Creating your own Google client ID and Secret

To use your own Google Client ID and Secret with rclone, you need to create a project in the Google Cloud Console. Doing this improves your connection speed and reliability because you won’t be sharing the default rclone API limits with thousands of other users. Here is a straightforward, step-by-step guide to setting it up.

Step 1: Create a Google Cloud Project

1. Go to the Google Cloud Console. You can get there by clicking this direct link: https://console.cloud.google.com/ Alternatively, you can just type console.cloud.google.com directly into your web browser’s address bar and press Enter. If you are already signed into your Google account (like Gmail or Google Drive), it will take you right in. If not, it will ask you to log in with your Google email and password first.

2. Log in with the Google account associated with the Google Drive you want to use.

3. Click the project dropdown in the top-left corner (next to the “Google Cloud” logo) and click New Project.

4. Name your project something recognizable (e.g., MyRcloneDrive) and click Create.

5. Wait a few seconds for the project to create, then make sure it is selected in the top dropdown.

Step 2: Enable the Google Drive API

1. Open the left sidebar menu (three horizontal lines) and navigate to APIs & Services > Library.
2. In the search bar, type Google Drive API and press Enter.
3. Click on the Google Drive API result.
4. Click the blue Enable button.

Step 3: Configure the OAuth Consent Screen

Google requires you to configure how the app behaves before it gives you credentials.

1. In the left sidebar, click on OAuth consent screen.
2. Select External as the User Type (if you are using a standard @gmail.com account) and click Create.
3. Fill in the required fields:

• App name: rclone
• User support email: Select your email address.
• Developer contact information: Enter your email address again.

4. Click Save and Continue at the bottom.
5. You can skip the Scopes and Optional Info steps by clicking Save and Continue on those pages as well.
6. On the Summary page, click Back to Dashboard.

⚠️ Crucial Step: On the OAuth consent screen dashboard, look under Publishing status and click the Publish App button, then confirm. If you leave it in “Testing”, your login token will expire every 7 days, forcing you to re-authenticate constantly.

Step 4: Create Your Client ID and Secret

1. In the left sidebar, click on Credentials.
2. Click + Create Credentials at the top of the screen and select OAuth client ID.
3. Click the Application type dropdown and select Desktop app (do not choose Web Application).
4. Name it something like Rclone Desktop and click Create. A pop-up box will appear displaying your Client ID and Client Secret.

Step 5: Add to Rclone

Copy those two strings immediately. You will input them when running rclone config:

• Paste the Client ID into the client_id prompt.
• Paste the Client Secret into the client_secret prompt. (If you ever lose them, you can find them again by going back to the Credentials tab in the Cloud Console and clicking the pencil icon next to your ID).