Daily Limit Error Message with Google Drive - google-drive-api

Question

I am getting an error message when trying to use the Google Drive API to get a file. Using Python, the line that causes error is:
file = service.files().get(fileId=googleDriveFileId).execute()
The error message is:
HttpError: <HttpError 404 when requesting
https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v2/files/0B6Cpn8NXwgGPSE8zQW10XzJMc0k?alt=json returned
"File not found: 0B6Cpn8NXwgGPSE8zQW10XzJMc0k">
Basically saying "File not found"
However, if I put the URL being requested into browser, I get a different error message:
https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v2/files/0B6Cpn8NXwgGPSE8zQW10XzJMc0k
{
"error": {
"errors": [
{
"domain": "usageLimits",
"reason": "dailyLimitExceededUnreg",
"message": "Daily Limit Exceeded. Please sign up",
"extendedHelp": "https://code.google.com/apis/console"
}
],
"code": 403,
"message": "Daily Limit Exceeded. Please sign up"
}
}
Neither of these error messages seem correct to me. I know the file is there. Here is a working link to the same file retrieved from "Share Link" in the Google Drive UI:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6Cpn8NXwgGPSE8zQW10XzJMc0k
I have also checked the Quota reports in the api console, and we are at 0% usage.
Any ideas what is going on here?
Thanks

Answer 1

I had similar errors following the python quickstart.
It turned out I had correctly created an API key etc, however had missed step 2:
Select the Services tab in your API project, and enable the Drive API.
Having used the API before I skipped along and missed this crucial point.

Answer 2

Both of the error messages did not have accurate info. The problem was related to permissions. I was using Google Picker to upload the files in question, but these files were not automatically available to the API because of permissions. I thought they would be according to documentation.
I solved problem by setting the permissions for the folder the images are being uploaded to for "Public" using the Google Drive UI. Now my app has permission to access the uploaded files.
While setting files permission to "Public" is okay in my case, as these files are meant to be public, I know this would not be acceptable in all cases. Can someone please shed light on how to handle this problem.... so that files uploaded with Google Picker automatically have the permission to be accessed by the API without setting folder permissions to "Public"?

Answer 3

The messages were accurate.
In the first case, because you don't have permission, Google gives a file not found. This is a standard security measure, rather than leak information by confirming the file exists.
In the second case, you called the API without an Authentication Header, so Google treats you as an unregistered and unauthorised app, which for some Google APIs is OK, up to a a daily quota. In the case of Drive, that daily quota is zero.
I agree it's not intuitive, and I'm sure many developer man years have been wasted (mine included), but it is accurate.
To answer your question about why the uploaded file is inaccessible, check that you have requested the correct scope, and that you are using the correct client id and mime type when doing the upload.