How to Copy a Folder in Google Drive

Google Drive has no "Copy Folder" button. To copy a folder, open it, select all files (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A), right-click, and choose "Make a copy." Then move the copies to a new folder. For the easiest method, use Google Drive for Desktop where you can right-click a folder and select "Duplicate."

Method 1: Copy Files Inside the Folder (Web)

Go to drive.google.com
Open the folder you want to copy
Select all files inside (Ctrl+A on Windows, Cmd+A on Mac)
Right-click → "Make a copy"
Copies appear in the same folder with "Copy of" prefix
Select the copies → Right-click → "Organize" → "Move"
Choose or create a new destination folder

Limitations:

Subfolders are not copied—only files
Each file gets "Copy of" added to its name
You must manually recreate the folder structure

Method 2: Use Google Drive for Desktop (Easiest)

Install Google Drive for Desktop
Open the Google Drive folder on your computer (via File Explorer or Finder)
Navigate to the folder you want to copy
Right-click the folder → "Duplicate" (Mac) or "Copy" then "Paste" (Windows)
The duplicate syncs back to Google Drive automatically

Advantages:

Copies entire folder structure including subfolders
Only the parent folder gets "Copy" in the name, not every file
Works with nested folders

Method 3: Download and Re-upload

Right-click the folder in Google Drive → "Download"
Wait for the ZIP file to download
Extract the ZIP on your computer
In Google Drive, click "New" → "Folder upload"
Select the extracted folder

Note: Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides download as Microsoft Office formats. They'll need to be converted back after upload.

Copying Shared Folders

You cannot directly copy folders shared with you. Your options:

Option 1: Open the shared folder, select all files, and make copies (files only, no subfolders)

Option 2: Download the folder and re-upload to your Drive

Option 3: Ask the owner to copy the folder and share the copy with you

If the owner has disabled downloading or copying, you cannot duplicate the folder at all.

What Gets Copied

When you copy files:

Copied	Not Copied
File content	Comments
File name (with "Copy of")	Version history
Your ownership of the copy	Sharing settings
Current file state	Original creation date

The copy is a new, independent file. Changes to the original don't affect the copy.

Use Cases for Copying Folders

Project templates: Copy a template folder structure for each new project

Backups: Create a duplicate before making major changes

Transferring to another account: Copy to your Drive, then share with your other account

Archiving: Copy a working folder to an archive location

Before You Copy: Clean Up First

Copying a messy folder just creates two messy folders. Before duplicating:

Remove files you don't need
Delete duplicates inside the folder
Clear out empty subfolders

Overdrive can scan a specific folder and show you duplicates, empty files, and junk inside—so you only copy what matters.

For more on keeping folders organized, see our folder structure best practices.