How to share a file from Google Drive with more than one user using Google Drive API for python?

Question

I am able to share a file with a given user by:

user_permission = ({
                    'type': 'user',
                    'role': 'writer',
                    'emailAddress': "example@gmail.com",
                   })
service.permissions().create(fileId=fileId,body=user_permission,fields='id').execute()

However, I don't know how to share the file with more than one user.

I have read the documentation in https://developers.google.com/drive/api/v3/reference/permissions/create , and I understand that for more than user the value of the "type" key specified in the body must be "group" instead of "user", but I don't find anywhere how the format of the parameter "emailAddress" should be in this case. I have proved with a list of strings of mails, a string of mails separated by commas or by spaces, but this has given me the following error:

googleapiclient.errors.HttpError: <HttpError 400 when requesting https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/1shxOQlNPqbXT-LwKTDvuwK0m-7IK43cDAWwxmnLgLvQ/permissions?fields=id&emailMessage=This+is+a+test&alt=json returned "The specified emailAddress is invalid or not applicable for the given permission type.". Details: "[{'domain': 'global', 'reason': 'invalid', 'message': 'The specified emailAddress is invalid or not applicable for the given permission type.', 'locationType': 'other', 'location': 'permission.emailAddress'}]">

Answer 1

Issue:

Permission type group does not refer to any combination of different users. It refers to a Google Group .

Solution:

If you want to share a file with multiple users (these users not being a whole domain ) you should create a group with all these users as members.

If you have a Workspace account, you can manage a group programmatically, using Directory API (see Directory API: Groups and Directory API: Group Members ).

In this case, the emailAddress from the request body would the group email:

if type is user or group , you must provide an emailAddress for the user or group

Otherwise, the only option is to share the file individually with the different users, as you are currently doing.

Reference:

• Permission type