Google Script: Auto-deletes old files in Google Drive

auto-delete-old-google-drive-files.gs

/**
 * Google Apps Script to delete old files and optionally empty folders in Google Drive.
 *
 * Settings:
 * - cutOffDays: Number of days before the current date to consider for file deletion.
 * - deleteEmptyFolders: Set to true to delete empty directories, false to keep them.
 *
 * Instructions:
 * 1. Ensure "Drive" advanced service is enabled:
 *    - In the Google Apps Script dashboard, click "+ Services" in the sidebar.
 *    - Find "Drive API" in the list and click it.
 *    - Click "Add" to enable it. Ensure the API version is set to "v2".
 * 2. To schedule this script:
 *    - Click the clock icon on the sidebar in the Google Apps Script dashboard.
 *    - Click the '+' to add a new trigger.
 *    - Set function to "deleteFiles", event source to "Time-driven", and choose frequency.
 *    - Save the trigger. Grant necessary permissions for the script to run.
 * 
 * Note: Be aware of Google Apps Script's execution time limits. For large and deeply nested 
 * folder structures, the script may take considerable time and potentially hit these limits.
 */

// Settings
var SETTINGS = {
    cutOffDays: 8, // Number of days before the current date to consider for file deletion
    deleteEmptyFolders: true // Set to true to delete empty directories, false to keep them
};

function getFilesByDate() {
    var arrayOfFileIDs = [];
    var scriptId = ScriptApp.getScriptId(); // Get the current script's ID

    // Calculate the cutoff date based on settings
    var cutOffDate = new Date();
    cutOffDate.setDate(cutOffDate.getDate() - SETTINGS.cutOffDays);
    var cutOffDateAsString = Utilities.formatDate(cutOffDate, "GMT", "yyyy-MM-dd");

    var files = DriveApp.searchFiles(
        'modifiedDate < "' + cutOffDateAsString + '"'
    );

    while (files.hasNext()) {
        var file = files.next();
        if (file.getId() !== scriptId) { // Exclude the script itself
            arrayOfFileIDs.push(file.getId());
        }
    }

    return arrayOfFileIDs;
}

function deleteFiles() {
    try {
        var arrayIDs = getFilesByDate();
        for (var i = 0; i < arrayIDs.length; i++) {
            Drive.Files.remove(arrayIDs[i]);
        }
        if (SETTINGS.deleteEmptyFolders) {
            deleteEmptyFolders();
        }
    } catch (error) {
        Logger.log("An error occurred: " + error.toString());
    }
}

function deleteEmptyFolders() {
    var rootFolders = DriveApp.getFolders();
    while (rootFolders.hasNext()) {
        var folder = rootFolders.next();
        checkAndDeleteFolder(folder);
    }
}

function checkAndDeleteFolder(folder) {
    var files = folder.getFiles();
    var subfolders = folder.getFolders();
    var isEmpty = true;

    // Check if there are any files in the folder
    if (files.hasNext()) {
        return false; // Folder is not empty
    }

    // Recursively check each subfolder
    while (subfolders.hasNext()) {
        var subfolder = subfolders.next();
        if (!checkAndDeleteFolder(subfolder)) {
            isEmpty = false; // Contains non-empty subfolder
        }
    }

    // If the folder is empty, delete it
    if (isEmpty) {
        folder.setTrashed(true); // Move the folder to trash
    }

    return isEmpty;
}

Hi shoelaced,
Thanks a lot for your work. The script works perfect.