Drive Toolbox

Drive Toolbox is a powerful desktop application for managing your Google Drive files. Think of it as your Google Drive™ Command Center.

What can you do with Drive Toolbox?

Advanced Filtering: Find and list a precise set of files from your Google Drive™, and sort them in any order
Get Organized: Labels, info fields & more
- A Personal Filing System allows you to organize files with labels (like home or vacation) and info fields (like birth-year:2002) - metadata that only you can access
- A Shared Filing System allows you to organize files with labels and info fields that are shared in the same way that the files they are attached to are shared
- Standard Organizing Utilities - Rename files; create folders; move files; star/unstar
Bulk Operations: You can perform operations on many files at once
- Delete files
- Move files
- Change sharing settings for your files
- Download files
- Trasfer files to a new owner
- Star or unstar files
- Apply custom Labels and Info Fields to files
Sharing and Viewpoints Panels:
- In the Sharing panel, see at a glance who you are sharing files with, and instantly view those files - then change sharing settings as needed
- With Viewpoints, your files are listed under their custom labels or info fields
- You can also pull up the Duplicates Viewpoint to easily locate and remove duplicate files
Custom Reports: Create custom reports about your files, such as:
- Reports to audit how you are sharing your files
- Reports that list and link to files organized by label
- You can save reports as Google Docs, Markdown and to other supported formats
Scripts: Use the integrated scripting language to write custom scripts which can:
- Generate reports
- Perform actions: create filtered lists of files and apply bulk or individual actions to files
- Dry-run scripts to preview what they will do without making changes
Workspace Admin: Workspace Admin features aer available for Enterprise
- Utilize Google's impersonate API
- Bulk transfer files between Workspace accounts
- Run Drive Toolbox scripts and auditing reports for multiple (or all) accounts

Installation and Setup

Step 1: Download Drive Toolbox Drive Toolbox runs on your PC. It runs on Windows, macOS or Linux. If you do not already have Drive Toolbox installed, install it on your PC from https://drivetoolbox.com/downloads. You will have to sign in with your Google account.

Step 2: Install Drive Toolbox and Log In After you download the app, click to install it. When you run the app it will open a browser window so you can sign into the Drive Toolbox desktop app - again using Google.

Step 3: Sync your Drive Once you are signed in, you will be prompted to Sync your Drive. Click to run the initial sync, which will get your information about your Google Drive™ files loaded into a database on your own PC. (This process does not send information about your Google Drive™ files to our servers.)

When you first start working with your files in Drive Toolbox you will most likely get asked to log in again. Here's why.

Drive Toolbox follows Google's best practices for authentication, and we only request the permissions we need. When you use functionality for the first time that requires higher level permissions, you will have to complete additional authentication flows. This will just pop up the browser and ask you for the additional permissions that are needed to use the tool you want to use.

The App

The interface centers on the My Drive page, with additional pages accessible from the sidebar.

App Layout

Area	Description
Sidebar	Navigate between My Drive, Batches, Scripts, Labels, Settings, Dashboard, and Docs
File Table	The main workspace — browse, sort, select, and act on your files
Side Panels	Configurable panels for filtering, sharing, folder navigation, and metadata views
Avatar Menu	Sync, theme toggle, account switching, and sign-out

The sidebar collapses to icon-only mode on narrow screens.

Pages

Page	What It Does
My Drive	Browse files, apply filters, select files for actions
Batches	Monitor and manage queued batch operations
Scripts	Write and run automation scripts
Settings	Account, sync, data locations, updates
Dashboard	Subscription info, quick links, feature requests
Docs	In-app documentation (you are here)

Side Panels

Four panels provide different views of your data alongside the file table:

Panel	Purpose
Filter Panel	Build filters with search, natural language, visual builder, or direct syntax
Viewpoints Panel	Browse files by label, info field values, or duplicate content
Explorer Panel	Navigate your folder tree, drag and drop files between folders
Sharing Panel	See who has access to your files, click to filter by person or role

Panels dock to the left, top, or as tabs. They can be hidden entirely for a full-width file table.

Feature Overview

Filters: Build Your List

Drive Toolbox provides a filter system that lets you find a precise set of files from your Drive.

Method	How It Works
Search Bar	Quick filename and label search with fuzzy matching
Natural Language	Describe what you want in plain language and the AI generates a filter
Visual Builder	Point-and-click filter construction — no syntax to memorize
Quick Filters	One-click presets for common queries
Filter Language	Full query language with 30+ fields, boolean logic, and shortcuts
Click-to-Filter	Click labels, sharing info, and viewpoint groups to filter instantly

Filters can be saved, starred as favorites, and shared across sessions. Learn more: Filters Overview

Actions: Work with Your Files

Select files and apply operations in bulk. Operations run through a persistent queue — you can stack multiple jobs and they execute in order. If you close the app, the queue picks up where it left off.

Action	What It Does
Delete	Move files to Google Drive trash
Download	Save files to your computer, with optional Office export
Move	Relocate files to a different folder
Sharing	Add, remove, or change permissions for users
Transfer	Transfer file ownership to another account
Star / Unstar	Add or remove starred status in bulk
Folder Color	Apply color labels to folders
Metadata	Apply labels and info fields to a set of files

Learn more: Actions Overview

Organize Your Drive

Drive Toolbox adds two filing systems on top of Google Drive's built-in folders and stars:

System	Visibility	Storage	Capacity
Personal Labels & Info Fields	Private to you	Local database	Unlimited
Shared Labels & Info Fields	Visible to all Drive Toolbox users with file access	Google Drive custom properties	~30 items per file

Personal metadata works on any file — even files where you only have view access. Shared metadata requires edit permission and persists with the file. Neither system is visible in Google's own interface; they exist within Drive Toolbox only.

The Viewpoints Panel groups your files by label or info field values, giving you a way to browse and discover files outside the folder hierarchy. Learn more: Getting Started with Metadata

Audit Your Drive

Understand who has access to your files and identify sharing risks:

Sharing Panel — see every person with access to your files, click to filter by role
Custom Filters — find publicly shared files, files shared with specific domains, or external users
Scripts — generate detailed sharing reports across your entire Drive
Workspace Admin — sync your organization's user directory for comprehensive auditing

Learn more: Auditing Overview

Scripts & Reports

Drive Toolbox includes an integrated scripting environment using the Rhai language. Scripts can query files, apply filters, modify metadata, generate reports, and automate repetitive tasks.

Editor with script library and output panel
Dry-run mode to preview changes without modifying anything
Reports with formatted tables and text output
Full reference with all available functions and their parameters

Learn more: Scripting Overview

Privacy

Drive Toolbox is a desktop application. Your Google Drive data is stored in a local database on your computer — nothing about your files is ever sent to our servers. You can see exactly where the database lives in the Settings page.

Our web service stores your login, account information, and operational items like sync-to-drive timestamps. We do not share your data with anyone and will never sell it. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for full details.

Security

Drive Toolbox completed an independent CASA Tier 3 security audit by TAC Security, a Google-recommended security assessor. This exceeds Google's Tier 2 requirement for our application category.

What Drive Toolbox Does Not Do

Drive Toolbox works with file metadata — names, sizes, types, dates, sharing, and structure. It does not search or filter by file contents. If you need to find text inside documents, use Google Drive's built-in search.

Last Updated: 2026-03-09