
capabilities.canChangeCopyRequiresWriterPermission boolean Output only. Whether the current user can change the copyRequiresWriterPermission restriction of this file.
capabilities.canMoveItemIntoTeamDrive**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canMoveItemOutOfDrive instead.
capabilities.canUntrash boolean Output only. Whether the current user can restore this file from trash.
capabilities.canModifyContent boolean Output only. Whether the current user can modify the content of this file.
capabilities.canMoveItemWithinTeamDrive**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canMoveItemWithinDrive instead.
capabilities.canMoveItemOutOfTeamDrive**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canMoveItemOutOfDrive instead.
capabilities.canDeleteChildren boolean Output only. Whether the current user can delete children of this folder. This is false when the item is not a folder. Only populated for items in shared drives.
capabilities.canMoveChildrenOutOfTeamDrive**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canMoveChildrenOutOfDrive instead.
capabilities.canMoveChildrenWithinTeamDrive**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use canMoveChildrenWithinDrive instead.
capabilities.canTrashChildren boolean Output only. Whether the current user can trash children of this folder. This is false when the item is not a folder. Only populated for items in shared drives.
capabilities.canMoveItemOutOfDrive boolean Output only. Whether the current user can move this item outside of this drive by changing its parent. Note that a request to change the parent of the item may still fail depending on the new parent that is being added.
capabilities.canAddMyDriveParent boolean Output only. Whether the current user can add a parent for the item without removing an existing parent in the same request. Not populated for shared drive files.
capabilities.canRemoveMyDriveParent boolean Output only. Whether the current user can remove a parent from the item without adding another parent in the same request. Not populated for shared drive files.
capabilities.canMoveItemWithinDrive boolean Output only. Whether the current user can move this item within this drive. Note that a request to change the parent of the item may still fail depending on the new parent that is being added and the parent that is being removed.
capabilities.canShare boolean Output only. Whether the current user can modify the sharing settings for this file.
capabilities.canMoveChildrenWithinDrive boolean Output only. Whether the current user can move children of this folder within this drive. This is false when the item is not a folder. Note that a request to move the child may still fail depending on the current user's access to the child and to the destination folder.
capabilities.canModifyContentRestriction**(deprecated)** boolean Deprecated: Output only. Use one of canModifyEditorContentRestriction, canModifyOwnerContentRestriction or canRemoveContentRestriction.
capabilities.canAddFolderFromAnotherDrive boolean Output only. Whether the current user can add a folder from another drive (different shared drive or My Drive) to this folder. This is false when the item is not a folder. Only populated for items in shared drives.
capabilities.canChangeSecurityUpdateEnabled boolean Output only. Whether the current user can change the securityUpdateEnabled field on link share metadata.
capabilities.canAcceptOwnership boolean Output only. Whether the current user is the pending owner of the file. Not populated for shared drive files.
capabilities.canReadLabels boolean Output only. Whether the current user can read the labels on the file.
capabilities.canModifyLabels boolean Output only. Whether the current user can modify the labels on the file.
capabilities.canModifyEditorContentRestriction boolean Output only. Whether the current user can add or modify content restrictions on the file which are editor restricted.
capabilities.canModifyOwnerContentRestriction boolean Output only. Whether the current user can add or modify content restrictions which are owner restricted.
capabilities.canRemoveContentRestriction boolean Output only. Whether there is a content restriction on the file that can be removed by the current user.
capabilities.canDisableInheritedPermissions boolean Whether a user can disable inherited permissions.
capabilities.canEnableInheritedPermissions boolean Whether a user can re-enable inherited permissions.
hasAugmentedPermissions boolean Output only. Whether there are permissions directly on this file. This field is only populated for items in shared drives.
trashingUser object (User) Output only. If the file has been explicitly trashed, the user who trashed it. Only populated for items in shared drives.
thumbnailVersion string (int64 format) Output only. The thumbnail version for use in thumbnail cache invalidation.
trashedTime string Output only. The time that the item was trashed (RFC 3339 date-time). Only populated for items in shared drives.
modifiedByMe boolean Output only. Whether the file has been modified by this user.
permissionIds[] string Output only. files.list of permission IDs for users with access to this file.
imageMediaMetadata object Output only. Additional metadata about image media, if available.
imageMediaMetadata.flashUsed boolean Output only. Whether a flash was used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.meteringMode string Output only. The metering mode used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.sensor string Output only. The type of sensor used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.exposureMode string Output only. The exposure mode used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.colorSpace string Output only. The color space of the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.whiteBalance string Output only. The white balance mode used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.width integer Output only. The width of the image in pixels.
imageMediaMetadata.height integer Output only. The height of the image in pixels.
imageMediaMetadata.location object Output only. Geographic location information stored in the image.
imageMediaMetadata.location.latitude number Output only. The latitude stored in the image.
imageMediaMetadata.location.longitude number Output only. The longitude stored in the image.
imageMediaMetadata.location.altitude number Output only. The altitude stored in the image.
imageMediaMetadata.rotation integer Output only. The number of clockwise 90 degree rotations applied from the image's original orientation.
imageMediaMetadata.time string Output only. The date and time the photo was taken (EXIF DateTime).
imageMediaMetadata.cameraMake string Output only. The make of the camera used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.cameraModel string Output only. The model of the camera used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.exposureTime number Output only. The length of the exposure, in seconds.
imageMediaMetadata.aperture number Output only. The aperture used to create the photo (f-number).
imageMediaMetadata.focalLength number Output only. The focal length used to create the photo, in millimeters.
imageMediaMetadata.isoSpeed integer Output only. The ISO speed used to create the photo.
imageMediaMetadata.exposureBias number Output only. The exposure bias of the photo (APEX value).
imageMediaMetadata.maxApertureValue number Output only. The smallest f-number of the lens at the focal length used to create the photo (APEX value).
imageMediaMetadata.subjectDistance integer Output only. The distance to the subject of the photo, in meters.
imageMediaMetadata.lens string Output only. The lens used to create the photo.
videoMediaMetadata object Output only. Additional metadata about video media. This may not be available immediately upon upload.
videoMediaMetadata.width integer Output only. The width of the video in pixels.
videoMediaMetadata.height integer Output only. The height of the video in pixels.
videoMediaMetadata.durationMillis string (int64 format) Output only. The duration of the video in milliseconds.
shortcutDetails object Shortcut file details. Only populated for shortcut files, which have the mimeType field set to application/vnd.google-apps.shortcut. Can only be set on files.create requests.
shortcutDetails.targetId string The ID of the file that this shortcut points to. Can only be set on files.create requests.
shortcutDetails.targetMimeType string Output only. The MIME type of the file that this shortcut points to. The value of this field is a snapshot of the target's MIME type, captured when the shortcut is created.
shortcutDetails.targetResourceKey string Output only. The ResourceKey for the target file.
contentRestrictions[] object (ContentRestriction) Restrictions for accessing the content of the file. Only populated if such a restriction exists.
resourceKey string Output only. A key needed to access the item via a shared link.
linkShareMetadata.securityUpdateEligible boolean Output only. Whether the file is eligible for security update.
linkShareMetadata.securityUpdateEnabled boolean Output only. Whether the security update is enabled for this file.
labelInfo object Output only. An overview of the labels on the file.
labelInfo.labels[] object (Label) Output only. The set of labels on the file as requested by the label IDs in the includeLabels parameter. By default, no labels are returned.
sha1Checksum string Output only. The SHA1 checksum associated with this file, if available. This field is only populated for files with content stored in Google Drive; it is not populated for Docs Editors or shortcut files.
sha256Checksum string Output only. The SHA256 checksum associated with this file, if available. This field is only populated for files with content stored in Google Drive; it is not populated for Docs Editors or shortcut files.
inheritedPermissionsDisabled boolean Whether this file has inherited permissions disabled. Inherited permissions are enabled by default.

ContentRestriction

A restriction for accessing the content of the file.

JSON representation
{ "readOnly": boolean, "reason": string, "type": string, "restrictingUser": { object (User) }, "restrictionTime": string, "ownerRestricted": boolean, "systemRestricted": boolean }
Fields
readOnly boolean Whether the content of the file is read-only. If a file is read-only, a new revision of the file may not be added, comments may not be added or modified, and the title of the file may not be modified.
reason string Reason for why the content of the file is restricted. This is only mutable on requests that also set readOnly=true.
type string Output only. The type of the content restriction. Currently the only possible value is globalContentRestriction.
restrictingUser object (User) Output only. The user who set the content restriction. Only populated if readOnly is true.
restrictionTime string Output only. The time at which the content restriction was set (formatted RFC 3339 timestamp). Only populated if readOnly is true.
ownerRestricted boolean Whether the content restriction can only be modified or removed by a user who owns the file. For files in shared drives, any user with organizer capabilities can modify or remove this content restriction.
systemRestricted boolean Output only. Whether the content restriction was applied by the system, for example due to an esignature. Users cannot modify or remove system restricted content restrictions.
Methods
copy Creates a copy of a file and applies any requested updates with patch semantics.
create Creates a new file.
delete Permanently deletes a file owned by the user without moving it to the trash.
download Downloads content of a file.
emptyTrash Permanently deletes all of the user's trashed files.
export Exports a Google Workspace document to the requested MIME type and returns exported byte content.
generateIds Generates a set of file IDs which can be provided in create or copy requests.
get Gets a file's metadata or content by ID.
list Lists the user's files.
listLabels Lists the labels on a file.
modifyLabels Modifies the set of labels applied to a file.
update Updates a file's metadata and/or content.
watch Subscribes to changes to a file.

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Last updated 2025-04-18 UTC.