How to Install Google Drive on Ubuntu

Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud-based services for storing and sharing data online. It has a basic free plan of 15 GB of storage for all users. People commonly use it for its data backup feature, which allows users to store their WhatsApp chats and other media on the drive. Another exciting and professional feature of Google Drive is the use of Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Slides, which provides ease of access from anywhere.

Unlike other operating systems where you can download and install a file directly on your system without any compatibility issues or third-party apps, Ubuntu is a bit different in this aspect. No official Google client is available for Linux-based systems to install Google apps.

However, there are two ways to install and use Google Drive on the Ubuntu system:

• Method 1: Use GNOME Online Accounts For Google Drive
• Method 2: Install Google Drive From a 3rd Party Service Provider

Let’s start with the first one!

Method 1: Use GNOME Online Accounts For Google Drive

Newer versions of Ubuntu are preloaded with GNOME Online Accounts. However, if your Ubuntu is missing the GNOME then you will have to install GNOME Online Accounts manually.

Step 1: Ensure Gnome Online Account Settings

If you can’t see the Gmail option in your Setting’s Online Account tab then you need to manually install GNOME. To do that, start by updating your apt packages by typing the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt update

After the update is done, type the following command:

sudo apt install gnome-online-accounts -y

Once you have ensured that Gnome Online Accounts exist in your Ubuntu Installation, you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Set up Your Gmail Account in Ubuntu

Open the settings menu in your Ubuntu and head inside the “Online Accounts” tab:

Click on “Google” from the Online account settings, and a pop-up will appear. You have to enter your Gmail ID, click next, and then enter your Password to access your drive.

Another pop-up asks you to Allow GNOME to access your Gmail account. Click “Allow” and your Google Drive is now connected to your system through GNOME. In the next pop-up, ensure all sliders are on and all file sharing is allowed. You can now close the pop-up by clicking the cross button in the top right corner.

With this, you have successfully synced your Google Account (including Google Drive) with your Ubuntu installation.

Step 3: Accessing Google Drive

You can click and open the “Files” application to access Google Drive. After that, find your Google account in the left-side navigation panel and click on it. Doing this will open your Google Drive in the explorer:

You have accessed your Google Drive from your Ubuntu machine. You can also add more Google accounts to your Ubuntu machine, and all accounts will be listed in your files in the Files folder. You can hover over the file to check the name and find which drive you want to access.

Method 2: Install Google Drive From a 3rd Party Service Provider

Those who prefer using the command line methods can access their Google Drive and other Google services by using the Google Drive-ocamlfuse tool. It is a very handy and easy-to-use tool to install and configure your google drive. Using this tool comes with another benefit, as it will create a directory for your Google Drive, and you can access the content both online and offline.

To install Google Drive through the Ocamlfuse tool you will have to follow these steps:

Step 1: Install PPA Repository

You will need to install the Personal Package Archive (PPA) repository for easy access to installation files.

To install the PPA repository, run the following commands in your terminal

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alessandro-strada/ppa

Step 2: Update and Upgrade System Packages

After adding the PPA repository, update and upgrade your system package repositories by using this command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Step 3: Install Google Drive

Once your system is upgraded and updated, install the google drive using this command:

sudo apt install google-drive-ocamlfuse

Step 4: Access Google Drive

After the installation is done now, you can access the google drive by using the following command:

google-drive-ocamlfuse

This command will trigger the browser from where you can enter your Gmail ID and Password to log into your Google account.

After your login credential, Click “Allow” to grant access to gdfuse to enable your system to use Google Drive. This will generate a system authorization token to link the system to gdfuse and your Gmail account.

Step 5: Create a new Directory

Now you have to set up a new drive to access your Google Drive and to do that, execute the following command in your terminal:

mkdir -v ~/GoogleDrive

Step 6: Mount Your Drive to the new Directory

After creating the new directory, you will have to mount your drive onto the directory and to do that, use the following command:

google-drive-ocamlfuse ~/GoogleDrive

If the system asks for permission, grant the system permissions. After that, execute the following command to check if the drive is successfully mounted or not:

df -h

Once you have completed these steps, open your file explorer “Files” and locate your drive from the list of files.

Now you have installed and accessed your newly connected Google Drive

Bonus Method For Accessing Google Drive

Apart from the above solutions, there is also a way of accessing your Google Drive by using your browser, and it does not require any command or installation process.

Open your favorite browser and search for Google Drive. Enter your credentials ID and Password, and now you can access your Google Drive from your browser.

Wrap Up

Google Drive is one of the best cloud-based storage solutions; however, its use on Ubuntu is limited as most of its features don’t work. You can sync your data, share it, and access it through the drive folder. If you are looking to use all the features of Google Drive, try using it on your browser.

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