🚫 This repository has been archived

Due to recent changes to the Google Photos API, forcing users to choose which albums will be accessible, this project is no longer of much interest.

I am forced to archive it!

#1 (comment)

Google Photos remove empty albums

Remove all empty albums from a Google Photos account.

How-to use

To retrieve the Google libraries needed to use the Google Photos REST API, follow these steps:

Create your virtual environment

You can create your virtual environment with Python:

Under Linux or macOD:

python3 -m venv .venv

Under Windows:

python -m venv .venv

Switch on your new virtual environment

Under Linux or macOS:

source .venv/bin/activate

Under Windows:

• In PowerShell:

  .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

• In Command Prompt:

  .venv\Scripts\activate.bat

Install libraries

You will need the Google Auth libraries. You can install them using pip:

pip install --requirement requirements.txt

Configure the OAuth 2.0 identification information

1. Go to the Google Cloud console.
2. Create a new project or select an existing one.
3. Activate the Google Photos Library API for your project.
4. Configure the OAuth 2.0 consent screen.
5. Create OAuth 2.0 credentials and download the credentials.json file.

Using the script

The script use the Selenium WebDriver to control your browser.

It only works with Google Chrome and Chromium browsers.

First, you need to be connected to your Google Account in the browser you will use.

Command line

usage: DeleteEmptyAlbums.py [-h] [-l LOCATION] [-p PROFILE]

Delete empty albums from Google Photos.

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -l LOCATION, --location LOCATION
                        Path to the browser location to use. Work only with Google Chrome or Chromium.
  -p PROFILE, --profile PROFILE
                        Path to the user profile to use.

Examples

With Google Chrome and the default user profile:

python3 DeleteEmptyAlbums.py

• The default user profile paths are:
  • Under Windows:

     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\

  • Under macOS:

     $HOME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Profile/

  • Under Linux:

     $HOME/.config/google-chrome/Profile/

With Chromium and the default user profile under Windows PowerShell, if only Chromium is installed:

python .\DeleteEmptyAlbums.py --profile "$ENV:LOCALAPPDATA\Chromium\User Data"

With Chromium under Windows PowerShell with the specific path to Chromium:

python .\DeleteEmptyAlbums.py --location "$ENV:ProgramFiles\Chromium\Application\chrome.exe" --profile "$ENV:LOCALAPPDATA\Chromium\User Data"

With Chromium under the Windows Command Prompt:

python DeleteEmptyAlbums.py --location "%ProgramFiles%\Chromium\Application\chrome.exe" --profile "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Chromium\User Data"