Get the Full Path of a Google Drive Folder

With Apps Script, you can specify the full path of a Google Drive folder in your method using the \\root\\parent\\child\\grandchild notation. The script will return the destination folder matching your path name or if the path doesn’t exist, it will create the specified folders using the same structure starting with the Root folder.

This style is also handy when you are trying to create a file in a specific Drive folder but do not want the hassle of dealing with File or Folder IDs of the Drive App.


function go() {
    var path = "//main//parent//child//grandchild”;
    var folder = getDriveFolder(path);
    Logger.log(folder.getUrl());
}

function getDriveFolder(path) {

  var name, folder, search, fullpath;

  // Remove extra slashes and trim the path
  fullpath = path.replace(/^\/*|\/*$/g, '').replace(/^\s*|\s*$/g, '').split("/");

  // Always start with the main Drive folder
  folder = DriveApp.getRootFolder();

  for (var subfolder in fullpath) {

    name = fullpath[subfolder];
    search = folder.getFoldersByName(name);

    // If folder does not exit, create it in the current level
    folder = search.hasNext() ? search.next() : folder.createFolder(name);

  }

  return folder;

}
Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

Google awarded us the Champion Innovator title recognizing our technical skill and expertise.

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