[Google Drive] Copy files between different Google accounts - "Resource not found" error

Questions
1

Goal: Automate migration of files from one Google Drive account to another, with AI classification and PostgreSQL logging.

Describe the problem/error/question

Getting “The resource you are requesting could not be found” error when trying to copy files between two different Google accounts.
Setup:
Source account: [email protected] (personal Gmail)
Destination account: [email protected] (Google Workspace)
Both accounts authenticated with separate OAuth2 credentials in n8n
Destination folders exist and are owned by [email protected]
Folder IDs are verified and correct

What I’ve tried:

  1. :white_check_mark: Verified folder IDs are correct in destination account

  2. :white_check_mark: Both OAuth2 credentials working independently

  3. :white_check_mark: Destination account has full edit permissions on folders

  4. :cross_mark: Copy operation fails with 404 error

  5. :cross_mark: Sharing source files with destination account (not scalable for automation)

Please share your workflow

1. Google Drive node (SOURCE credential) → List files from accountA
2. Process files (extract text, AI classification, etc.)
3. Google Drive node (DEST credential) → Copy file to accountB
   - Operation: Copy file
   - File ID: from source account
   - Folder ID: folder in destination account
   - Error: "The resource you are requesting could not be found"

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Questions:

  1. Is it possible to copy files between different Google accounts using the native Google Drive node?

  2. If not, what’s the recommended approach for cross-account file migration?

    • Download binary from SOURCE + Upload to DEST?

    • Use shared drive as intermediary?

    • Alternative workflow design?

Technical details:

  • n8n version: 2.8.3 (Docker on Ubuntu 24.04)

  • Google Drive node version: 3

  • Both credentials have full Drive API scopes

  • ~500 files to migrate with automated classification

Expected outcome: Automated workflow that:

  • Reads files from Account A

  • Classifies with AI

  • Copies to structured folders in Account B

  • Logs to PostgreSQL

  • Moves original to trash in Account A

Any help or alternative approaches appreciated!

2

hallo @Juan_Miguel_Olivares :waving_hand:t2:

I don’t think this is possible, for a simple reason: copy, paste, move, and similar operations are account-specific only, which is logical..

Download from Account A → Upload to Account B.

Alternatively, since you own both accounts, you can share the folder you want to organize, Open that shared link using Account B and make a copy of the folder to Account B, this step does not require n8n, it can be done directly in Google Drive,

After that, you can create an n8n workflow to organize the files in Account B (move, delete, classify, etc.).

3

Yeah the copy operation won’t work across accounts, Google’s API only lets you copy within the same account context. Download from source then upload to dest is the way to go here, it’s what I’d do for this kind of migration. Just use the Google Drive node to download the file as binary data with the source credential, then upload that binary with the dest credential to whatever folder you need. Works fine and scales to your 500 files without any manual sharing steps.

4

Thank you so much for your help,
I’ve finally removed the shared documents and only included my own in the workflow. I’m still working on it because I want to make it robust and scalable to my other accounts, and create a RAG in PostgreSQL to serve as the first layer of knowledge. Do you think I’m on the right track? Any recommendations?