GDriveFS is an innovative FUSE wrapper for Google Drive. It is Python 2/3 compatible.
Latest Changes
- Though you can still use the previous authorization flow, there is now a very simple authorization flow that may be used instead by using the 'auth_automatic' subcommand on the 'gdfstool'. Whe you run this command, the browser will automatically be opened, you may or may not be prompted for authorization by Google, a redirection will occur, and we will then automatically record the authorization code. GDFS will temporarily open a small webserver on a random port in order to receive the response. This effectively makes authorization a one-step process for the user. See below for more details.
- There is now a default file-path for the credentials ("auth storage file"). Just use "default" and "$HOME/.gdfs/creds" will be the file-path used. See below for more details.
- The 'auth' subcommand on the 'gdfstool' command is now obsolete. Though you may continue to use this subcommand, please start using the 'auth_get_url' and 'auth_write' subcommands as this subcommand will be removed in the future.
Installation
In order to install his, we're going to use PIP (to access PyPI). Under Ubuntu, this is done via:
$ sudo apt-get install python-pip
You'll also need to equip your system to perform builds in order to install some of the dependencies. Under Ubuntu, this is done via:
$ sudo apt-get install build-essential python-dev
Now, to install GDriveFS:
$ sudo pip install gdrivefs
Usage
Important
If you wish to mount your Google Drive account at bootup, we recommend that you wrap it as a service. If you list it in /etc/fstab, you have bootup issues since your networking system may not be active when your filesystems are mounted unless you have deliberately configured the order in order to give you a guarantee.
Overview
Before you can mount the account, you must authorize GDriveFS to access it. GDriveFS works by producing a URL that you must visit in a browser. Google will ask for your log-in information and authorization, and then give you an authorization code. You then pass this code back to the GDriveFS utility along with a file-path of where you want it to store the authorization information ("auth storage file" or "credentials file"). Then, you can mount it whenever you'd like.
Since this is FUSE, you must be running as root or under the right group to mount.
Credentials File
Also referred to as the "auth storage" file.
In previous versions, you were required to provide a file-path to write and read the authorization code to. There is now a default ($HOME/.gdfs/creds). Just literally use the string "default" whereever the credentials file-path is required in order to use this default file-path.
Automatic Authorization Flow
There is now a simplified flow that will automatically open the system Web browser, do any authentication necessary, and automatically write the authorization-code to disk:
$ gdfstool auth_automatic Authorization code recorded. $ gdfs default /mnt/gdrivefs
This automatic flow will require GDFS to temporarily start a small, internal webserver on the first available port.
Manual Authorization Flow
If you need to manually get the URL, browse to it, get the authorization code, and then call the 'auth_write' subcommand to store it:
To get an authorization URL:
$ gdfstool auth_get_url To authorize FUSE to use your Google Drive account, visit the following URL to produce an authorization code: https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?scope=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fdrive+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fdrive.file&redirect_uri=urn%3Aietf%3Awg%3Aoauth%3A2.0%3Aoob&response_type=code&client_id=626378760250.apps.googleusercontent.com&access_type=offline
To set the authorization-code, you must also provide the auth-storage file that you would like to save it as. The name and location of this file is arbitrary:
$ gdfstool auth_write "4/WUsOa-Sm2RhgQtf9_NFAMMbRC.cj4LQYdXfshQV0ieZDAqA-C7ecwI" Authorization code recorded.
Mounting
Once you're ready to mount:
$ gdfs -o allow_other default /mnt/gdrivefs
Optimization
By default, FUSE uses a very conservative block-size. On systems that support it, you may elect to use the "big_writes" option. This may dramatically increase the block-size (which improves the speed of transfers). There doesn't appear to be any authoritative documentation as to what systems support it or what the improvements might be, but, so far, it seems like Linux supports it, OSX doesn't, and FUSE will go from using 4K blocks to using 64K blocks.
To use this, pass "big_writes" in the "-o" option-string:
$ sudo gdfs -o big_writes /home/user/.gdfs/creds /mnt/gdrivefs
Vagrant
A Vagrantfile has been made available in the event that you would like to mount your account from a system that isn't FUSE compatible (like a Mac) or you are having issues installing GDriveFS somewhere else and would like to debug.
To install Vagrant:
$ sudo apt-get install vagrant
To start and provision the instance:
$ cd gdrivefs/vagrant
$ vagrant up
Bringing machine 'default' up with 'virtualbox' provider...
==> default: Importing base box 'ubuntu/trusty64'...
==> default: Matching MAC address for NAT networking...
==> default: Checking if box 'ubuntu/trusty64' is up to date...
==> default: Setting the name of the VM: vagrant_default_1413437502948_22866
==> default: Clearing any previously set forwarded ports...
==> default: Clearing any previously set network interfaces...
==> default: Preparing network interfaces based on configuration...
default: Adapter 1: nat
==> default: Forwarding ports...
...
==> default: Using /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages
==> default: Finished processing dependencies for gdrivefs==0.13.14
==> default: To authorize FUSE to use your Google Drive account, visit the following URL to produce an authorization code:
==> default:
==> default: https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?scope=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fdrive+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fdrive.file&redirect_uri=urn%3Aietf%3Awg%3Aoauth%3A2.0%3Aoob&response_type=code&client_id=1056816309698.apps.googleusercontent.com&access_type=offline
==> default:
==> default: Once you have retrieved your authorization string, run:
==> default:
==> default: sudo gdfstool auth_write <authcode>
==> default:
This may take a few more minutes the first time, as it might need to acquire the Ubuntu 14.04 image if not already available.
To log into the guest instance:
$ vagrant ssh
The GDFS source directory will be mounted at /gdrivefs, and the scripts will be in the path.
If you're familiar with Vagrant, you can copy the Vagrantfile and modify it to mount an additional path from the host system in the guest instance, and then use this to access your files from an incompatible system.
Developing/Debugging
Mounting GDFS in debugging-mode will run GDFS in the foreground, and enable debug-logging.
Just set the GD_DEBUG environment variable to "1":
root@vagrant-ubuntu-trusty-64:/home/vagrant# GD_DEBUG=1 gdfs /home/user/.gdfs/creds /mnt/g 2014-12-09 04:09:17,204 [gdrivefs.utility INFO] No mime-mapping was found. 2014-12-09 04:09:17,204 [gdrivefs.utility INFO] No extension-mapping was found. 2014-12-09 04:09:17,258 [__main__ DEBUG] Mounting GD with creds at [/home/user/.gdfs/creds]: /mnt/g 2014-12-09 04:09:17,259 [root DEBUG] Debug: True 2014-12-09 04:09:17,260 [root DEBUG] PERMS: F=777 E=666 NE=444 2014-12-09 04:09:17,262 [gdrivefs.drive DEBUG] Getting authorized HTTP tunnel. 2014-12-09 04:09:17,262 [gdrivefs.drive DEBUG] Got authorized tunnel. FUSE library version: 2.9.2 nullpath_ok: 0 nopath: 0 utime_omit_ok: 0 unique: 1, opcode: INIT (26), nodeid: 0, insize: 56, pid: 0 INIT: 7.22 flags=0x0000f7fb max_readahead=0x00020000 2014-12-09 04:09:22,839 [gdrivefs.fsutility DEBUG] -------------------------------------------------- 2014-12-09 04:09:22,841 [gdrivefs.fsutility DEBUG] >>>>>>>>>> init(23) >>>>>>>>>> (0) 2014-12-09 04:09:22,841 [gdrivefs.fsutility DEBUG] DATA: path= [/] 2014-12-09 04:09:22,842 [gdrivefs.gdfuse INFO] Activating change-monitor. 2014-12-09 04:09:23,002 [gdrivefs.fsutility DEBUG] <<<<<<<<<< init(23) (0) INIT: 7.19 flags=0x00000011
Troubleshooting Steps
If your setuptools package is too old, you might see the following [annoying] error:
error: option --single-version-externally-managed not recognized
See What does βerror: option --single-version-externally-managed not recognizedβ indicate?.
Apparently, the solution is to make sure that you have a healthy copy of Distribute and to, then, uninstall setuptools. However, this doesn't seem to [always] work. You might prefer to use the "easy_install" method, below.
If you see an error about antlr-python-runtime, try the following to install gdrivefs:
$ sudo pip install --allow-unverified antlr-python-runtime --allow-external antlr-python-runtime gdrivefs
Options
Any of the configuration values in the conf.Conf module can be overwritten as "-o" options. You may pass the full array of FUSE options this way, as well.
Format Management
Google Drive will store Google Document files without a standard format. If you wish to download them, you have to select which format you'd like to download it as. One of the more exciting features of this FUSE implementation is the flexibility in choosing which format to download on the fly. See the section below labeled "Displaceables".
If a mime-type isn't provided when requesting a file that requires a mime-type in order to download, GDFS will make a guess based on whether the extension in the filename (if one exists) can be mapped to a mime-type that is available among the export-types provided by GD for that specific file.
The following is an example directory-listing:
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 0 Feb 17 07:52 20130217-145200 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 0 Feb 17 08:04 20130217-150358 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 358356 Feb 15 15:06 American-Pika-with-Food.jpg -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1000 Oct 25 03:53 Dear Biola.docx# -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1000 Oct 25 02:47 Dear Biola.docx (1)# -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1000 Oct 15 14:29 Reflection.docx# -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1536036 Nov 28 22:37 lotterynumbers01.png drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Oct 4 06:08 Scratchpad# drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Dec 1 19:21 testdir_1421# -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 5 Dec 2 08:50 testfile_0350 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 0 Dec 2 21:17 .testfile_0417.swp -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 0 Dec 3 00:38 testfile_1937 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 0 Dec 2 23:13 testfile_hidden_1812 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1000 Oct 4 02:13 Untitled document#
Notice the following features:
- Manages duplicates by appending index numbers (e.g. "<filename> (2)").
- Mtimes, permissions, and ownership are correct.
- Sizes are zero for file-types that Google hosts free of charge. These are always the files that don't have a strict, default format (the length is unknown).
- Hidden files are prefixed with ".", thus hiding them from normal listings.
- "Trashed" files are excluded from listings.
- Any file that will require a mime-type in order to be downloaded has a "#" as the last character of its filename.
Displaceables
Google Documents stores all of its data on Google Drive. Google will store these files in an agnostic file entry whose format will not be determined until you download it in a specific format. Because the file is not stored in a particular format, it doesn't have a size. Because it doesn't have a size, the OS will not issue reads for more than (0) bytes.
To get around this, a read of these types of files will only return exactly 1000 bytes of JSON-encoded "stub data".. Information about the entry, including the file-path that we've stored it to.
This example also shows how we've specified a mime-type in order to get a PDF version of a Google Document file:
$ cp Copy\ of\ Dear\ Biola.docx#application+pdf /target $ cat /tmp/Copy\ of\ Dear\ Biola.docx#application+pdf
Something like the following will be displayed:
{"ImageMediaMetadata": null,
"Length": 58484,
"FilePath": "/tmp/gdrivefs/displaced/Copy of Dear Biola.docx.application+pdf",
"EntryId": "1Ih5yvXiNN588EruqrzBv_RBvsKbEvcyquStaJuTZ1mQ",
"Title": "Copy of Dear Biola.docx",
"RequiresMimeType": true,
"Labels": {"restricted": false,
"starred": false,
"viewed": true,
"hidden": false,
"trashed": false},
"OriginalMimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.document",
"ExportTypes": ["text/html",
"application/pdf",
"application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
"application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text",
"application/rtf", "text/plain"],
"FinalMimeType": "application/pdf"}
From this, you can tell that the file was originally a Google Documents mimetype, and now its a PDF mime-type. You can also see various flags, as well as the location that the actual, requested file was stored to.
Cache/Change Management
A cache of both the file/folder entries is maintained, as well as a knowledge of file/folder relationships. However, updates are performed every few seconds using GD's "change" functionality.
Permissions
The default UID/GID of files is that of the current user. The default permissions (modes) are the following:
| Entry Type | Perm |
|---|---|
| Folder | 777 |
| Editable file | 666 |
| Non-editable file | 444 |
Whether or not a file is "editable" is [obviously] an attribute reported by Google Drive.
These settings can be overridden via the "-o" comma-separated set of command-line options. See below.
Permission-Related Options
Related Standard FUSE
These options change the behavior at the FUSE level (above GDFS). See "man mount.fuse" for all options.
| Option | Description |
| umask=M | Prescribe the umask value for -all- entries. |
| uid=N | Change the default UID. |
| gid=N | Change the default GID. |
| allow_other | Allow other users access. |
| default_permissions | Enforce the permission modes (off, by default) |
GDFS-Specific
| Option | Description |
| default_perm_folder=nnn | Default mode for folders. |
| default_perm_file_noneditable=nnn | Default mode for non-editable files. |
| default_perm_file_editable=nnn | Default mode for editable files (see above). |
Example:
allow_other,default_permissions,default_perm_folder=770,default_perm_file_noneditable=440,default_perm_file_editable=660
Extended Attributes
Extended attributes allow access to arbitrary, filesystem-specific data. You may access any of the properties that Google Drive provides for a given entry, plus a handful of extra ones.
Listing attributes:
$ getfattr American-Pika-with-Food.jpg # file: American-Pika-with-Food.jpg user.extra.download_types user.extra.is_directory user.extra.is_visible user.extra.parents user.original.alternateLink user.original.createdDate user.original.downloadUrl user.original.editable user.original.etag user.original.fileExtension user.original.fileSize user.original.iconLink user.original.id user.original.imageMediaMetadata user.original.kind user.original.labels user.original.lastModifyingUser user.original.lastModifyingUserName user.original.md5Checksum user.original.mimeType user.original.modifiedByMeDate user.original.modifiedDate user.original.originalFilename user.original.ownerNames user.original.owners user.original.parents user.original.quotaBytesUsed user.original.selfLink user.original.shared user.original.thumbnailLink user.original.title user.original.userPermission user.original.webContentLink user.original.writersCanShare
Getting specific attribute:
$ getfattr --only-values -n user.original.id American-Pika-with-Food.jpg 0B5Ft2OXeDBqSSGFIanJ2Z2c3RWs $ getfattr --only-values -n user.original.modifiedDate American-Pika-with-Food.jpg 2013-02-15T15:06:09.691Z $ getfattr --only-values -n user.original.labels American-Pika-with-Food.jpg K(restricted)=V(False); K(starred)=V(False); K(viewed)=V(False); K(hidden)=V(False); K(trashed)=V(False)
This used to be rendered as JSON, but since the xattr utilities add their own quotes/etc.., it was more difficult to make sense of the values.
Misc Notes
- A file will be marked as hidden on Google Drive if it has a prefixing dot. However, Linux/Unix doesn't care about the "hidden" attribute. If you create a file on Google Drive, somewhere else, and want it to truly be hidden via this software, make sure you add the prefixing dot.
- If you have a need to do a developer install, use "pip install -e" rather than "python setup.py develop". The latter will [now] break because of the dependencies that are eggs.