Search Files inside Sub-folders in Google Drive

Like the previous script for listing Google Drive files, this Google Script will find all files of any particular MIME type in your Google Drive.

Unlike the DriveApp.getFilesByType() method that will only search for files in the immediate folder, this Google Script will also search for files inside the sub-folders.

function getDriveFiles(folder, path) {
  // If Drive folder is not specified, start from the root folder
  if (folder == null && path == null) {
    return getDriveFiles(DriveApp.getRootFolder(), '');
  }

  var files = [];
  path = path + '/' + folder.getName();

  // Specify the MimeType of files you wish to search
  var fileIt = folder.getFilesByType(MimeType.GOOGLE_SHEETS);
  while (fileIt.hasNext()) {
    var f = fileIt.next();
    files.push({ id: f.getId(), path: path + '/' + f.getName() });
  }

  // Get all the sub-folders and iterate
  var folderIt = folder.getFolders();
  while (folderIt.hasNext()) {
    fs = getDriveFiles(folderIt.next(), path);
    for (var i = 0; i < fs.length; i++) {
      files.push(fs[i]);
    }
  }

  return files;
}
Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

Google awarded us the Champion Innovator title recognizing our technical skill and expertise.

Email Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter to stay up to date.

We will never send any spam emails. Promise.