Google Drive Trigger Node Only Returns Newest File When Multiple Files Are Uploaded

Questions
1

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing an issue with my workflow in n8n that uses the Google Drive Trigger node. Here’s my setup:

  • Context:
    I have a Google Form where users upload name card images. These images are automatically stored in a designated Google Drive folder.
  • Workflow:
    The workflow starts with a Google Drive Trigger node (polling every 1 minute) that’s supposed to detect new files in that folder. Downstream, I download and process the images (e.g., send them to GPT-4 for text extraction, etc.).
  • The Issue:
    When multiple files are uploaded at once (for example, 4 files via the form), the trigger node only returns the newest file instead of all the newly added files. This means that even though several images are uploaded, only one file is processed by the workflow.
  • Is there a configuration or workaround within the Google Drive Trigger node that will allow it to capture and return all new files when multiple files are added simultaneously? If not, are there any best practices or recommendations for handling this scenario while still using the trigger node?

Any guidance or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

  • n8n version: Community Version, 1.71.3
  • Database (default: PostgreSql):
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: main):
  • Running n8n via : Docker
  • Operating system: Windows 64-bit operating system
2

It looks like your topic is missing some important information. Could you provide the following if applicable.

  • n8n version:
  • Database (default: SQLite):
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):
  • Operating system:
3
  • n8n version: Community Version, 1.71.3
  • Database (default: PostgreSql):
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: main):
  • Running n8n via : Docker
  • Operating system: Windows 64-bit operating system
4

If you use a Google Form to upload files then you could switch to the following approach.

Connect the form with a spreadsheet. The links to uploaded files will be listed in a dedicated column. You may need to transform those later so that Drive file download node would be able to consume them.

Create Google Sheets trigger node (on row addition).

Add a Code or Set node to extract and, if needed, transform file urls.

Download and process files.

5

I’ve faced this issue before.

Try adding a loop node and see if you can process multiple files that way.

I remember that was a workaround I had to use.

6

The loop node alone does not solve the problem :')

7

Try something like this:

8

It does not work. Only loop one time and the workflow is done despise having uploaded multiple files at once.