Bug#1112092: gvfs-backends: Google Drive backend was removed

[Alban Browaeys]

On Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:27:32 +0100 Simon McVittie <smcv at debian.org>
wrote:
> Control: retitle -1 gvfs-backends: Google Drive backend was removed
> Control: severity -1 wishlist
> Control: tags -1 + upstream
> 
> On Tue, 26 Aug 2025 at 10:31:26 +0200, Michele Cane wrote:
> >I have a google account added via gnome-online accounts. As of teh
latest update, I am not able to mount teh remote location from teh file
manager as I used to do.
> ...
> >I do not know if this is due to bug #1110399
> 
> Yes it is. Unfortunately, the Google Drive backend requires some 
> unmaintained libraries (libsoup2.4 and libgdata), so it was switched
off 
> after the Debian 13 release. It is not feasible to provide long-term 
> security support for the required libraries, so they are very likely
to 
> be removed from Debian during the Debian 14 cycle.
> 



Agreed that there is not much that can be done Debian side... except
probably adding a Debian NEWS file and entry, and probably plan an
entry in the Debian 14 release note.

Maybe this bug should be split into keeping adding back the feature as
wishlist, and documenting the regression as a normal bug?





> In <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gvfs/-/merge_requests/266> (which
is 
> the upstream equivalent of that change), they say:
> 
>      If people miss the Google Drive integration, we suggest that the
>      Google Drive part of libgdata could be split into a separate
library
>      and ported to libsoup3 for use by gvfs.
> 
> If that happens, then the Google Drive backend can be re-enabled.
> 
>      smcv
> 
> 



Alban