Deliver Finals from Shade to Google Drive Without a Local Round-Trip

Q: "Does the client need a Shade account to receive the delivery?"

"No — that is the point of the move. Files land in Google Drive as ordinary files; the client opens a shared folder with their existing Google account. Guest access in Shade exists, but it onboards reviewers into your workspace rather than handing them the files."

Q: "Does Google's 750 GB daily upload limit affect large deliveries?"

"Yes — Drive accepts at most 750 GB of uploads per account per day, from any tool. A full-project handoff bigger than that spans multiple days; CloudsLinker resumes automatically when the window reopens, but plan client deadlines around the ceiling."

Q: "What are the API key and Drive ID the Shade connection asks for?"

"The API key authenticates your Shade account; the Drive ID, copied from the drive's settings panel, pins the connection to the specific drive holding the finals. Delivering from several project drives means one connection per drive."

Q: "Does delivering free up our per-seat active storage?"

"Copying alone doesn't — the originals still occupy the pool (500 GB per seat, pooled team-wide). After the client confirms the delivery, delete or archive the project in Shade to reclaim the space for the next job."

Q: "Will the delivery folder structure match what editors built?"

"Yes. The folder tree inside the Shade drive is recreated in the Google Drive destination folder, so a Finals/Episode-01/Masters layout arrives exactly as organized."

Q: "Can I deliver only the finals and not the whole drive?"

"Yes, and you should: tick just the delivery folders, or filter by file type and date to catch final renders while excluding project files, proxies and raw footage that would burn upload quota."

Q: "Whose Google storage does the delivery consume?"

"The uploading account's — files you transfer into your own Drive count against your quota (15 GB free, 2 TB at $9.99/month on Google One) even when shared onward. For quota to land on the client's side, have them provide a Shared Drive (Google Workspace) you can write into."

Q: "How is each connection secured?"

"Shade connects with an API key you can revoke in your account settings; Google Drive uses Google's OAuth consent flow with a revocable token. Neither side ever sees the other's credentials, and transfers run over TLS."

Send finished videos from Shade drives to Google Drive for client delivery — free up per-seat active storage and hand off in the cloud clients already use.

Introduction

Google Drive is where clients already live: 15 GB free on every Google account, folders anyone can open without new software, and sharing that non-technical reviewers understand. Shade is the opposite end of the pipeline — a $20-per-seat production workspace whose AI-indexed drives are built for editors, not for handing a cut to a marketing manager. When a project wraps, two pressures point the same direction: the client wants files in a place they control, and the team wants the 500 GB of active storage each seat carries back for the next job. Moving finals from Shade to Google Drive answers both. Below, the manual download-and-upload path, and a server-side copy with CloudsLinker that delivers straight from drive to Drive.

Method 1: Download from Shade and Re-upload
Method 2: Deliver Shade to Google Drive in the Cloud
Quick Comparison
Practical Tips
Frequently Asked Questions

What is Shade?

Shade is a production media workspace: AI-indexed drives with visual search, browser previews and review tools, priced at $20 per seat per month with 500 GB of active storage per seat, pooled across the team.

$20/seat/mo; 500 GB active storage per seat
AI search and previews built for editors
Unlimited drives; guests for review, not delivery
API key + Drive ID access for tools

What is Google Drive?

Google Drive is the storage every client already has: 15 GB free per Google account, folder sharing that needs no onboarding, and paid tiers through Google One (2 TB at $9.99/mo). Uploads cap at 750 GB per account per day; single files up to 5 TB.

15 GB free; 2 TB at $9.99/mo via Google One
750 GB/day upload cap per account
5 TB maximum single file
OAuth access for transfer tools

Comparison: Shade vs Google Drive

Feature	Shade	Google Drive
Built for	Editing teams searching footage	Universal storage and sharing
Pricing	$20/seat/mo, 500 GB active per seat	15 GB free; 2 TB at $9.99/mo
Client access	Guest seats inside your workspace	Share a folder; client keeps their own account
Upload constraint	No published cap	750 GB per account per day
Max single file	No published cap	5 TB
Connection in CloudsLinker	API key + Drive ID	Google OAuth

Sources: Shade: pricing, Google: storage and upload limits.

Preparing to Transfer from Shade to Google Drive

Settle the quota question first: files you upload into your own Drive count against your storage even after sharing, so either size your Google One plan to the delivery or ask the client for a Workspace Shared Drive you can write into. Gather the Shade side's credentials — an API key from account settings and the Drive ID from the source drive's settings panel. Stage the finals inside the Shade drive into a clean folder (Finals/, Masters/) so the transfer selection is one tick, and estimate size against Google's 750 GB/day upload window: bigger handoffs simply take a second day.

Method 1: Download from Shade and Re-upload

Step 1: Download the finals from Shade

In Shade's web app, open the project drive and browse to the finals folders — the sidebar expands per drive into Drive Directory, Views, Collections and more, but plain folder navigation is all a delivery needs. Select the folders and download. Large selections arrive as archives; a full episode's masters can take a workstation offline for the afternoon.

Shade web app file browser for an apparel project drive, left sidebar expanded to show Drive Directory, Views, Collections, Objects, People, Duplicates, Automations and Trash, with client folders and product photo files in the main grid

Step 2: Upload into Google Drive

At drive.google.com, create the delivery folder, drag the files in, and share the folder with the client once the upload completes.

Google Drive web interface uploading files into a folder with the upload progress panel visible

Acceptable for one master file. As a per-project routine, every delivery costs a download, an upload, and a machine pinned to both.

Method 2: Deliver Shade to Google Drive in the Cloud

Drive-to-Drive delivery while the team keeps editing

CloudsLinker reads the project drive through Shade's API — key plus Drive ID — and writes the finals into Google Drive over OAuth, pacing itself under Google's 750 GB/day ceiling automatically. The handoff runs server-side, so delivery day doesn't cost the team a workstation or the office connection.

Step 1: Connect Shade

Click Add Cloud → Shade. Paste your API key and the Drive ID of the project drive holding the finals — the ID sits in that drive's settings panel. Each connection maps to one drive.

CloudsLinker Add Cloud dialog for Shade with API key and Drive ID inputs

Step 2: Connect Google Drive

Click Add Cloud → Google Drive, sign in on Google's consent page and approve. To land quota on the client's side, connect the account that has access to their Shared Drive instead of your personal Drive.

Google OAuth consent screen authorizing Drive access for CloudsLinker

Step 3: Configure the Transfer

Set Shade as the source and tick the Finals folder; set Google Drive as the destination delivery folder. A file-type filter keeps proxies and project files out of the handoff. Copy mode leaves the drive intact until the client signs off.

CloudsLinker transfer configuration with a Shade drive Finals folder checked as source and a Google Drive delivery folder selected as destination

Step 4: Start and Monitor the Transfer

Start the job, watch the Task List, and share the Google Drive folder with the client when it completes. Multi-day deliveries (past the 750 GB window) resume automatically — no re-queuing.

CloudsLinker Task List following a delivery transfer into Google Drive

Comparing the Ways to Transfer From Shade to Google Drive

Method	Ease of Use	Speed	Best For	Uses Local Bandwidth	Skill Level
Manual download / upload	Medium	Slow (double pass)	A single master file	Yes — twice	Basic
CloudsLinker	Easy	Fast (server-side, auto-paced)	Full-project handoffs, recurring deliveries	No	Basic

Practical Tips for Moving Shade to Google Drive

Deliver finals, keep the library: raw footage and selects are worth more inside Shade's search index than in a client's Drive. Hand off renders and masters; keep the source material searchable.
Solve the quota question before delivery day: uploads count against the uploading account. A client-provided Shared Drive (Workspace) puts the bytes on their bill; otherwise size your Google One plan to the handoff.
Plan around 750 GB/day: Google's upload ceiling is per account per day. A 2 TB delivery is a three-day transfer by design — start before the deadline, not on it.
Reclaim seats after sign-off: copying doesn't free Shade's active-storage pool. Once the client confirms, archive or delete the project drive to hand 500 GB-per-seat capacity back to the next production.
Share with permissions, not public links: set the delivery folder to specific client addresses with Viewer rights; add expiry where the relationship calls for it.
Filter proxies out of the handoff: a type filter on final formats keeps editing by-products from padding the delivery and the quota.
One connection per project drive: the Drive ID binds a connection to one drive, so recurring clients map cleanly — same two connections, new folder selection each delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions

No — that is the point of the move. Files land in Google Drive as ordinary files; the client opens a shared folder with their existing Google account. Guest access in Shade exists, but it onboards reviewers into your workspace rather than handing them the files.

Yes — Drive accepts at most 750 GB of uploads per account per day, from any tool. A full-project handoff bigger than that spans multiple days; CloudsLinker resumes automatically when the window reopens, but plan client deadlines around the ceiling.

The API key authenticates your Shade account; the Drive ID, copied from the drive's settings panel, pins the connection to the specific drive holding the finals. Delivering from several project drives means one connection per drive.

Copying alone doesn't — the originals still occupy the pool (500 GB per seat, pooled team-wide). After the client confirms the delivery, delete or archive the project in Shade to reclaim the space for the next job.

Yes. The folder tree inside the Shade drive is recreated in the Google Drive destination folder, so a Finals/Episode-01/Masters layout arrives exactly as organized.

Yes, and you should: tick just the delivery folders, or filter by file type and date to catch final renders while excluding project files, proxies and raw footage that would burn upload quota.

The uploading account's — files you transfer into your own Drive count against your quota (15 GB free, 2 TB at $9.99/month on Google One) even when shared onward. For quota to land on the client's side, have them provide a Shared Drive (Google Workspace) you can write into.

Shade connects with an API key you can revoke in your account settings; Google Drive uses Google's OAuth consent flow with a revocable token. Neither side ever sees the other's credentials, and transfers run over TLS.

Conclusion

A single master file ships fine by hand — download from Shade, drag into drive.google.com, share the folder. Recurring deliveries and full-project handoffs earn the server-side route: CloudsLinker reads the Shade drive by API key and Drive ID, writes into Google Drive over OAuth, and leaves your workstation out of a transfer that might be hundreds of gigabytes. Deliver finals, not the whole drive — raw footage keeps its value in Shade's searchable library, and Google's 750 GB per-day upload ceiling is better spent on files the client actually asked for.

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