A Google Apps Script that copies whole Drive folders, archives old files and shows what takes up space

Example result

python merge_sales.py --month 2026-10

2026-11-02 09:14:03 INFO  Folder: sales/2026-10, 9 files found
2026-11-02 09:14:03 INFO  shop-01.csv: 1,284 rows
2026-11-02 09:14:04 INFO  shop-02.xlsx: 967 rows
2026-11-02 09:14:04 WARN  shop-07.csv: 3 rows without a price skipped (lines 88, 412, 913)
2026-11-02 09:14:05 INFO  Done: 10,412 rows -> report-2026-10.xlsx (sheets "Sales" and "Totals")

[columns]
date = Date, Sale date, Day
product = Product, Item, Name
quantity = Qty, Quantity, Pcs
price = Price, Unit price

def read_shop_file(path: Path, columns: dict[str, list[str]]) -> pd.DataFrame:
    """Reads one shop's file and gives it the report's column names."""
    table = pd.read_excel(path) if path.suffix == ".xlsx" else pd.read_csv(path, encoding="utf-8-sig")
    renamed = {}
    for name, variants in columns.items():
        found = next((c for c in table.columns if c.strip() in variants), None)
        if found is None:
            raise ReportError(f"{path.name}: no column for '{name}' (looked for {', '.join(variants)})")
        renamed[found] = name
    table = table.rename(columns=renamed)[list(columns)]
    table["shop"] = path.stem
    return table

About this service

Google Drive has no button to copy a folder with everything inside, and after a few years a shared drive is full of old versions and files nobody can find. This Google Apps Script does the jobs Drive does not: it copies a folder with all its subfolders, lists every file in a sheet with size, owner, type and last change so you see what takes space, and from Standard moves files older than the date you set into an archive folder. Premium lists possible duplicates for you to check and can make a dated copy of a folder every month. It never deletes: files are copied or moved, and only by your rules. Files owned by others may not move. A run lasts about six minutes, so big folders go in parts. You run it in your account.

What is included

• What you getA ZIP archive with the Apps Script code and a README that shows how to add it to a sheet, allow access and run it; the code is also shown on the order page.
• Whole folder copiesWith every subfolder and file inside
• A report in a sheetSize, owner, type and last change of each file
• Archive by ageFrom Standard, old files moved by your date rule
• Nothing deletedFiles are only copied or moved
• Readable codeWith comments, easy to change a rule later

How it works

1. 1
   RulesYou describe the folders and what should happen to them
2. 2
   CodeWe write the script and the guide to installing it
3. 3
   Try itYou run it on a test folder first and look at the report
4. 4
   ChangesYou ask for changes within your package and send any error message

What we need from you

Which folders the script should work on (My Drive or a shared drive), what to do with them (copy, report, archive), and the rules: how old a file must be to go to the archive, where the archive folder is, what counts as a possible duplicate (same name, same size). Roughly how many files there are, who owns them (you or colleagues) and whether you use a free account or Google Workspace. A screenshot of the folder layout helps.

We will ask you:

• Which folders, and what do you need?
• What goes to the archive?
• Who owns the files?
• Anything it must never do

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