REST Resource: files

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
  },
  "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
}
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.
writersCanShare

boolean

Whether users with only writer permission can modify the file's permissions. Not populated for items in shared drives.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.