Google Picker API: Can We Prevent Flat File Listing and Show Only Folder Structure

Uppy
1

Hi everyone,

We’re currently integrating the Google Drive Picker into our web application (via Uppy’s @uppy/google-drive-picker plugin), and we’ve noticed the following behavior:

  • The Picker interface displays folders at the top, followed by a flat list of files that includes files from subfolders.

We have a couple of questions:

  1. Is this flat file listing behavior a limitation of the Google Picker API itself?
  2. Is Uppy simply wrapping the native Picker API with no control over the file structure shown?
  3. Is there any way to configure the Picker (either natively or via Uppy) to show only the files directly inside a folder — i.e., not flatten all subfolder contents in the root?
  4. Alternatively, is there an API or method to display a true navigable folder structure (tree-like), possibly via the Drive API?

Missing modifiedDate and file.size Metadata

We’ve also noticed that when a file is selected via the Google Picker:

  • The modifiedDate and file.size fields often come through as null or are missing entirely.

Questions:

  • Is this expected behavior from the Picker API?
  • Is there a known workaround to retrieve this metadata — possibly via an additional API call after selection?

We’re trying to provide a clearer experience for users working within large nested folder structures, so any insight or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

2

Hi. Yes Uppy just uses Google Picker directly. So we are at the mercy of Google’s choice of UI when it comes to picking photos.

3

thanks for the reply