Skip to main content
New Vectors only

Overview

Google Drive is Google’s cloud file storage. Datazone signs in with a Google Cloud service account and indexes the documents in the folders and shared drives you share with it into a Vector. Access is read-only (drive.readonly scope).
Google Drive sources hold documents, not tables. They are used by Vectors only — they have no extracts and no schema to infer.

Prerequisites

Create a service account, enable the Google Drive API, and share the content you want to index with the service account. See How to get the credentials below.

Connection Parameters

Set on the source when you create it. Names match the API and CLI payload.
string
required
Name — a unique identifier for your Google Drive source.
string
required
Service Account Key JSON — the full contents of the service account’s JSON key file. Stored encrypted.

How to get the credentials

1

Create or pick a Google Cloud project

In the Google Cloud console, select a project or create a new one.
2

Enable the Google Drive API

Go to APIs & Services → Library, search for Google Drive API, and click Enable.
3

Create a service account

Go to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts → Create service account. Give it a name such as datazone-drive. It needs no project roles.
4

Create a JSON key

Open the service account, go to Keys → Add key → Create new key → JSON. A .json file is downloaded. Paste its entire contents into Service Account Key JSON in Datazone.
5

Share your content with the service account

Copy the service account’s email (it looks like datazone-drive@my-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com) and share with it, as Viewer:
  • a folder or file in My Drive: right-click → Share, or
  • a shared drive: Manage members → add the email.
The key file grants access to everything shared with the service account. Treat it like a password, and don’t commit it to a repository. If your organization blocks service account key creation (the iam.disableServiceAccountKeyCreation policy), ask a Google Cloud admin to allow it for your project.

Using the source in a Vector

When you create a Vector, choose a connected source as the data source, then pick a path. The vector stores them as source and source_path, and both must be set together. The top level contains the shared drives the service account belongs to and the items shared with it. A path is the folder names joined by /: The path picker in the Datazone UI lets you browse the folders instead of typing the path.

Limitations

  • Only content shared with the service account is visible. A folder that is not shared will give not found or not shared with the service account.
  • Subfolders are indexed recursively.
  • Supported file types: PDF, CSV, DOCX, XLSX, XLS, MD, TXT. Other files are skipped.
  • Google Docs are exported to DOCX and Google Sheets to XLSX before indexing. Other Google-native files, such as Slides, are skipped.
  • Names must match exactly. If two folders at the same level share a name, the first one found is used.

Troubleshooting