Google Drive Trigger

Starts workflow execution when files are added or modified in a Google Drive folder.

Overview

The Google Drive Trigger monitors a Drive folder and runs your workflow when:

• New files are added
• Existing files are modified

Use it to automatically process incoming documents, spreadsheets, or images.

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Required
Credential	Google account to use for monitoring	Yes
Folder URL	Google Drive folder to watch	Yes
Query String	Optional filter for file types/names	No
Poll Interval	How often to check for changes (minutes)	Yes
Limit	Maximum files to process per trigger (1-100)	Yes

Query String

Filter which files trigger the workflow using Google Drive query syntax:

Example	Description
name contains 'invoice'	Files with "invoice" in the name
mimeType = 'application/pdf'	PDF files only
mimeType = 'application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet'	Google Sheets only
modifiedTime > '2024-01-01'	Files modified after a date

Combine with and:

name contains 'report' and mimeType = 'application/pdf'

Poll Interval

The minimum poll interval is 1 minute. The trigger checks for new or modified files at this frequency. Default is 5 minutes.

Limit

Controls how many files are processed per trigger execution. Default is 5, maximum is 100.

Output

For each new/modified file, the trigger outputs an item with file data:

{
  "file": {
    "type": "fileData",
    "name": "Invoice-001.pdf",
    "mimeType": "application/pdf",
    "size": "125000",
    "modifiedTime": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
    "fileInfo": {
      "type": "googleDrive",
      "credentialId": "...",
      "fileUrl": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/..."
    }
  }
}

Access file properties in expressions:

• File object: {{$item.file}}
• File name: {{$item.file.name}}
• MIME type: {{$item.file.mimeType}}
• File size: {{$item.file.size}}
• Modified time: {{$item.file.modifiedTime}}
• Drive URL: {{$item.file.fileInfo.fileUrl}}

Reference from a downstream node:

• File object: {{$("Google Drive Trigger").item.file}}
• File name: {{$("Google Drive Trigger").item.file.name}}

Settings

Setting	Description
Starting point	Date to start monitoring from
Retry failed items	Re-process items that failed
No retry after node	Stop retrying after specific node

Examples

Process New PDFs

Monitor for PDF uploads:

• Folder URL: Your intake folder
• Query String: mimeType = 'application/pdf'
• Poll Interval: 5 minutes
• Limit: 10

Watch for Spreadsheet Updates

Track changes to Excel files:

• Folder URL: Your reports folder
• Query String: mimeType = 'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet'
• Poll Interval: 10 minutes

Filter by Name Pattern

Only process files with specific naming:

• Query String: name contains 'Q1' and name contains '2024'

Authentication

This node requires a connected Google account with access to the monitored folder. Configure credentials in your workspace settings.

Tips

• Files are tracked by ID—renaming a file won't re-trigger the workflow
• Modified files will trigger again, even if already processed
• Use specific queries to avoid processing unwanted files
• The trigger processes files in the order Drive returns them
• Adjust poll interval based on how quickly you need to process new files
• Use the Limit parameter to control batch sizes