Option 1: Direct Download Link (Simplest)
Right-click the image in Google Drive and select "Share"
Set sharing to "Anyone with the link" (if appropriate for your use case)
Get the share link
Modify the link to create a direct download URL:
Original format: https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID/view?usp=sharing
Download format: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=FILE_ID
In your script, you can then use this URL directly:
# Python example
import requests
image_url = "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=YOUR_FILE_ID"
response = requests.get(image_url)
if response.status_code == 200:
with open('downloaded_image.jpg', 'wb') as f:
f.write(response.content)
So,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y0Y7WDpmRH0YAH6dcMG6Cul8jA5WJus2/view?usp=drive_link
becomes
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1Y0Y7WDpmRH0YAH6dcMG6Cul8jA5WJus2
Option 2: Google Drive API (More Robust)
For more control and security, use the Google Drive API:
Set up a Google Cloud Platform project
Enable the Google Drive API
Create credentials (OAuth client ID or service account)
Install the Google Client Library for your language
# Python example using Google Drive API
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from google.oauth2 import service_account
# Authenticate
credentials = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
'service-account.json', scopes=['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly'])
drive_service = build('drive', 'v3', credentials=credentials)
# Get the file
file_id = 'YOUR_FILE_ID'
request = drive_service.files().get_media(fileId=file_id)
response = request.execute()
# Save the file
with open('downloaded_image.jpg', 'wb') as f:
f.write(response)
Option 3: Google Drive Desktop Sync
If your script runs on a computer with Google Drive desktop sync:
Ensure the image is synced to your local Google Drive folder
Reference the file using its local path in your script
# Python example
import shutil
local_path = "/path/to/your/google/drive/image.jpg"
project_path = "/path/to/project/default_image.jpg"
shutil.copy2(local_path, project_path)
