# Google Drive

Connect Google Drive to a <Term id="project">project</Term> and its AI can read the spreadsheets, documents, images and map files you choose, bring them into <Term id="nexus">Nexus</Term>, and keep them in step as the folder changes.

Your <Term id="studio">Studio</Term>'s AI prepares the connection; you finish it by signing in with Google.

## Before you start [#before-you-start]

- A project. The connection is made in one project, and its Studio's AI does the work. See [Create a project](/docs/projects/create-a-project).
- A Google account that can open the files you want to bring in. If the files are shared with you, your own account is enough.
- The project's internet access must not be **Off**. **Only allowed** still reaches its connections.

## Connect it [#connect-it]

<Steps>
<Step>
### Open Google Drive [#open-google-drive]
Go to <AppLink to="connectors" />, search for **Google Drive** and open it.
</Step>
<Step>
### Send the request to a project's AI [#send-the-request-to-a-projects-ai]
Under **Connect it with your Studio's AI**, choose the **Project** that should use Google Drive. **What the AI is asked** starts as "Connect Google Drive to this project so it can read files from the folders you choose." Edit it to say exactly what you want, for example: "Read the CSV files in the Sales/2026 folder and load them into a table called sales". Then select **Send to AI**.

The AI starts at once if the Studio is open, or when it next opens. Select **Open Studio** to go there.

<Screenshot src="/docs/_media/connect-data-with-ai-in-dashboard-data-page.png" alt="Connecting Google Drive with a project's AI from the Connectors page" />
</Step>
<Step>
### Finish the connection [#finish-the-connection]
The AI drafts the connection and never asks for a key in the chat. The draft shows as **Waiting for you**. Select **Connect** to open the **Connect Google Drive** dialog.

Choose **Sign in with Google**. The dialog shows the only site this sign-in is used with. Sign in with the Google account that can see the files and approve the access Google asks for. The connection then shows **Signed in as** your account.

Google's file picker then opens. Pick the spreadsheets and documents the AI may open (several at once is fine). The AI reaches only these and files it creates itself.
</Step>
<Step>
### Choose what the AI may do [#choose-what-the-ai-may-do]
Under **What the AI may do with it**, choose **Can read** (nothing there changes) or **Can read and change** (the AI may also add, change and remove things). Then select **Connect**.

<Screenshot src="/docs/_media/slack-connector-how-to-connect-in-ui.png" alt="The Connect Google Drive dialog with the access choice" />
</Step>
<Step>
### Test it and tell the AI [#test-it-and-tell-the-ai]
The dialog says **Google Drive is connected**. Select **Test it**, then **Tell the AI** so it carries on.
</Step>
</Steps>

You can also start inside a project: in **Settings**, **Keys**, describe it in **What do you want to connect?** and select **Ask AI to connect**.

## What you get [#what-you-get]

Ask the AI for what you need:

- **Load once.** "Load the spreadsheet into a table called `budget`." The rows land in a Nexus table you can query in the <AppLink to="data.sql" /> and use in apps.
- **Keep in step.** "Check the folder every morning and add new files to the `sales` table." The AI can build an <Term id="agent">agent</Term> that does this on a schedule. See [What agents do](/docs/agents).
- **Use in an app.** An app in the project can list and open the picked files while it runs.

Tables made from Drive files are ordinary Nexus <Term id="table">tables</Term>: they keep their history, and you control who sees them in [Data access](/docs/data/data-access).

## Test, pause and reconnect [#test-pause-and-reconnect]

A project's connections are listed in its **Settings**, under **Keys**, with their status.

<Screenshot src="/docs/_media/manage-connections-by-toggle-on-off-per-project.png" alt="A project's connections in Settings, Keys" />

| Status | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Waiting for you** | Drafted by the AI. Select **Connect** to finish it. |
| **Works** | Connected and usable by the project. |
| **Needs reconnecting** | The key or sign-in stopped working. Select **Reconnect**. |
| **Paused** | Nobody can use it until you select **Resume**. |

From the same row: **Test**, **Pause**, **Turn off here** (this project stops using it) or **Remove** (deletes the key, and every Studio using it stops reaching Google Drive).

A connection belongs to the project it was made in. Owners and admins see all of them under **Your connections** on <AppLink to="connectors" />. It stays off for other projects until an admin switches it on under **Projects that may use** it.

## If the test fails [#if-the-test-fails]

**Test** reports one of these:

- It works: the project reached the service.
- The key was rejected: select **Reconnect** and enter a new one.
- The service cannot be reached: check that it is up and accepts outside connections, then test again.
- Internet is off: the project's internet is **Off**. Turn it on in its **Settings**. With **Only allowed**, the Studio reaches only its connections and the sites you add.
- It is not connected yet: select **Connect**.

Specific to Google:

- **Limited: permissions were not granted.** Some actions will fail. Select **Reconnect** and approve everything the job needs.
- **Was signed in as an account. Sign in again to keep using it.** A password change or an expired grant ended it. Select **Reconnect**.
- **Signed in. Picking files is not set up here yet, so the AI can only reach files it creates.** The file picker is not available in this place. The connection works, but the AI cannot open your existing files. Upload them instead with [Add data](/docs/data/add-data).

## Use your own sign-in app [#use-your-own-sign-in-app]

If your organization only allows sign-ins through its own registered app, choose **Use your own app instead** in the connect dialog. Register an app with the provider, add the **Return address for your app** Klarety shows, then paste its **Client id** and **Client secret** and select **Save your app**. The secret is sealed and never shown again.

## Where your key goes [#where-your-key-goes]

The key or sign-in is encrypted with a managed key service the moment you select **Connect**, and not even the AI can read it. The Studio never holds the key. If the one site it is sent to is not the service's own address, Klarety warns you and asks you to type the site to confirm.

## Next steps [#next-steps]

- [Google Sheets](/docs/connectors/google-sheets)
- [Add data](/docs/data/add-data)
- [How connectors work](/docs/connectors)
- [All connectors](/docs/connectors/catalog)