Method: files.get

Gets a file's metadata or content by ID.

If you provide the URL parameter alt=media, then the response includes the file contents in the response body. Downloading content with alt=media only works if the file is stored in Drive. To download Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides use files.export instead. For more information, see Download & export files.

HTTP request

GET https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v2/files/{fileId}

The URL uses gRPC Transcoding syntax.

Path parameters

Parameters
fileId

string

The ID for the file in question.

Query parameters

Parameters
acknowledgeAbuse

boolean

Whether the user is acknowledging the risk of downloading known malware or other abusive files. This is only applicable when the alt parameter is set to media and the user is the owner of the file or an organizer of the shared drive in which the file resides.
projection
(deprecated)

enum (Projection)

Deprecated: This parameter has no function.
revisionId

string

Specifies the Revision ID that should be downloaded. Ignored unless alt=media is specified.
supportsAllDrives

boolean

Whether the requesting application supports both My Drives and shared drives.
supportsTeamDrives
(deprecated)

boolean

Deprecated: Use supportsAllDrives instead.
updateViewedDate
(deprecated)

boolean

Deprecated: Use files.update with modifiedDateBehavior=noChange, updateViewedDate=true and an empty request body.
includePermissionsForView

string

Specifies which additional view's permissions to include in the response. Only published is supported.
includeLabels

string

A comma-separated list of IDs of labels to include in the labelInfo part of the response.

Request body

The request body must be empty.

Response body

If successful, the response body contains an instance of File.

Authorization scopes

Requires one of the following OAuth scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/docs
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.appdata
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.meet.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.metadata
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.metadata.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.photos.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly

Some scopes are restricted and require a security assessment for your app to use them. For more information, see the Authorization guide.