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Google Drive ACTION

Download File

Download one or more files from Google Drive to the /tmp directory or return their contents as buffers. Select multiple files to download a batch in a single run. Use to fetch a file's contents for processing in downstream steps — e.g., parsing a CSV, extracting text from a PDF, or re-uploading to another service. For Google Workspace files (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Apps Script), exports to an Office-compatible format by default: Docs → .docx, Sheets → .xlsx, Slides → .pptx, Drawings → PNG, Apps Script → JSON. Pass mimeType to force a specific format. Shortcuts are resolved to their target automatically. Folders, Forms, and My Maps cannot be downloaded via this action. See the documentation
  • Action
  • Writes data
  • OAuth
  • SDK
  • MCP

IMPLEMENTATION

Call this tool

Connect a user's Google Drive account once, then configure and run Download File from your backend or agent.

import { PipedreamClient } from "@pipedream/sdk"

const pd = new PipedreamClient({
  projectId: process.env.PIPEDREAM_PROJECT_ID!,
  clientId: process.env.PIPEDREAM_CLIENT_ID!,
  clientSecret: process.env.PIPEDREAM_CLIENT_SECRET!,
  projectEnvironment: "production",
})

const result = await pd.actions.run({
  id: "google_drive-download-file",
  externalUserId: "{external_user_id}", // any stable ID for this user in your system
  configuredProps: {
    google_drive: { authProvisionId: "apn_xxxxxxx" },
    drive: "Drive",
    fileIds: ["Files"],
  },
})

console.log(result)

SCHEMA

Inputs

Pipedream supplies the connected account. Your application provides the operation-specific values below. Dynamic inputs are resolved against that user's account.

Download File inputs
Property Type Description
drive Drive string
The shared drive the file is in, if any. Leave empty for files in My Drive.
Optional Dynamic
fileIds Files string[]
The Google Drive file(s) to download. Select one or more files to download a batch in a single run. Accepts file IDs (opaque Drive identifiers). Shortcuts are resolved to their target automatically.
Optional Dynamic
fileId File string
A single Google Drive file to download. Kept for backwards compatibility — prefer Files for new configurations. If both are set, this file is included alongside the ones in Files.
Optional Dynamic
filePath Destination File Path string
The destination file name or path in the /tmp directory (e.g., /tmp/myFile.csv). Defaults to /tmp/<file name> if omitted. Note: if you set this for a Google Workspace file, the extension you choose should match the Conversion Format; otherwise the file contents may not match the extension.
Optional
mimeType Conversion Format string
The format to which to convert the downloaded file if it is a Google Workspace document. If omitted, defaults per source type: Docs → .docx, Sheets → .xlsx, Slides → .pptx, Drawings → PNG, Apps Script → JSON.
Optional Dynamic
syncDir SyncDir dir
Optional
getBufferResponse Get Buffer Response boolean
If true, returns the file content as a buffer in the output (useful for passing directly to another step) instead of writing it to /tmp. Defaults to false.
Optional

REFERENCE

Tool details

Behavior hints are published with the component in the Pipedream registry and surface as MCP tool annotations, so an agent can reason about a tool before it calls it.

Registry key
google_drive-download-file
Version
0.2.2
App
Google Drive
Authentication
OAuth
Read-only
No
Destructive
No
Open world
Yes