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The Google Drive feed connects an index to a user’s Google Drive through delegated OAuth. After connecting, Circuit imports the files and folders you pick and keeps them in sync as they change.

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What you can do

  • Sync specific files or folders: Use Google’s Drive picker to choose exactly what enters the index. Files outside the selection are not imported.
  • Sync from My Drive and shared drives: Both your personal My Drive and any shared drives you are a member of are available in the picker.
  • Include files shared with you: Files and folders other people have shared with your Google account are also pickable.
  • Stay in sync automatically: Circuit re-checks the source periodically. Updates and deletions are mirrored to the index.

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Before you start

  • A Google account (personal or Google Workspace) with access to the files you want to sync.
  • For organizations using Google Workspace with restrictions on third-party apps, your Workspace administrator may need to approve Circuit in advance. See For IT and security teams below.
  • An index in Circuit where the Drive files should live. See Indexes if you need to create one.

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Connect Google Drive

1

Open the index's Integrations tab

In Circuit, open the index that should receive the Drive files, then choose Integrations > New integration.
2

Choose Import from Google Drive

Select Import from Google Drive. Circuit redirects you to Google’s sign-in page.
3

Sign in to Google

Sign in with the Google account that owns or has access to the files you want to sync. If you have multiple Google accounts, pick carefully: Circuit can only see files that account can see.
4

Review and consent to the requested permissions

Google shows a consent screen listing the Drive scopes Circuit requests. Review them (see What Circuit accesses below) and click Continue.
5

Pick what to sync

After consent, Circuit opens Google’s Drive picker. Switch between My Drive, Shared drives, and Shared with me to find what you want. Select the files and folders that should be imported into the index. Content outside the selected items is never accessed.
6

Start the import

Click Select. Circuit imports the chosen content. Depending on volume, the initial import takes a few minutes to a few hours. Subsequent updates run in the background.

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What Circuit accesses

Circuit requests the following Google OAuth scopes: 
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
ScopeWhy Circuit needs it
drive.readonlyView and download files in Drive that your account can access, including My Drive, shared drives you belong to, and files shared with you. This is the scope that lets Circuit import the documents you pick.
The OAuth flow always issues a refresh token alongside the access token, so Circuit can keep the feed in sync in the background without asking you to reauthenticate.
Circuit only reads from the files and folders you select in the picker. Files outside the selected scope are not imported, even though the granted scope technically allows broader access.

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My Drive versus shared drives

Two things commonly trip people up:
  • Shared drives: Files in a shared drive are only visible to your account if you are a member of that drive. If a shared drive is missing from the picker, ask its manager to add you as a member, then reconnect.
  • Shared with me: Files that someone shared with your account, but that live in another user’s My Drive, are pickable under Shared with me. If sharing is revoked later, Circuit loses access to those files on the next sync cycle.
If your organization has multiple Google Workspace domains, only files visible to the account you connect with are accessible. To sync content from another account, connect a second Google Drive feed.

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For IT and security teams

The Google Drive feed authenticates through a single Circuit-published OAuth application registered with Google. Each user authorizes the app individually, with consent constrained by your Workspace’s app access controls. Workspace administrators can restrict which third-party OAuth apps access Drive data. If your Workspace marks all unconfigured apps as Blocked, users will be unable to complete the Circuit connection until an admin approves the app. See Approving Circuit in Google Workspace for the full walkthrough. For broader cross-integration security details, see Integration security and admin consent.

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Disconnect or rotate access

  • From Circuit: open the index’s Integrations tab, select the Google Drive feed, and click Remove. Circuit deletes the stored refresh token and stops syncing. Already-imported documents stay in the index until you delete them.
  • From Google: at myaccount.google.com/permissions, find Circuit and click Remove access. Circuit will lose access on the next sync attempt.
  • Workspace-wide revocation: a Workspace admin can change Circuit’s status to Blocked in the API controls, which prevents any user in the workspace from completing the OAuth flow.

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Troubleshooting

You are not a member of the shared drive. Ask the drive’s manager to add you, then reconnect. Membership is checked on every sync, so removing a user from a shared drive also removes Circuit’s access to those files.
The original owner unshared the file or deleted it. Circuit removes content from the index when the source is no longer accessible.
The refresh token is invalidated. Open the feed in Circuit and click Reconnect.
Updates are picked up on the next sync cycle, usually within a few hours. If the file remains out of date for longer, force a re-sync from the feed’s settings.

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Reference

  • OAuth flow: Google OAuth 2.0, authorization code
  • Scopes requested: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
  • Redirect URI: https://app.circuit.ai/api/google-oauth
  • Application name shown on consent screen: Circuit
  • Google’s own docs: Drive API auth overview, OAuth 2.0 scopes for Google APIs