musingfox/gog Drive

Drive Operations via gog CLI

Interact with Google Drive using the gog CLI tool (gog drive or alias gog drv).

Prerequisites

Verify gog is available and authenticated:

gog drive ls --max=1

If authentication fails, inform the user to run gog auth add <email> --services drive first.

Core Principles

• Always use --json when parsing output programmatically (e.g., extracting file IDs). Use human-readable output when displaying file lists to the user.
• Use --dry-run before any destructive or write operation (delete, upload, share, move). Preview the action, then execute after user confirmation.
• Use --no-input to prevent interactive prompts.
• File operations use file IDs, not file names. Always resolve the file ID first via ls or search.

Command Reference

Listing Files

List files in a folder (default: root):

gog drive ls                                  # Root folder
gog drive ls --parent=<folderId>              # Specific folder
gog drive ls --max=50                         # More results
gog drive ls --query="mimeType='application/pdf'"  # Drive query filter
gog drive ls --no-all-drives                  # My Drive only (exclude shared drives)

Searching Files

Full-text search across all of Drive:

gog drive search "quarterly report"
gog drive search "quarterly report" --max=20

For advanced queries, use Drive query language with --raw-query:

gog drive search --raw-query "mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet' and modifiedTime > '2026-01-01'"

Common raw query patterns:

• mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.document' — Google Docs
• mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet' — Google Sheets
• mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.presentation' — Google Slides
• mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.folder' — Folders
• modifiedTime > '2026-01-01' — modified after date
• '<folderId>' in parents — files in a specific folder
• trashed = true — trashed files

Getting File Metadata

gog drive get <fileId>

Downloading Files

gog drive download <fileId>                   # Download to default location
gog drive download <fileId> --out=/tmp/file.pdf  # Specify output path

For Google Docs formats, specify export format:

gog drive download <fileId> --format=pdf      # Export Google Doc as PDF
gog drive download <fileId> --format=docx     # Export as Word
gog drive download <fileId> --format=csv      # Export Sheet as CSV
gog drive download <fileId> --format=xlsx     # Export Sheet as Excel
gog drive download <fileId> --format=pptx     # Export Slides as PowerPoint
gog drive download <fileId> --format=txt      # Export as plain text

Uploading Files

Preview with --dry-run first:

gog drive upload /path/to/file.pdf --dry-run
gog drive upload /path/to/file.pdf --parent=<folderId> --dry-run

Key flags:

• --name="custom name" — override filename
• --parent=<folderId> — destination folder
• --replace=<fileId> — replace existing file content (preserves link/permissions)
• --convert — auto-convert to native Google format (e.g., .docx → Google Doc)
• --convert-to=doc|sheet|slides — convert to specific Google format
• --mime-type=<type> — override MIME type

Copying Files

gog drive copy <fileId> "Copy of Document"
gog drive copy <fileId> "Copy of Document" --parent=<folderId>

Creating Folders

gog drive mkdir "New Folder"
gog drive mkdir "Subfolder" --parent=<folderId>

Moving Files

gog drive move <fileId> --to=<folderId> --dry-run

Renaming Files

gog drive rename <fileId> "New Name"

Deleting Files

Always preview with --dry-run first — default moves to trash:

gog drive delete <fileId> --dry-run           # Move to trash (recoverable)
gog drive delete <fileId> --permanent --dry-run  # Permanent delete (irreversible)

Sharing and Permissions

Share a file:

# Share with a specific user
gog drive share <fileId> --to=user [email protected] --role=writer --dry-run

# Share with anyone (link sharing)
gog drive share <fileId> --to=anyone --role=reader --dry-run

# Share with a domain
gog drive share <fileId> --to=domain --domain=example.com --role=reader --dry-run

Roles: reader, writer.

List existing permissions:

gog drive permissions <fileId>

Remove a permission:

gog drive unshare <fileId> <permissionId>

Utilities

Get web URL for a file:

gog drive url <fileId>

List shared drives (Team Drives):

gog drive drives

Manage comments on files:

gog drive comments list <fileId>
gog drive comments create <fileId> --content="Comment text"

Workflow Patterns

Find and Download

1. Search: gog drive search "budget 2026" --json --max=10
2. Extract file ID from JSON output
3. Download: gog drive download <fileId> --out=/tmp/budget.xlsx --format=xlsx

Upload and Share

1. Upload: gog drive upload /path/to/report.pdf --parent=<folderId> --dry-run
2. After confirm, execute without --dry-run
3. Get file ID from output
4. Share: gog drive share <fileId> --to=user [email protected] --role=reader --dry-run
5. After confirm, execute without --dry-run

Organize Files

1. Create folder: gog drive mkdir "Q1 Reports" --parent=<parentFolderId>
2. Get new folder ID from output
3. Move files: gog drive move <fileId> --to=<newFolderId> --dry-run

Safety Rules

• Never delete files (especially --permanent) without --dry-run preview and user confirmation.
• Never share files without --dry-run preview and user confirmation. Sharing can expose sensitive data.
• Never upload with --replace without confirming — this overwrites the existing file content.
• When listing or searching, default to --max=20 to keep output manageable.
• Always resolve file IDs via ls or search before operating. Do not guess file IDs.