If you provide the URL parameter alt=media, then the response includes the file contents in the response body. Downloading content with alt=media only works if the file is stored in Drive. To download Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides use files.export instead. For more information, see Download & export files.
HTTP request
GET https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v2/files/{fileId}
Whether the user is acknowledging the risk of downloading known malware or other abusive files. This is only applicable when the alt parameter is set to media and the user is the owner of the file or an organizer of the shared drive in which the file resides.
[[["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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-04-03 UTC."],[],[],null,["- [HTTP request](#body.HTTP_TEMPLATE)\n- [Path parameters](#body.PATH_PARAMETERS)\n- [Query parameters](#body.QUERY_PARAMETERS)\n- [Request body](#body.request_body)\n- [Response body](#body.response_body)\n- [Authorization scopes](#body.aspect)\n- [Try it!](#try-it)\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nGets a file's metadata or content by ID.\n\nIf you provide the URL parameter `alt=media`, then the response includes the file contents in the response body. Downloading content with `alt=media` only works if the file is stored in Drive. To download Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides use [`files.export`](/workspace/drive/api/reference/rest/v2/files/export) instead. For more information, see [Download \\& export files](/workspace/drive/api/guides/manage-downloads).\n\nHTTP request\n\n`GET https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v2/files/{fileId}`\n\nThe URL uses [gRPC Transcoding](https://google.aip.dev/127) syntax.\n\nPath parameters\n\n| Parameters ||\n|----------|-------------------------------------------|\n| `fileId` | `string` The ID for the file in question. |\n\nQuery parameters\n\n| Parameters ||\n|---------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `acknowledgeAbuse` | `boolean` Whether the user is acknowledging the risk of downloading known malware or other abusive files. This is only applicable when the `alt` parameter is set to `media` and the user is the owner of the file or an organizer of the shared drive in which the file resides. |\n| `projection` **(deprecated)** | `enum (`[Projection](/workspace/drive/api/reference/rest/v2/Projection)`)` Deprecated: This parameter has no function. |\n| `revisionId` | `string` Specifies the Revision ID that should be downloaded. Ignored unless alt=media is specified. |\n| `supportsAllDrives` | `boolean` Whether the requesting application supports both My Drives and shared drives. |\n| `supportsTeamDrives` **(deprecated)** | `boolean` Deprecated: Use `supportsAllDrives` instead. |\n| `updateViewedDate` **(deprecated)** | `boolean` Deprecated: Use `files.update` with `modifiedDateBehavior=noChange, updateViewedDate=true` and an empty request body. |\n| `includePermissionsForView` | `string` Specifies which additional view's permissions to include in the response. Only `published` is supported. |\n| `includeLabels` | `string` A comma-separated list of IDs of labels to include in the `labelInfo` part of the response. |\n\nRequest body\n\nThe request body must be empty.\n\nResponse body\n\nIf successful, the response body contains an instance of [File](/workspace/drive/api/reference/rest/v2/files#File).\n\nAuthorization scopes\n\nRequires one of the following OAuth scopes:\n\n- `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/docs`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.appdata`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.meet.readonly`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.metadata`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.metadata.readonly`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.photos.readonly`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly`\n\nSome scopes are restricted and require a security assessment for your app to use them. For more information, see the [Authorization guide](/workspace/guides/configure-oauth-consent)."]]
