General & Duplication Logic
Google Drive natively does not provide a "Make a copy" button for folders. To copy a shared folder recursively, install MyDrive Copier from the Chrome Web Store. Navigate to the shared folder in Chrome, click the extension icon, click Auto-Detect Tab to grab the folder ID, and click Start Recursive Copy. The extension traverses all nested subdirectories and issues parallel server-side copy calls directly via Google Drive API v3 without downloading any files to your personal computer.
Google Drive restricts "Make a copy" to single files to prevent unintentional massive server load from duplicating vast directory structures. While Google offers "Add shortcut to Drive", a shortcut is only a pointer. If the owner revokes permissions, edits, or deletes the original files, your shortcut becomes useless. MyDrive Copier solves this by systematically minting brand-new Google Drive file IDs owned by your account.
A shortcut is simply a symbolic link that points to the original owner's file. It takes up 0 bytes of your storage quota, but you do not own the file. If the owner changes file contents, moves it, or deletes it, your shortcut reflects those changes or breaks. A true copy duplicates the content into new files in your Google Drive with you as the legal owner, ensuring 100% data independence.
No. MyDrive Copier performs 100% cloud-to-cloud transfers directly via the official Google Drive API v3 (files.copy). Only lightweight JSON API instructions travel through your browser. Zero bytes of payload data are downloaded to your hard drive or re-uploaded over your local internet connection.
Yes. If you download a folder as a ZIP file, Google forcibly converts Docs to .docx, Sheets to .xlsx, and Slides to .pptx—breaking comments, revision history, and collaborative formatting. MyDrive Copier copies native Google formats directly server-to-server, preserving 100% native Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides identity.
Quota, Permissions & Ownership
Yes. When you copy a shared folder into your personal "My Drive", your Google account becomes the owner of those newly created copies. The storage used by these new files will count against your personal Google account quota (e.g. your 15GB free tier or Google One plan).
No. Reading a folder shared with you and duplicating files to your own private Drive generates zero notifications, emails, or activity alerts for the original folder owner.
Google strictly blocks transferring file ownership across external domains or between school/work Google Workspace domains and personal @gmail.com accounts (the "Transfer ownership" option is greyed out or fails). The industry-standard solution is to share the folder with your personal account, and run MyDrive Copier from the destination account. The new copies are minted with your personal account as the sole legal owner.
If the original owner checked "Viewers and commenters can't see the option to download, print, and copy" on specific files, Google Drive's API strictly honors that security policy and blocks duplication calls. MyDrive Copier detects these protected files, marks them as "Protected" in the Task Manager dashboard, and continues copying the remainder of the folder without stopping.
Performance, Rate Limits & Technology
Google Drive imposes strict queries-per-second (QPS) limits. Copying hundreds of files rapidly can trigger HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) or HTTP 403 (User Rate Limit Exceeded). MyDrive Copier features a built-in Exponential Backoff engine with randomized jitter that pauses execution, dynamically reduces worker concurrency, and automatically retries requests until Google accepts them.
Google Apps Script has a hard 6-minute execution limit per invocation for standard Google accounts. Folders with more than 300–500 files hit Exceeded maximum execution time and crash midway. MyDrive Copier executes within Chrome's Manifest V3 background service worker with persistent state recovery and zero arbitrary time limits.
BYOK mode allows power users and enterprise teams to connect their own free Google Cloud OAuth 2.0 Client ID. This provides dedicated API quota (completely isolated from shared extension limits) and complete data sovereignty for corporate compliance policies.
MyDrive Copier operates in a Manifest V3 background service worker. Closing the popup window or switching tabs will not disrupt the background worker pool. If a network drop occurs, the Task Manager dashboard provides a "Retry Failed" button to copy only the missed files without restarting the entire job.
Pricing & Licensing
MyDrive Copier comes with a 100% Free Trial allowing you to copy up to 50 files upon installation—no credit card required. To unlock unlimited lifetime copying, you can purchase a one-time Lifetime License for $12.99 USD, valid across up to 3 personal devices with free updates forever.
After completing payment via Stripe, your unique license key (format: MDC-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) is displayed on the success screen and emailed to you. In the extension, click Settings (gear icon), paste your key into the "License Key" input, and click "Activate Pro". If you lose your key, click "Recover License" to receive it again via email.