Google Drive PHP API: Delete shows Insufficient Permission

Question

I've been working on deleting a file in my Google Drive but I can't make it work. I have changed my scope from $client->setScopes(Google_Service_Drive::DRIVE_METADATA_READONLY); to $client->setScopes(Google_Service_Drive::DRIVE);.

Here's my full code:

<?php
require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

if (php_sapi_name() != 'cli') {
 throw new Exception('This application must be run on the command line.');
}

/**
* Returns an authorized API client.
* @return Google_Client the authorized client object
*/
function getClient()
{
  $client = new Google_Client();
  $client->setApplicationName('Google Drive API PHP Quickstart');
  //$client->setScopes(Google_Service_Drive::DRIVE_METADATA_READONLY);
  $client->setScopes(Google_Service_Drive::DRIVE);
  //$client->setScopes(Google_Service_Drive::DRIVE_APPDATA);
  //$client->setScopes(Google_Service_Drive::DRIVE_FILE);
  //$client->setAuthConfig('credentials.json');
  $client->setAccessType('offline');

  // Load previously authorized credentials from a file.
  $credentialsPath = 'token.json';
  if (file_exists($credentialsPath)) {
    $accessToken = json_decode(file_get_contents($credentialsPath), true);
  } else {
    // Request authorization from the user.
    $authUrl = $client->createAuthUrl();
    printf("Open the following link in your browser:\n%s\n", $authUrl);
    print 'Enter verification code: ';
    $authCode = trim(fgets(STDIN));

    // Exchange authorization code for an access token.
    $accessToken = $client->fetchAccessTokenWithAuthCode($authCode);

    // Check to see if there was an error.
    if (array_key_exists('error', $accessToken)) {
        throw new Exception(join(', ', $accessToken));
    }

    // Store the credentials to disk.
    if (!file_exists(dirname($credentialsPath))) {
        mkdir(dirname($credentialsPath), 0700, true);
    }
    file_put_contents($credentialsPath, json_encode($accessToken));
    printf("Credentials saved to %s\n", $credentialsPath);
}
$client->setAccessToken($accessToken);

// Refresh the token if it's expired.
if ($client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
    $client->fetchAccessTokenWithRefreshToken($client->getRefreshToken());
    file_put_contents($credentialsPath, json_encode($client->getAccessToken()));
}
    return $client;
}


// Get the API client and construct the service object.
$client = getClient();
$service = new Google_Service_Drive($client);

/*Get Files under hourly_backup*/
$hourly_backup_id = '1Y3cGEwXy9gLcw9WO0isqwtwtysU0g_bK';

$optParams = array(
  //'pageSize' => 20,
  'fields' => 'nextPageToken, files(id,name,size,parents,createdTime)',
  'q' => "'".$hourly_backup_id."' in parents"
);
$results = $service->files->listFiles($optParams);

if (count($results->getFiles()) == 0) {
    print "No files found.\n";
} else {
    foreach ($results->getFiles() as $file) {
        if(strtotime(date('Y-m-d H:i:s', strtotime($file->getcreatedTime()))) <= strtotime('-48 hours')){
            try {
                return $service->files->delete($file->getId());
            } catch (Exception $e) {
                print "An error occurred: " . $e->getMessage();
            }
            return NULL;
        } else {
           print "weh \n";
        }
    }
}

If the condition is met and the delete code is ran, this is what I get:

An error occurred: {
 "error": {
   "errors": [
   {
    "domain": "global",
    "reason": "insufficientPermissions",
    "message": "Insufficient Permission"
   }
  ],
  "code": 403,
  "message": "Insufficient Permission"
 }
}

UPDATE:

I also tried in the API Explorer and it worked without any problem.

The google drive I'm working on is mine and I am able to delete a file directly without any problems. What could be missing in my code?

Answer 1

"Insufficient Permission"

Means just that the user who is currently authenticated does not have permission to do what you are trying to do.

You said that you changed the scopes. But did you reauthcate the application? The application will pop up and request permission to the drive account. If you are still running with an old access token or refresh token that still has read only access you are not going to be able to delete the file.