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The Drive Android API is deprecated as of December 6, 2018 and will be fully
turned down on February 1, 2023.
Timeline
Date
Drive Android API status
December 6, 2018
Deprecation is publicly announced. Existing clients will be able to
access the API normally, but should immediately commence with migration
efforts. New clients must not use the API.
October 21, 2019
The Drive Android API is removed from the Google Play Services SDK
distribution. Apps will be unable to build until removing the Drive Android
API dependency, but existing builds will be unaffected. The Drive Android
API public documentation will no longer be available.
March 3, 2022
The Drive Android API is deprecated and all API calls are non-operational. Clients must migrate by this date.
February 1, 2023
The Drive Android API will be fully turned down and all connection attempts will be unsuccessful.
Use the Drive REST API
The Drive REST API offers the same functionality as the Drive Android API,
including ways to:
Share and collaborate as you expect from Drive. You can
manage permissions or prompt the Share dialog
to users as needed. The REST API also allows for commenting on files,
allowing your app to interact with the conversation around a file.
To ease client migration efforts, a
sample app is provided which
demonstrates each of the proposed replacements above. It also shows how to
create, modify, and query for a user's Drive files using the REST API. If you
have any issues, check out the
google-drive-api
tag on StackOverflow.
Migration
Since the Drive Android API is deprecated, and all API calls are
non-operational, make sure your app is no longer calling the API. To do this,
remove the code that initializes the API: addApi(Drive.API).
If you don't migrate from the Drive Android API, and your app attempts to call
the API, the following error message is returned:
com.google.android.gms.common.api.ApiException: 17: API: Drive.API is not
available on this device. Connection failed with:
ConnectionResult{statusCode=API_UNAVAILABLE, resolution=null, message=null}
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Migrate from the Google Drive Android API\n\n**The Drive Android API is deprecated as of December 6, 2018 and will be fully\nturned down on February 1, 2023**.\n\nTimeline\n--------\n\n| Date | Drive Android API status |\n|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| December 6, 2018 | Deprecation is [publicly announced](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/application-development/sync-google-drive-files-to-apps-using-the-drive-rest-api-bidding-farewell-to-the-drive-android-api). Existing clients will be able to access the API normally, but should immediately commence with migration efforts. New clients must not use the API. |\n| October 21, 2019 | The Drive Android API is removed from the Google Play Services SDK distribution. Apps will be unable to build until removing the Drive Android API dependency, but existing builds will be unaffected. The Drive Android API public documentation will no longer be available. |\n| March 3, 2022 | The Drive Android API is deprecated and all API calls are non-operational. Clients must migrate by this date. |\n| February 1, 2023 | The Drive Android API will be fully turned down and all connection attempts will be unsuccessful. |\n\nUse the Drive REST API\n----------------------\n\nThe Drive REST API offers the same functionality as the Drive Android API,\nincluding ways to:\n\n- Share and collaborate as you expect from Drive. You can [manage permissions or prompt the Share dialog](/workspace/drive/api/guides/manage-sharing) to users as needed. The REST API also allows for commenting on files, allowing your app to interact with the conversation around a file.\n- Search for files using [`files.list`](/workspace/drive/api/v3/reference/files/list), based on traditional indexing or [your own customized, indexable text](/workspace/drive/api/guides/file).\n- Detect changes to files through the [Changes collection](/workspace/drive/api/v3/reference/changes) and to any shared with the user through [shared drives](/workspace/drive/api/guides/enable-shareddrives).\n- Export and convert Google Docs so that your app can easily [open a user's document](/workspace/drive/api/guides/integrate-open#specific).\n\nTo ease client migration efforts, a\n[sample app](https://github.com/googleworkspace/android-samples/tree/master/drive/deprecation) is provided which\ndemonstrates each of the proposed replacements above. It also shows how to\ncreate, modify, and query for a user's Drive files using the REST API. If you\nhave any issues, check out the\n[google-drive-api](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/google-drive-api?tab=Newest)\ntag on StackOverflow.\n\nMigration\n---------\n\nSince the Drive Android API is deprecated, and all API calls are\nnon-operational, make sure your app is no longer calling the API. To do this,\nremove the code that initializes the API: `addApi(Drive.API)`.\n\nIf you don't migrate from the Drive Android API, and your app attempts to call\nthe API, the following error message is returned:\n\n`com.google.android.gms.common.api.ApiException: 17: API: Drive.API is not\navailable on this device. Connection failed with:\nConnectionResult{statusCode=API_UNAVAILABLE, resolution=null, message=null}`"]]
