Skip to main content
Flashcard AI can sync your decks and quiz sessions to Google Drive, making them available on any device running the app. Sync uses the Drive AppData scope — a private, hidden folder that only the app can access.

​
What gets synced

Only two files are synced to Google Drive:
  • decks.json — all deck and card data
  • quiz_sessions.json — active quiz session progress
Image files and local file paths are not uploaded. The Drive copy contains only the question and answer data. Smart Merge is used during sync: when the same deck exists on multiple devices, the copy with the newer updated_at timestamp wins.
Synced files live in the hidden Drive AppData folder. They are not visible in the normal Google Drive file browser and cannot be accessed by other apps or people viewing your Drive.

​
End users (official build)

The official release includes embedded OAuth credentials. No Google Cloud setup is required. When you click Sign in with Google in the app, it opens a browser window for you to authorize access. After authorization, a token.json file is saved locally and used for all future sync requests.

​
Developer setup (custom Google Cloud project)

If you want to use your own Google Cloud project — for example, when building from source or distributing a fork — follow these steps to create and configure your own credentials.
1

Create a Google Cloud project

Go to console.cloud.google.com and create a new project. Give it a descriptive name like flashcard-sync.
2

Enable the Google Drive API

In the left menu, go to APIs & Services → Library. Search for Google Drive API and click Enable.
3

Configure the OAuth Consent Screen

Go to APIs & Services → OAuth Consent Screen.
  • Choose Internal if your Google Workspace organization will use the app, or External for personal use.
  • For External apps in testing, add your own email address as a test user.
  • Fill in the required app name and contact fields and save.
4

Create an OAuth Client ID credential

Go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create Credentials → OAuth Client ID.
  • Set the application type to Desktop app.
  • Give it a name and click Create.
5

Download and place the credentials file

Click Download JSON on the credential you just created. Rename the downloaded file to credentials.json and place it in the project root directory (the same folder as app.py or the .exe).The app checks for credentials.json first and uses it instead of the embedded credentials if it is present.
6

Sign in

Run the app and click Sign in with Google. A browser window opens for the OAuth flow. After you approve access, token.json is created automatically and the app is connected.
Never commit credentials.json or token.json to version control. Both files are listed in .gitignore by default. credentials.json contains your OAuth client secret; token.json contains a live refresh token that grants access to your Google account. Treat both as sensitive secrets.

​
File reference

FilePurposeCreated by
credentials.jsonOAuth client configuration from Google Cloud ConsoleYou (manual step)
token.jsonStored OAuth token after first sign-inApp (automatic)
Both files are stored in the app root directory alongside decks.json and settings.json.

​
Revoking access

To disconnect the app from your Google account:
  1. Click Sign out in the app. This deletes your local token.json.
  2. To fully revoke access, go to myaccount.google.com/permissions and remove the app from your authorized applications.
The sync service handles intermittent connection issues gracefully. If a sync request fails, the app continues working locally and retries on the next sync trigger. Local data is never overwritten by a failed sync.
The Android app also supports Google Drive sync using its own OAuth flow (expo-auth-session). The same decks.json and quiz_sessions.json files are read and written, so data is shared between desktop and mobile as long as both are signed in to the same Google account.

Gemini API keys

Add and manage API keys for AI scanning.

Data storage

Understand how data is stored locally.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us