Sync NextOS with
Google Drive
Sign in with Google and your NextOS files sync to Drive automatically - no separate connect step.
01What syncs
Your files,
kept in step.
- Your NextOS home directory - the VFS root every app reads and writes - as one container shared across every device you sign in on
- Only files this app created or opened, never your whole Drive: the drive.file scope makes files invisible to NextOS until it makes or touches them
- A per-device manifest so a device that was offline reconciles cleanly on reconnect, the same three-way merge every other storage backend in this app uses
02How the connection works
Authentication,
handled once.
Part of Google sign-inDrive access rides on Google sign-in itself, not a separate OAuth connection: signing in with Google requests the drive.file scope up front, and the first sign-in shows Google's consent screen for it. An older Google session that predates Drive sync (or one whose refresh token got revoked) triggers that consent screen again, once, automatically - after that, NextOS asks again on its own only about once a day rather than nagging every load.
03Setup
Three steps,
start to finish.
Sign in to NextOS with Google (Settings > Account, or the sign-in screen)
Approve the Drive permission on Google's consent screen - shown automatically the first time, or from Settings > Google Drive if you skipped it
Sync starts in the background as soon as the session carries a refresh token; nothing else to configure
04Limits, honestly
What it
won't do.
- Scoped to files NextOS itself creates (drive.file) - it will never see or sync the rest of your Drive, by design
- Background sync needs a refresh token from Google; a declined consent is remembered and only asked again about once a day
- Tied to signing in with Google specifically - a GitHub or password account syncs nothing until it also signs in with Google
05FAQ
Common
questions.
Do I connect Google Drive separately from signing in?
No. Signing in with Google is the connection - the drive.file permission is part of that same consent screen, not a second step in Settings.
Can NextOS see files I already had in Drive?
No. The drive.file scope only grants visibility into files this app creates or explicitly opens, never your existing Drive contents.
What if I signed in with Google before Drive sync existed?
The next sign-in re-runs Google's consent screen once, automatically, to pick up the drive.file scope - after that it behaves like any fresh sign-in.
your files · one place · every device