Triggers & Inputs

Cloud Storage Nodes Reference

Technical reference for Google Drive watcher, Google Drive upload/download actions, and the current Dropbox implementation status.

Updated 3 min read

Overview

This page covers the cloud-storage nodes:

  • trigger: Google Drive watcher
  • googleDrive: Google Drive upload/download action
  • dropbox: placeholder action node

All of them are OAuth-backed and rely on server-side execution for real file access.

Configuration / Settings

NodeSettingTypeRequiredDetails
triggerGoogle account / connectionIdstringYesRequired to watch a Drive folder.
triggerWatched folder / folderIdstringYesOnly direct children are reliably watched in the current implementation.
triggerallowedExtensionscomma-separated stringNoFilters new files by extension.
triggerrecursivebooleanNoPresent in the UI, but current watcher logic is still effectively direct-child only for folder-scoped watches.
googleDrivemodedownload or uploadNoDefaults to download.
googleDrivefileIdstringRequired for downloadPicks the Drive file to fetch.
googleDrivefolderIdstringOptional for uploadUpload target. Empty means Drive root.
dropboxconnection settingsstringN/AThe node exists, but executor support is still incomplete.

Inputs Expected

  • trigger receives Drive change events from the watcher service and downloads the changed file before passing it downstream.
  • googleDrive in download mode does not require upstream input.
  • googleDrive in upload mode expects upstream Blob or File objects.
  • dropbox currently returns a failed status in server execution and is not production-ready.

Variables Exported / Outputs

NodeOutput shapeNotes
triggerFile[]The watched file is downloaded and returned as an in-memory file object.
googleDrive downloadFile[]One downloaded file wrapped in an array.
googleDrive uploadBlob[]The original input files are passed through after upload.
dropboxpassthrough failureThe executor reports that Dropbox workflow execution is not fully implemented.

Important metadata:

  • Drive watcher inputs include fileId, fileName, mimeType, size, webViewLink, downloadUrl, and connectionId before download.
  • Upload mode records uploads metadata with the Drive API result.

Common Use Cases

  • Watch a shared Drive folder and auto-process every new PDF.
  • Download a Drive-hosted template before signing or filling it.
  • Upload generated outputs back into a Drive folder for handoff.

Edge Cases

  • The initial watcher run establishes a page token and does not trigger the workflow.
  • Extension filtering is string-based. Use values like .pdf,.docx.
  • Recursive watch is currently documented as a limitation because the watcher still checks direct parents for folder-scoped runs.
  • Client-side execution of these nodes is intentionally blocked because OAuth tokens are handled on the server.