Store application-specific data

The application data folder is a special hidden folder that your app can use to store application-specific data, such as configuration files. The application data folder is automatically created when you attempt to create a file in it. Use this folder to store any files that the user shouldn't directly interact with. This folder is only accessible by your application and its contents are hidden from the user and from other Drive apps.

Files in the appDataFolder cannot move between storage locations (spaces). For more information, see File organization.

The application data folder is deleted when a user uninstalls your app from their MyDrive. Users can also delete your app's data folder manually.

Application data folder scope

Before you can access the application data folder, you must request access to the https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.appdata scope. For more information about scopes and how to request access to them, refer to API-specific authorization and authentication information. For more information about specific OAuth 2.0 scopes, see OAuth 2.0 Scopes for Google APIs.

Create a file in the application data folder

To create a file in the application data folder, specify appDataFolder in the parents property of the file and use the files.create method to upload the file to the folder. The following code sample shows how to insert a file into a folder using a client library.

Note: If you're using the older Drive API v2, you can find code samples in GitHub. Learn how to migrate to Drive API v3.

Java

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/main/java/UploadAppData.java

View on GitHub

import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.FileContent;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive;
import com.google.api.services.drive.DriveScopes;
import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collections;

/**
 * Class to demonstrate use-case of create file in the application data folder.
 */
public class UploadAppData {

  /**
   * Creates a file in the application data folder.
   *
   * @return Created file's Id.
   */
  public static String uploadAppData() throws IOException {
        /*Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
        TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
        guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application.*/
    GoogleCredentials credentials = null;
    try {
      credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
          .createScoped(Arrays.asList(DriveScopes.DRIVE_APPDATA));
    } catch (IOException e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Build a new authorized API client service.
    Drive service = new Drive.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Drive samples")
        .build();
    try {
      // File's metadata.
      File fileMetadata = new File();
      fileMetadata.setName("config.json");
      fileMetadata.setParents(Collections.singletonList("appDataFolder"));
      java.io.File filePath = new java.io.File("files/config.json");
      FileContent mediaContent = new FileContent("application/json", filePath);
      File file = service.files().create(fileMetadata, mediaContent)
          .setFields("id")
          .execute();
      System.out.println("File ID: " + file.getId());
      return file.getId();
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      System.err.println("Unable to create file: " + e.getDetails());
      throw e;
    }
  }

}

Python

drive/snippets/drive-v3/app_data_snippet/upload_appdata.py

View on GitHub

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError
from googleapiclient.http import MediaFileUpload


def upload_appdata():
  """Insert a file in the application data folder and prints file Id.
  Returns : ID's of the inserted files

  Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
  TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
  for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
  """
  creds, _ = google.auth.default()

  try:
    # call drive api client
    service = build("drive", "v3", credentials=creds)

    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    file_metadata = {"name": "abc.txt", "parents": ["appDataFolder"]}
    media = MediaFileUpload("abc.txt", mimetype="text/txt", resumable=True)
    file = (
        service.files()
        .create(body=file_metadata, media_body=media, fields="id")
        .execute()
    )
    print(f'File ID: {file.get("id")}')

  except HttpError as error:
    print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
    file = None

  return file.get("id")


if __name__ == "__main__":
  upload_appdata()

Node.js

drive/snippets/drive_v3/appdata_snippets/upload_appdata.js

View on GitHub

/**
 * Insert a file in the application data folder and prints file Id
 * */
async function uploadAppdata() {
  // Get credentials and build service
  // TODO (developer) - Use appropriate auth mechanism for your app

  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');
  const fs = require('fs');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.appdata',
  });
  const service = google.drive({version: 'v3', auth});
  const fileMetadata = {
    name: 'config.json',
    parents: ['appDataFolder'],
  };
  const media = {
    mimeType: 'application/json',
    body: fs.createReadStream('files/config.json'),
  };
  try {
    const file = await service.files.create({
      requestBody: fileMetadata,
      media: media,
      fields: 'id',
    });
    console.log('File Id:', file.data.id);
    return file.data.id;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO(developer) - Handle error
    throw err;
  }
}

PHP

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/DriveUploadAppData.php

View on GitHub

use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
function uploadAppData()
{
   try {
    $client = new Client();
    $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
    $client->addScope(Drive::DRIVE);
    $client->addScope(Drive::DRIVE_APPDATA);
    $driveService = new Drive($client);
    $fileMetadata = new Drive\DriveFile(array(
        'name' => 'config.json',
        'parents' => array('appDataFolder')
    ));
    $content = file_get_contents('../files/config.json');
    $file = $driveService->files->create($fileMetadata, array(
        'data' => $content,
        'mimeType' => 'application/json',
        'uploadType' => 'multipart',
        'fields' => 'id'));
    printf("File ID: %s\n", $file->id);
    return $file->id;

   } catch(Exception $e) {
     echo "Error Message: ".$e;
   }  
}

.NET

drive/snippets/drive_v3/DriveV3Snippets/UploadAppData.cs

View on GitHub

using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Drive.v3;
using Google.Apis.Services;

namespace DriveV3Snippets
{
    // Class of demonstrate the use of Drive upload app data. 
    public class UploadAppData
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Insert a file in the application data folder and prints file Id.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="filePath">File path to upload.</param>
        /// <returns>ID's of the inserted files, null otherwise.</returns>
        public static string DriveUploadAppData(string filePath)
        {
            try
            {
                /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
                 TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
                 guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
                GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
                    .CreateScoped(DriveService.Scope.DriveAppdata);

                // Create Drive API service.
                var service = new DriveService(new BaseClientService.Initializer
                {
                    HttpClientInitializer = credential,
                    ApplicationName = "Drive API Snippets"
                });
                var fileMetadata = new Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data.File()
                {
                    Name = "config.json",
                    Parents = new List<string>()
                    {
                        "appDataFolder"
                    }
                };
                FilesResource.CreateMediaUpload request;
                using (var stream = new FileStream(filePath,
                           FileMode.Open))
                {
                    request = service.Files.Create(
                        fileMetadata, stream, "application/json");
                    request.Fields = "id";
                    request.Upload();
                }

                var file = request.ResponseBody;
                // Prints the file id.
                Console.WriteLine("File ID: " + file.Id);
                return file.Id;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
                if (e is AggregateException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Credential Not found");
                }
                else
                {
                    throw;
                }
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}

For further information on creating files in folders, refer to Create & populate folders.

Search for files in the application data folder

To search for files in the application data folder, set the spaces field to appDataFolder and use the files.list method. The following code sample shows how to use search for files in the application data folder using a client library.

Note: If you're using the older Drive API v2, you can find code samples in GitHub. Learn how to migrate to Drive API v3.

Java

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/main/java/ListAppData.java

View on GitHub

import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer;
import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive;
import com.google.api.services.drive.DriveScopes;
import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File;
import com.google.api.services.drive.model.FileList;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Arrays;

/**
 * Class to demonstrate use-case of list 10 files in the application data folder.
 */
public class ListAppData {

  /**
   * list down files in the application data folder.
   *
   * @return list of 10 files.
   */
  public static FileList listAppData() throws IOException {
        /*Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
        TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
        guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application.*/
    GoogleCredentials credentials = null;
    try {
      credentials = GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
          .createScoped(Arrays.asList(DriveScopes.DRIVE_APPDATA));
    } catch (IOException e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
    HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter(
        credentials);

    // Build a new authorized API client service.
    Drive service = new Drive.Builder(new NetHttpTransport(),
        GsonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
        requestInitializer)
        .setApplicationName("Drive samples")
        .build();
    try {
      FileList files = service.files().list()
          .setSpaces("appDataFolder")
          .setFields("nextPageToken, files(id, name)")
          .setPageSize(10)
          .execute();
      for (File file : files.getFiles()) {
        System.out.printf("Found file: %s (%s)\n",
            file.getName(), file.getId());
      }

      return files;
    } catch (GoogleJsonResponseException e) {
      // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
      System.err.println("Unable to list files: " + e.getDetails());
      throw e;
    }
  }

}

Python

drive/snippets/drive-v3/app_data_snippet/list_appdata.py

View on GitHub

import google.auth
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError


def list_appdata():
  """List all files inserted in the application data folder
  prints file titles with Ids.
  Returns : List of items

  Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
  TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity
  for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application.
  """
  creds, _ = google.auth.default()

  try:
    # call drive api client
    service = build("drive", "v3", credentials=creds)

    # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member
    response = (
        service.files()
        .list(
            spaces="appDataFolder",
            fields="nextPageToken, files(id, name)",
            pageSize=10,
        )
        .execute()
    )
    for file in response.get("files", []):
      # Process change
      print(f'Found file: {file.get("name")}, {file.get("id")}')

  except HttpError as error:
    print(f"An error occurred: {error}")
    response = None

  return response.get("files")


if __name__ == "__main__":
  list_appdata()

Node.js

drive/snippets/drive_v3/appdata_snippets/list_appdata.js

View on GitHub

/**
 * Copyright 2022 Google LLC
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

/**
 * List all files inserted in the application data folder
 * */
async function listAppdata() {
  // Get credentials and build service
  // TODO (developer) - Use appropriate auth mechanism for your app

  const {GoogleAuth} = require('google-auth-library');
  const {google} = require('googleapis');

  const auth = new GoogleAuth({
    scopes: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.appdata',
  });
  const service = google.drive({version: 'v3', auth});
  try {
    const res = await service.files.list({
      spaces: 'appDataFolder',
      fields: 'nextPageToken, files(id, name)',
      pageSize: 100,
    });
    res.data.files.forEach(function(file) {
      console.log('Found file:', file.name, file.id);
    });
    return res.data.files;
  } catch (err) {
    // TODO(developer) - Handle error
    throw err;
  }
}

module.exports = listAppdata;

PHP

drive/snippets/drive_v3/src/DriveListAppData.php

View on GitHub

use Google\Client;
use Google\Service\Drive;
function listAppData()
{
    try {
        $client = new Client();
        $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials();
        $client->addScope(Drive::DRIVE);
        $driveService = new Drive($client);
        $response = $driveService->files->listFiles(array(
            'spaces' => 'appDataFolder',
            'fields' => 'nextPageToken, files(id, name)',
            'pageSize' => 10
        ));
        foreach ($response->files as $file) {
            printf("Found file: %s (%s)", $file->name, $file->id);
        }
        return $response->files;

    }catch(Exception $e) {
        echo "Error Message: ".$e;
    }

}

.NET

drive/snippets/drive_v3/DriveV3Snippets/ListAppData.cs

View on GitHub

using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Drive.v3;
using Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data;
using Google.Apis.Services;

namespace DriveV3Snippets
{
    // Class to demonstrate use-case of Drive's list files in the application data folder.
    public class ListAppData
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// List down files in the application data folder.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>list of 10 files, null otherwise.</returns>
        public static FileList DriveListAppData()
        {
            try
            {
                /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment.
                 TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for
                 guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */
                GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
                    .CreateScoped(DriveService.Scope.DriveAppdata);

                // Create Drive API service.
                var service = new DriveService(new BaseClientService.Initializer
                {
                    HttpClientInitializer = credential,
                    ApplicationName = "Drive API Snippets"
                });

                var request = service.Files.List();
                request.Spaces = "appDataFolder";
                request.Fields = "nextPageToken, files(id, name)";
                request.PageSize = 10;
                var result = request.Execute();
                foreach (var file in result.Files)
                {
                    // Prints the list of 10 file names.
                    Console.WriteLine("Found file: {0} ({1})", file.Name, file.Id);
                }
                return result;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately
                if (e is AggregateException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Credential Not found");
                }
                else
                {
                    throw;
                }
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}

Download files from the application data folder

To download a file from the application data folder, use the files.get method. For more information, and to view code samples, go to Download blob file content.