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Google Photos (legacy) Make integrationAutomate Google Photos (legacy) with Make.

Can Make pick up new photos from your library and pass them to the rest of your tools? The Google Photos (legacy) Make integration gives you 8 modules: 1 trigger, 4 actions and 3 searches. This guide shows you how to connect your account and build a first working scenario.

Try the Google Photos (legacy) integration on MakeSee the 8 modules

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What you can automate

What can the Google Photos (legacy) Make integration do for you?

The Google Photos (legacy) Make integration links your Google Photos library to Make, so a scenario (the automation you build in Make, a chain of modules) can spot new media items, read albums and download files for other apps. You set it up once with a Google OAuth client, then reuse it in every scenario.

Three setups cover most needs. Get new shots out of the library: Watch Media Items spots each new item and Download a Media File hands the file to the next module, for example a storage or chat app. Build an inventory of albums: List Albums and List Shared Albums return one bundle (one item passed from module to module) per album, ready to write into a spreadsheet. Look up one item on demand: Get a Media Item or Get an Album fetches a single element when another app already points to it.

What the integration does not do: the official documentation lists no upload, edit or delete module, and it gives no module descriptions, so test each module with Run once before relying on it. When a need falls outside the listed modules, Make an API Call reaches the rest of the Google Photos API with the same connection.

The same app often has an n8n node too. If you are weighing both tools, the n8n vs Make comparison lays out the criteria, Make pricing explains how operations are counted, and Make training takes you further than this first scenario.

Connect

How do you connect Google Photos (legacy) to Make?

  1. 01

    Create an OAuth client in Google

    You need an active Google Account. In the Google API Console, open APIs & Services, then Credentials, click Create Credentials and pick OAuth client ID. Choose Web application, give the client a name and add your authorized JavaScript origins.

  2. 02

    Add the callback URI and copy the keys

    In the same form, enter the callback URI https://www.integromat.com/oauth/cb/google-photos and click Create. Google then shows a dialog with the Client ID and the Client secret: copy both, you will paste them into Make next.

  3. 03

    Create the connection in Make

    Add any Google Photos (legacy) module to a scenario and click Create a connection. A connection is your account linked to Make once and reused by every module of the app. Name it if you like in Connection name, paste your credentials and follow the on-screen instructions.

First scenario

Your first scenario with Google Photos (legacy)

GoalWhen a new media item shows up in Google Photos, Make downloads the file so the next module can use it.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big + to add the first module. Search for Google Photos (legacy) and pick Watch Media Items.

  2. 02

    Connect your account

    Click Create a connection and use the Client ID and Client secret from Google. Once the connection works, fill the module fields: Make lists what it can read from your library.

  3. 03

    Add the download

    Click the + on the right of the trigger, pick Download a Media File, and map the media item that Watch Media Items passes along, so each new photo gets its own download.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once, then read the bundles each module received. If the trigger returns nothing, add a new photo to your library and run the test again.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Open the clock on the first module: a new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, which is also the shortest interval on the Free plan. Switch the scenario on, and add the module of the app that should receive the files.

Triggers

What starts a Google Photos (legacy) scenario?

1 module starts a scenario when something happens in Google Photos (legacy). A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by Google Photos (legacy) as soon as it happens.

Google Photos (legacy)1Watch Media Items

Watch Media Items

triggerIn the docs only

This is the only way for Google Photos (legacy) itself to start a scenario: Watch Media Items looks for media items that are new since its last check and sends each one down the scenario as a bundle.

How it fires
scheduled. Make checks the app on the scenario's schedule, every 15 minutes by default, and that clock badge on the module is your reminder that nothing happens between two checks.
When to use it
when every new photo or video should reach another tool without you exporting it by hand.
Watch out
each item that comes through runs the next modules once, and every run of a module is an operation counted on your plan.
Modules

Every Google Photos (legacy) module, explained

Google Photos (legacy) gives you 7 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Google Photos (legacy)1

Download a Media File

ActionIn the docs only

Turns a media item into an actual file inside your scenario, which is what you need before any storage, email or chat module can do something with the photo.

When to use it
right after Watch Media Items or a list module, when the next step expects the file and not only its details.
Watch out
on the Free plan, Make handles files up to 5 MB. Large videos can go past that, so check their size before you build on this module.
Google Photos (legacy)2

Get a Media Item

ActionIn the docs only

Fetches one specific photo or video and returns its details as a single bundle, handy when a previous module already tells you which item matters.

When to use it
a form, a sheet row or another app hands you a reference to one item and you want its information before deciding what to do.
Watch out
it reads one item only; to go through a whole library, a list module fits better.
Google Photos (legacy)3

Get an Album

ActionIn the docs only

Pulls the information of one album into the scenario, so later modules can reuse it, for instance to name a folder or write a line in a report.

When to use it
your scenario already knows which album it works with, maybe from List Albums earlier in the flow, and needs that album's details.
Watch out
the documentation never says what comes back. Run it once, then look at the bundle before you map anything into the next module.
Google Photos (legacy)4

List Albums

SearchIn the docs only

Gives you every album of the connected library as separate bundles, a quick way to get an inventory without clicking through Google Photos yourself.

When to use it
you want a spreadsheet of your albums, or you need to loop over each album before reading its content.
Watch out
a search can return zero, one or many bundles, and each bundle runs the following modules again, which adds operations.
Google Photos (legacy)5

List Media Items

SearchIn the docs only

Returns the media items of the library in one go, one bundle per photo or video, when you need the existing content and not only what arrives next.

When to use it
a one-off catch-up, such as sending the photos already in the library to a new storage app before Watch Media Items takes over.
Watch out
a large library produces many bundles, so try it with Run once and look at the count before switching the scenario on.
Google Photos (legacy)6

List Shared Albums

SearchIn the docs only

Focuses on shared albums and returns one bundle for each, so you can treat collaborative albums apart from your private ones.

When to use it
an event team or a client shares albums with you and you want them tracked in a sheet or announced in a chat channel.
Watch out
like List Albums, it can return nothing at all; plan what the scenario should do when the result is empty.
Google Photos (legacy)7

Make an API Call

ActionIn the docs only

Opens the rest of the Google Photos API to your scenario, reusing the connection you already created, when none of the seven other modules does the job.

When to use it
the Google Photos API documentation describes something you need, and no module in this list does it.
Watch out
you write the request yourself here, so this module asks for more technical comfort than the others on this page.
Need help

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FAQ

Google Photos (legacy) and Make: common questions

01Is the Google Photos (legacy) Make integration free?
Yes. Google Photos (legacy) is a standard app, so it is available on the Free plan along with more than 3,000 other standard apps. The Free plan has limits you will feel quickly: 2 active scenarios, at least 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution per run, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans lower the interval to 1 minute and remove the cap on active scenarios. Usage is counted in operations, one per module run.
02What do you need to connect Google Photos (legacy) to Make?
You need an active Google Account and an OAuth 2.0 client ID. You create that client in the Google API Console under APIs and Services, choose Web application, add the callback URI given in the Make documentation, then copy the Client ID and the Client secret. In Make, you click Create a connection on any Google Photos (legacy) module and paste those credentials. The connection then works for all 8 modules of the app.
03Does the Watch Media Items trigger fire instantly?
No. Watch Media Items is a scheduled trigger: Make checks your library on the scenario's schedule instead of being called by Google Photos when a photo arrives. A new scenario checks every 15 minutes by default, and 15 minutes is also the shortest interval on the Free plan. Paid plans let you go down to 1 minute. Each check that finds new items passes them on as bundles, and the following modules run once per item.
04What if a Google Photos (legacy) module is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. This module reaches any endpoint of the Google Photos API with the connection you already set up, so you are not stuck with the 8 listed modules. You do write the request yourself, which takes a bit more technical comfort. The official documentation gives no description for the modules and no documented limits, so run each module with Run once and read its bundles before building on it.
05Make or n8n for Google Photos (legacy)?
It depends on what you already use. On Make, this app gives you 8 modules, including a scheduled trigger and a Make an API Call module for anything missing, and you build everything in a visual editor. The same app often has an n8n node as well, so check the node list on the n8n side before you decide. The comparison linked on this page lists the criteria that matter, tool by tool, without naming a winner.
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