Connect Multiple Google Drive Accounts to Claude Cowork
Cowork connects one Google identity, and its write behaviour has a sharper line than most people expect. Not read versus write. New files versus existing ones. Claude can generate a document and save it into a folder you pick; anything already sitting in that Drive is untouchable.
Both limits matter for a multi-account setup, and they matter in different ways.
The write line, stated properly
The Google Drive connector finds files, reads them, cross-references across documents, and saves new files it generates straight into a folder you choose. What it has no tools for is changing, renaming, moving, or reorganizing anything that already exists.
Two catches on the create side. Saving depends on Claude’s file creation and code execution settings, so both need to be on. And what lands is an Office file, .xlsx, .docx, or .pptx, rather than a native Google Sheet or Doc.
Cowork adds its own layer on top: it reads and writes local files and works across connected apps, and Claude can only read and write files in the folders you have actually connected. Permissions come from the source service, so if you cannot open a file in Drive, Cowork cannot reach it either.
The account line
One connector, one account. That is the shape across ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini: the Gmail or Google Workspace connection authorizes a single identity, so a second account overwrites the first instead of sitting beside it. Anyone running a personal address and a work address does the disconnect-and-reconnect dance to move between them.
The people who hit this have a personal @gmail.com Drive and a work Workspace Drive, or their own Workspace plus a client’s. One task spans both and the connector answers for one.
Sharing folders between your own Google accounts is the usual attempt. It makes specific files visible through one identity, and then you maintain the sharing by hand forever as folders change.
1. Sort your Drives
All addresses below are fictional.
| Drive | Google account | Native path |
|---|---|---|
| Company files | fictional.leah.osei@stripe.com | Yes, connected identity |
| Shared team folder | fictional.leah.osei@stripe.com | Yes, same account |
| Personal | fictional.leah.osei@gmail.com | No, second identity |
| Client delivery | fictional.leah.osei@cisco.com | No, third identity |
Rows one and two work today. Rows three and four are the reason for the rest of this guide.
2. Connect Google Drive in Cowork
- In Cowork, open Customize, then connectors.
- Find Google Drive and connect it.
- Sign in with your primary Google account and approve the permissions.
- Ask for a recent file to confirm it works.
On a managed Google Workspace account, an administrator may need to approve the connection first.
3. Turn on file creation and code execution
In Claude’s settings, switch both on. Without them, Cowork can read your Drive and analyse what it finds, and then has nowhere to put the result. This is the single most common reason a “save that to Drive” instruction quietly does nothing.
4. Connect each Google identity to Carly
- Sign in at carlyassistant.com.
- Open carlyassistant.com/integrations.
- Find Google Drive and click Connect.
- Authorize the first Google account.
- Repeat for every additional identity, choosing Use another account when Google preselects the first login.
- Verify the address after each authorization.
Each Workspace approves independently, so a client Workspace is its own conversation with its own administrator. Start it early.
5. Add Carly to Cowork
- Under Customize, then connectors, add a custom connector.
- Paste
https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. - Authorize and sign in to the Carly workspace holding the Drives.
A Cowork session can then call Carly’s file tools inside the same run, alongside whatever else it is doing. Custom connectors need a paid plan.
6. Test each Drive read-only
One account per prompt until routing is reliable:
In the Company files Drive, list the five most recently modified documents and their folders. Do not change anything.
In
fictional.leah.osei@gmail.com, find the most recent scanned receipt and tell me its date. Read only.
Then the cross-account question:
Search Company files and Client delivery for documents mentioning “statement of work” from the last 90 days. Show the source account in every row.
7. Reuse this routing prompt
Treat
fictional.leah.osei@stripe.comas Company,fictional.leah.osei@gmail.comas Personal, andfictional.leah.osei@cisco.comas Client. Always state the target account before saving, filing, or moving anything. Never write to a Drive I have not named.
Then name the target per action:
Save that analysis into the Client Drive under Delivery, and tell me the folder it landed in.
File the renamed invoice in Company files, in this quarter’s folder.
That second instruction is worth watching closely, because renaming and moving are exactly what the native connector cannot do. If it succeeds, Carly did it.
Native connector versus Carly in Cowork
| Need | Google Drive connector | Carly connector |
|---|---|---|
| Search one Google Drive | Yes | Yes |
| Save a new file into Drive | Yes, with file creation on | Yes |
| Change, rename, or move an existing file | No | Yes |
| Hold several Google identities at once | No | Yes |
| Compare files across two Drives in one run | No | Yes |
| Act when a file arrives | No | Yes |
| Keep running between Cowork sessions | Scheduled tasks only | Yes |
The last two rows are where Cowork’s shape shows. Its scheduled tasks genuinely run without you, but they fire on a fixed clock, so an invoice that arrives Tuesday afternoon gets handled at the next scheduled run rather than when it lands.
That distinction decides most real setups. Finding the contract is the easy half. Filing it against the right client, in the right Drive, logging it, and telling the deal owner is the half that repeats fifty times a month, and it is the half that needs both a trigger and more than one account.
Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Connect it on the integrations page, or start with Google Drive.
Quick fixes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Saving to Drive does nothing | Turn on file creation and code execution in Claude’s settings |
The saved file is an .xlsx not a Sheet | That is expected; the connector writes Office formats |
| Claude will not rename or move a file | The connector has no tools for existing files |
| The same Google account connected twice | Remove the duplicate and reconnect with Use another account |
| Cowork will not add a custom connector | Custom connectors need a paid plan |
| A file is invisible | Confirm your account can open it in Drive; permissions are inherited |
Frequently asked questions
Can Claude Cowork connect two Google Drive accounts?
No. The connector authorizes a single Google identity, and connecting a second replaces the first.
Can Cowork edit files already in my Drive?
No. It saves new files it generates into a folder you pick, and has no tools for changing, renaming, moving, or reorganizing what is already there.
Why is nothing saving to Drive?
File creation and code execution both need to be on in Claude’s settings. Saving depends on them.
Does Cowork act when a file lands in Drive?
No. Scheduled tasks run on a clock, not on an event, so nothing starts because a file arrived.
Does this copy files between my accounts?
No. The Drives stay separate. Each request is routed to the account you name.
Related: Can Claude access Google Drive? · What is Claude Cowork · Claude Cowork limitations · Multiple Google Drive accounts in Claude · Multiple Google Calendars in Claude Cowork
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