How do I download a whole folder as a ZIP?

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Accepted Answer

Zipping is built into My Drive — there's nothing to install. There are two kinds, and for downloading a folder you almost always want the first one. Download it as a ZIP (the usual way). Right-click the folder in My Drive → Download folder . Your browser builds the zip as it downloads, one file at a time, and saves it straight to your computer — subfolders included. There's no size limit and nothing to queue behind. For a mix of files and folders , select them, open the ⋯ menu in the selection bar → Download as ZIP . Both show a progress entry in the Activity panel (the activity icon in the top bar); because your browser is doing the work, keep the tab open until it finishes. Make a .zip file that stays in your drive. If you'd rather have an archive sitting in My Drive — to share it, or to grab it later — right-click the folder → ZIP this folder . We build it on the server and track it in Activity ; when it finishes, click the download button on that task. This one has a few conditions the browser zip doesn't: One at a time per account. If any zip or extract task is unfinished — including one that's stuck — a new one is refused with "Please wait for other ZIP task to complete." Clear it yourself: open Activity , click the X on the stuck task, confirm Delete , then start your zip again. Folder size limits: up to 500 MB on the Free plan, up to 60 GB on any paid plan. Hitting the cap? Use Download folder instead — it has no cap. Your email must be verified. Connected cloud drives don't offer either option — no ZIP this folder , no Download folder . Right-click the folder there → Copy to… → My Drive first, then zip or download it from My Drive. For the rest of the file operations, see Managing your files .