Google Drive File Deleter

A Python script to delete all files owned by the authenticated user in Google Drive.

Features

• Deletes all files where the user is the owner in Google Drive
• Progress bar using tqdm
• Detailed logging
• Command-line arguments for configuration
• Automatic token management
• Robust error handling

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6+
• Google Cloud Console project with Drive API enabled
• OAuth 2.0 credentials file

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/google-drive-file-deleter.git
cd google-drive-file-deleter

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Set up Google Drive API:
   • Create a project in Google Cloud Console
   • Enable the Google Drive API
   • Create OAuth 2.0 credentials
   • Download the credentials JSON file and save as credentials.json

📌 How to Get credentials.json for Google API

To authorize access to your Google Drive or Google Photos, you need to create OAuth 2.0 credentials:

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Go to Google Cloud Console

2. Click "Create Project" (if you don’t have one yet)

3. Navigate to APIs & Services → Library

   • Search for and enable Google Drive API or Google Photos Library API, depending on your use case

4. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials

5. Click "+ Create Credentials" → OAuth client ID

6. If prompted to configure the OAuth consent screen:

   • Select External
   • Set an App name (e.g., FileDeleter)
   • Save and continue — no need to publish

7. Back on the Create OAuth client ID screen:

   • Choose Desktop App
   • Name it (e.g., MyFileDeleterApp)
   • Click "Create", then "Download JSON"

8. Rename the downloaded file to credentials.json and place it in your script directory.

⚠️ This file contains sensitive credentials — keep it private and secure.

Usage

Basic usage:

python delete_drive_files.py

With custom options:

python delete_drive_files.py --credentials my_credentials.json --token my_token.pkl --page-size 500

Options:

• --credentials: Path to Google API credentials file (default: credentials.json)
• --token: Path to token file (default: token.pkl)
• --page-size: Number of files to fetch per API call (default: 1000)

First Run

1. Run the script
2. Browser will open for authentication
3. Grant necessary permissions
4. Token will be saved for future runs

Important Notes

• WARNING: This script permanently deletes files owned by the user. Use with caution!
• Only files where the user is listed as an owner are deleted
• Deleted files are moved to Trash and can be recovered within 30 days
• Ensure you have backups before running
• Google Drive API has rate limits; adjust --page-size if needed

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss proposed changes.