Sign InGet Started

Google Drive

Connect Google Drive so the AI can search your files and documents as context.

This feature may need to be enabled for your workspace.

Overview

The Google Drive connection lets the AI search the files in your Google Drive when answering questions or generating briefs. This covers files in My Drive and any shared drives you have access to, including Google Docs and other document types.

Rather than syncing all your Drive content upfront, the AI searches Google Drive at the time you ask a question, so you always get results from the current state of your files.

The connection uses Google OAuth — you authorize with your Google account and the integration uses the permissions you grant.

What the AI Can Access

  • Files — Files in My Drive and shared drives you have access to
  • Google Docs — Document content from Docs files
  • Shared drives — Files in team-level shared drives your account can see

Access is scoped to what your Google account can see. Files shared with specific people that you don't have access to are not included.

How to Connect

  1. Go to Settings > Connections and click the Google Drive card.
  2. In the dialog, click Connect with Google.
  3. You are redirected to Google's authorization page.
  4. Choose the Google account to connect.
  5. Review the permissions and click Allow.
  6. You are returned to Hamster Studio. The connection is ready immediately.

The connection is named after the Google account used to authorize.

Permissions Requested

Hamster requests read access to your Google Drive files and metadata. This includes the ability to read file contents and file metadata. No write permissions are requested. Google displays the full list of requested permissions on the authorization screen before you confirm.

How Drive Search Works

Google Drive uses live search rather than upfront indexing. When the AI needs Drive context, it queries your Drive at that moment and returns the most relevant results. This means:

  • The connection is active immediately after authorizing — there is no sync to wait for.
  • Results always reflect the current state of your Drive.
  • The AI searches file names and content, not just file names.

Tips

  • Connect with the Google account that has access to the files most relevant to your projects. If important documents are in a shared drive, make sure that account has access to that shared drive.
  • Google Drive search works well for finding specific documents, reference material, and team files. For structured project management data, Linear or Jira is a better fit.
  • If you have documents in multiple Google accounts, you can add multiple Google Drive connections — one per account.

Related