---
name: "google_drive_read"
area: "googleworkspace"
title: "Read a Google Drive file"
price: "free"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/google_drive_read"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/googleworkspace"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_drive_read"
---

# Read a Google Drive file (`google_drive_read`)

A Drive file's words: Docs, Sheets, Slides, text, PDF or Office, up to 5 MB.

A file's words, up to 5 MB: Google Docs, Sheets (as CSV) and Slides, text, PDF and Office files; files are read in a separate, capped process. Free.

Price: Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month for the whole account, then $0.50 per 10,000 reads. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

A search found the document and the agent needs what it says.

## Say this to your agent

> What does the returns policy Doc in Drive say about ridden bikes?

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `mailbox` | string | no | One of the mailboxes the agent may act as; optional when only one is connected. Up to 254 characters. |  |  |
| `file_id` | string | yes | 1 to 200 characters. |  |  |

## Example

Written for Halverson Cycle & Repair, a bike shop with a repair workshop in Portland, Oregon.

MCP: call `google_drive_read` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/googleworkspace` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "mailbox": "support@halversoncycle.example",
  "file_id": "1Kq3xYvA8bFzN2wL6pTq9RmJc0dUe4HsV"
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/google_drive_read \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mailbox": "support@halversoncycle.example", "file_id": "1Kq3xYvA8bFzN2wL6pTq9RmJc0dUe4HsV"}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "google_drive_read",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.00",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "mailbox": "support@halversoncycle.example",
    "file": {
      "id": "1Kq3xYvA8bFzN2wL6pTq9RmJc0dUe4HsV",
      "name": "Returns policy",
      "size": null,
      "folder": false,
      "type": "application/vnd.google-apps.document",
      "modified_at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
      "link": "https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kq3xYvA8bFzN2wL6pTq9RmJc0dUe4HsV/edit",
      "text": "Returns policy\r\n\r\nBikes can be returned within 30 days, unridden and with every part."
    }
  }
}
```

`result`: mailbox; file: id, name, size, type, modified_at, link and text.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_connected` | 409 | Google Workspace isn't connected yet. | Connect it with google_connect. |
| `not_allowed` | 403 | The mailbox is not one the agent may act as. | Use a connected mailbox; the owner adds one by connecting again. |
| `not_found` | 404 | Google Workspace has no such message, event or file. | Search first and use its id. |
| `too_large` | 413 | The file is over 5 MB. | Open it at its link. |
| `unsupported_type` | 400 | The file is not one Conecto reads. | Open it at its link. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [google_connect](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_connect.md): Connects the company's Google Workspace through its own service account, for the mailboxes the agent may act as. Free.
- [google_mail_search](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_mail_search.md): The newest messages in a mailbox, or those matching a Gmail search. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_mail_read](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_mail_read.md): One message in full, with its body as text and its attachments' names. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_mail_send](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_mail_send.md): Sends an email, or a reply in the same thread, as one of the company's mailboxes. $0.001 a call.
- [google_calendar_events](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_calendar_events.md): The events in a mailbox's calendar between two times, in UTC. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_calendar_create](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_calendar_create.md): Adds an event to a mailbox's calendar and invites its attendees, with a Meet link if asked. $0.001 a call.
- [google_calendar_cancel](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_calendar_cancel.md): Cancels an event and tells its attendees; waits for the owner by default. $0.001 a call.
- [google_drive_search](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_drive_search.md): Files in a mailbox user's Drive, shared drives included, whose words match. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_drive_upload](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_drive_upload.md): Writes a text file into a Drive folder; replacing one waits for the owner. $0.001 a call.
- [google_disconnect](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_disconnect.md): Forgets the service account's key and the mailboxes; nothing in Google Workspace changes. Free.