[BUG] The built-in Google Drive connection's download_file_content tool returns base64
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
So the Google Drive connections are also automatically available in Claude Code. Very useful.
And the built-in Google Drive connection has these tools:
download_file_contentread_file_content
I want Claude to be able to download a file from the drive to the current computer and work with it.
But for some reason download_file_content returns the file contents as base64 as the tool response. How is this useful?
All it does is confuse Claude, it then tries to write the base64 encoded content to a file and tries to decode it, but it mostly ends up horribly.
Why doesn't download_file_content actually download the file to a temporary location, as one would expect?
What Should Happen?
It should download the file to the current computer
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
Try the tool
Claude Model
Opus
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
2.1.197
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Other Linux
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
_No response_