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This guide sets up a Google Drive folder as a shared Palette Desktop workspace. Each teammate opens the synced folder in Desktop, starts separate sessions, and saves reviewed changes back for the team.
This page is a draft. Google Drive supports limited-access folders, but Palette has not completed its end-to-end internal sync test with that setup. Do not rely on limited-access subfolders for sensitive files until that check is complete.

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Before you start

Each teammate needs:
  • Google Drive for desktop installed and signed in on their Mac
  • Palette Desktop installed
  • Permission to edit the workspace folder and save changes to its files
Manage sharing and limited access on the Google Drive website. Google Drive for desktop can sync the result, but it cannot change limited-access settings.

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1. Choose the workspace scope

Start with the people who need the same context. A company can use several workspaces. Each Palette Desktop workspace is its own folder, so a company workspace can sit beside team and project workspaces.

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2. Create the folder in Google Drive

Open Google Drive in your browser and create a clearly named top-level folder.
  • Use a shared drive if that is already where your company keeps shared work.
  • Otherwise, create the folder in My Drive and share it with the team.
  • Keep the first setup simple. Use separate top-level workspaces when groups need clearly different access.
Don’t use Google Drive’s container folders as the workspace location. These are the account folder itself and the folders directly under it other than My Drive, such as Shared drives. Google Drive moves a folder created there into My Drive. Palette keeps the old path, so every file in the workspace would open blank. On macOS, Palette Desktop refuses these folders in every workspace picker and shows Pick one of your shared drives, or a folder in My Drive. Choose one of these instead:
  • One of your shared drives, or a folder inside a shared drive
  • A folder in My Drive
Requires Palette Desktop v0.62.0 or later.

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3. Share the top-level folder

Share the folder with the group that should use the workspace. Teammates who need to save work back must be able to edit the folder. Google Drive permissions on a parent folder are inherited by the files and subfolders inside it. Google explains the available folder roles and inherited permissions in Share folders in Google Drive.

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4. Limit access to a subfolder

If part of the workspace should be visible to fewer people, create a separate subfolder and turn on limited access:
  1. In Google Drive on the web, right-click the subfolder.
  2. Select Share, then open Settings.
  3. Turn on Limit access.
  4. Add the people who should be able to open the folder.
People with access to the parent folder but not the limited-access subfolder cannot open its contents. In Drive for desktop, excluded teammates do not see that folder. Google documents the behavior, roles, and platform differences in Limited access to files and folders.
Verify the result with a second teammate account before using this structure. Palette’s end-to-end test with limited-access Drive folders is still pending, so keep sensitive material out of this setup for now.

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5. Open the synced folder in Palette Desktop

On each teammate’s Mac:
  1. Wait for the workspace folder to appear in Finder through Google Drive for desktop.
  2. Open Palette Desktop.
  3. Choose the synced folder as the workspace. Pick the shared drive or the folder inside it, not Shared drives or the account folder.
  4. Confirm that the expected files and subfolders appear.
Each teammate opens their own synced copy of the same Drive folder. Google Drive moves approved file changes between machines. If Palette Desktop can’t read a file, the viewer shows Can’t display this file instead of a blank page. This happens when the file moved, is over 5 MB, or isn’t text. If every file shows this message, check that the workspace still points at the folder Google Drive synced. After you close the last window, the next launch reopens your most recent workspace. If Google Drive hasn’t mounted yet, Palette keeps the workspace in your recents and opens it once the folder is available.
Requires Palette Desktop v0.62.0 or later.

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6. Work through sessions

The workspace is already set up when someone starts work:
  1. Start a new session with the workspace context in place.
  2. Work with one or several agents while changes stay inside the session.
  3. Review the changed files.
  4. Save the approved changes back to the workspace.
  5. Wait for Google Drive to finish syncing before another teammate starts dependent work.
If two sessions change the same file, review and reconcile the work before saving. Do not assume Palette or Google Drive will merge the changes automatically.

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Verify the setup

Use a small test before real work:
  1. Ask a second teammate to open the workspace in Palette Desktop.
  2. Confirm they can see the shared folders they need.
  3. Confirm they cannot open a limited-access folder they should not have.
  4. Create a test file in a session, review it, and save it back.
  5. Confirm the file appears for the second teammate after Google Drive finishes syncing.