How to Automate Google Drive to DeepL Translations?
Description
Turn a Google Drive folder into a simple translation queue. Drop in PDFs and get translated copies back in the same place. Useful for teams that need brochures, contracts, or guides in another language without extra manual work.
The flow starts on demand with a manual run. A config step holds three fields, the Drive folder link, the target language code, and an optional source language code. It lists files in the folder, keeps only PDFs, and downloads each file. Each document is sent to DeepL for translation. The system waits five seconds, checks the job status, and loops until the file is ready. A short two second pause between files helps with rate limits. When the result is ready, the translated file is downloaded and uploaded back to the same Drive folder.
Setup only needs Google Drive access and a DeepL API key. Expect clear time savings by removing upload, download, and status checks that normally take hours each week. Great for marketing sheets, sales decks, HR policies, and training packs. Run it when you need a clean batch without switching between apps.
Tools Required
What this workflow does?
- Manual start with a simple config step for folder link and language codes
- Scans a Google Drive folder by URL and lists files with basic fields
- Filters for PDF files only to avoid wrong file types
- Downloads each selected PDF from Google Drive
- Sends documents to DeepL with target and optional source language
- Polls translation status with a five second wait loop until ready
- Adds a two second pause between documents to respect rate limits
- Fetches the translated document from DeepL when complete
- Uploads the translated file back to the original Google Drive folder
- Includes a quick reference list of supported language codes
What are the benefits?
- Reduce manual uploads and downloads by 80 percent
- Turn hours of status checks into minutes with auto polling
- Handle up to 10 times more PDFs per day without extra staff
- Cut copy and paste mistakes by removing human steps
- Keep files organized by saving outputs in the same folder
- Connect Google Drive and DeepL with no custom code
How to set this up?
- Import the template into n8n: Create a new workflow in n8n > Click the three dots menu > Select 'Import from File' > Choose the downloaded JSON file.
- You'll need accounts with Google Drive and DeepL. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
- Prepare your Google Drive folder and confirm you have permission to read and write files in it.
- Open the Get files from specified folder node, click the Credential to connect with dropdown, choose Create new credential, and follow the on screen steps to connect your Google account. Give the credential a clear name.
- Get your DeepL API key from the API page in your DeepL account and copy it to your clipboard.
- Open the Send translate request node, click the Credential to connect with dropdown, choose Create new credential, pick HTTP Header Auth, set the header name to Authorization and the value to DeepL-Auth-Key YOUR_API_KEY, then save.
- Assign the same DeepL credential to Check translation status and Get translated document nodes. Assign the Google Drive credential to all Google Drive nodes.
- Open the config Set node and fill folder_url with your Google Drive folder link. Set target_lang using a code like FR or ES. Set source_lang only if you want to force the input language.
- Click Execute workflow. Check the first steps to confirm the folder is found and that PDF files are listed. If nothing shows, add a sample PDF to the folder.
- Run a small test with one PDF. Watch the status loop and wait nodes. When finished, confirm a translated file appears back in the same folder.
- If jobs seem slow or you hit limits, adjust the Wait a bit node from five seconds and the Wait between documents node from two seconds to fit your usage.
- Troubleshooting tips: if translation fails, verify the Authorization header format and your DeepL quota. If upload fails, confirm Drive permissions and that the folder_url is correct.
Need help or want to customize this?
Ask in the Free Futurise Community.
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