Introduction
This article will go through the steps to create a Google Drive web service connection for FME Flow. For instructions on how to do this in FME Form, please see this article. Like other Google web service connections, an OAuth application must be made to get your client ID and client secret. Safe Software has already registered applications with many commonly used web service providers, providing convenient out-of-the-box web service options to get started. However, these web services use credentials (client ID and client secret) owned by Safe Software and will not work in other environments.
Creating a new OAuth 2.0 web service and connection using organizational credentials from your registered application will allow you to maintain and troubleshoot connection issues and connect to the web service on FME Flow.
Requirements
- FME Form and Flow
- A Google account with permissions to create credentials
- Prior knowledge of APIs and familiarity with the OAuth 2.0 protocol.
For more information on APIs and FME, please see the Getting Started with APIs tutorial. The OAuth section of this article provides an overview of OAuth 2.0 in the context of FME web connections and key terminology.
Step-by-step Instructions
In the left menu bar, click on Clients and then Create client.
Please set the following:
- Application Type: Web application
- Name: FME Flow Google Drive
-
Authorized redirect URIs: <yourFMEFlow>/fmeoauth
- The URI needs to be the fully qualified domain name
Click Create to finish the client ID setup. Please remember to download the client ID and client secret file. You cannot get the secret after this screen.
2. Create a Web Service in FME Form
We need to create a new web service for our web connection. The default templates provided cannot be edited, which means you cannot provide your own client ID and client secret. We can create a copy of the existing web service and add our credentials.
Open FME Workbench and select Utilities > FME Options (2025.1+) or Tools > FME Options. In the Options window, select Web Connections and then click Manage Services in the bottom right.
Click on the drop-down arrow button on the bottom left of the Manage Services Window and select Create From > Google Drive. A copy of the web service will be created, which you can edit
Next, we need to edit the copy of the web service we created. You can rename the web service to indicate this one is for Flow, but you must replace the Client ID and Client Secret with the ones you created in part 1.
Additionally, the redirect URI needs to be the same URL that was given when creating the Web Application in step 1.
After updating those fields, click close.
3. Create a new Web Connection to Google Drive
Back in the FME Options Web Connections window, click on the plus sign to add a new web connection.
Set the following parameters in the window:
- Web Service: Google Drive Flow (your copy)
- Connection Name: GoogleDriveFlow
-
Visibility: Shared
- This may differ depending on your organization and how connections are stored and shared
Click Sign in with Google, and then authenticate the web connection with your own Google credentials.
4. Upload Connection to FME Flow and Authorize
After the connection has been authenticated, right-click on the web connection name in FME Options. Select Upload... to upload the connection to FME Flow.
If you have multiple FME Flow connections, please make sure you select the Flow for which the Google Web Application was set up. Otherwise, the connection will fail; the redirect URIs are specific to each Flow connection.
Next, log in to your FME Flow web UI. Select Connections & Parameters > Web Connections from the main page in the left menu.
You should see all your uploaded web connections, including the GoogleDriveFlow connection. If you do not see this connection, please try uploading the connection from Form again.
Click on Manage Web Services to set the service details of the web service.
On the Service Details page, scroll down to the Client Information section. Please make sure the Client ID is the same as the one you created in step 1. If the ID is incorrect, you must update the Client Secret.
Please put in the same redirect URI as the Google Web Application in step 1.
Click Save and return to the Web Connections page. Now, we can activate the web connection on Flow.
Click on the name of the web service you want to authenticate, in this case, GoogleDriveFlow. If the validate button is greyed out, please repeat the previous step of setting up the service details. If there is a sign-in with Google button, click that to finish authorizing the connection.
After you sign in with Google, you can use your Google Drive connection on FME Flow.
Troubleshooting
The client ID, client secret, and redirect URI need to be copied and pasted in three places. The connection will fail if any of these do not match what was created in the Google Web Application.
- FME Form Web Service
- FME Form Web Connection
- FME Flow Web Service
The web connection for Form and Flow is different. The Google application for a desktop application (Form) does not have a redirect URI field, which is required for the connection to work on Flow. Please double-check that you have created the correct Google application type and are using the client ID and secret from the correct one.
Additional Resources
How to Create a Google Drive OAuth 2.0 Web Connection for FME Form
Creating an OAuth 2.0 Web Service and Connection in FME
Getting Started with Sending and Receiving Email in FME Form and FME Flow