What causes "gdrive-client-json-filepath not set." in dutchcoders/transfer.sh?

Provide --gdrive-client-json-filepath /path/to/client_secret.json pointing at your Google OAuth client credentials

gdrive-client-json-filepath not set.

Error message

gdrive-client-json-filepath not set.

What it means

Thrown by the transfer.sh CLI when --provider gdrive is selected but --gdrive-client-json-filepath is empty. Google Drive storage is initialized from an OAuth client credentials JSON file, and this flag tells the CLI where that file lives; without it NewGDriveStorage cannot be configured, so startup fails fast.

Source

Thrown at cmd/cmd.go:502

		switch provider := c.String("provider"); provider {
		case "s3":
			if accessKey := c.String("aws-access-key"); accessKey == "" {
				return errors.New("access-key not set.")
			} else if secretKey := c.String("aws-secret-key"); secretKey == "" {
				return errors.New("secret-key not set.")
			} else if bucket := c.String("bucket"); bucket == "" {
				return errors.New("bucket not set.")
			} else if store, err := storage.NewS3Storage(c.Context, accessKey, secretKey, bucket, purgeDays, c.String("s3-region"), c.String("s3-endpoint"), c.Bool("s3-no-multipart"), c.Bool("s3-path-style"), logger); err != nil {
				return err
			} else {
				options = append(options, server.UseStorage(store))
			}
		case "gdrive":
			chunkSize := c.Int("gdrive-chunk-size") * 1024 * 1024

			if clientJSONFilepath := c.String("gdrive-client-json-filepath"); clientJSONFilepath == "" {
				return errors.New("gdrive-client-json-filepath not set.")
			} else if localConfigPath := c.String("gdrive-local-config-path"); localConfigPath == "" {
				return errors.New("gdrive-local-config-path not set.")
			} else if basedir := c.String("basedir"); basedir == "" {
				return errors.New("basedir not set.")
			} else if store, err := storage.NewGDriveStorage(c.Context, clientJSONFilepath, localConfigPath, basedir, chunkSize, logger); err != nil {
				return err
			} else {
				options = append(options, server.UseStorage(store))
			}
		case "storj":
			if access := c.String("storj-access"); access == "" {
				return errors.New("storj-access not set.")
			} else if bucket := c.String("storj-bucket"); bucket == "" {
				return errors.New("storj-bucket not set.")
			} else if store, err := storage.NewStorjStorage(c.Context, access, bucket, purgeDays, logger); err != nil {
				return err
			} else {
				options = append(options, server.UseStorage(store))

View on GitHub (pinned to c37bfd9579)

Solutions

Provide --gdrive-client-json-filepath /path/to/client_secret.json pointing at your Google OAuth client credentials
Verify the file actually exists at that path and is readable by the process user
Remember the follow-up required flags: --gdrive-local-config-path and --basedir are validated next
Mount the JSON into the container and pass the in-container path, not the host path

Example fix

// before
transfer.sh --provider gdrive --gdrive-local-config-path /config/token.json --basedir /data
// after
transfer.sh --provider gdrive --gdrive-client-json-filepath /secrets/client_secret.json --gdrive-local-config-path /config/token.json --basedir /data

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

CLIENT_JSON=/secrets/client_secret.json
if [ ! -r "$CLIENT_JSON" ]; then echo "missing $CLIENT_JSON" >&2; exit 1; fi
args+=(--gdrive-client-json-filepath "$CLIENT_JSON")

Try / catch

if err := cmd.Root.Execute(); err != nil {
  if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "gdrive-client-json-filepath not set") {
    log.Fatalf("gdrive provider requires --gdrive-client-json-filepath")
  }
  os.Exit(1)
}

Prevention

Mount the OAuth client JSON into the container and pass the in-container path
Validate the file exists and is readable in the startup script before launch
Set all three gdrive flags (client json, local config path, basedir) together

When it happens

Trigger: Running with --provider gdrive and no --gdrive-client-json-filepath — path never provided, env interpolation empty, or the credentials file not mounted into the container.

Common situations: First-time gdrive setup where the OAuth client JSON was downloaded but never wired into the flags; container images that omitted the credentials mount at /secrets; docs/config drift after migrating from local to containerized deployment.

Understand the failure class

Background: "--flag is required" and "must specify" CLI errors: how missing-required-flag validation works and how to fix it — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dutchcoders/transfer.sh@c37bfd9579 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b946595e1eaf5ad9. Report an issue: GitHub.