How to Get a Gemini API Key
This application uses Google Gemini Vision AI to read cover details from your comics. To use it, you need to create a personal API key from Google. Here is how:
- Go to Google AI Studio.
- Sign in with any standard Google/Gmail account.
- Click the blue "Create API Key" button in the top-left corner.
- Select "Create API Key in new project".
- Copy the generated key (starts with
AIzaSy...).
- Open **Settings** (gear icon) in this app, paste the key into the Gemini Key field, and click **Save Settings**.
Free vs. Paid Tier: The Free Tier key allows up to 15-20 requests/min and resets automatically. If you want zero delays, you can add a credit card to Google AI Studio to move to Pay-As-You-Go. Resized images are so small that cataloging 1,000 comics costs less than 2 cents!
How to Get a Google OAuth Client ID
To use the **Google Sign In** flow (which automatically generates OAuth tokens and connects to your Google Drive), you must configure a Google OAuth Client ID:
- Go to the Google Cloud Console.
- Create a new project or select an existing project.
- Navigate to **APIs & Services** → **OAuth consent screen**:
- Select **External** user type and click **Create**.
- Fill in app details (App name, support email, developer email) and click **Save and Continue**.
- Under **Scopes**, add the
.../auth/drive and .../auth/userinfo.profile scopes.
- Under **Test users**, add your own Gmail address (crucial while the app is in Testing mode).
- Navigate to **APIs & Services** → **Credentials**:
- Click **Create Credentials** → select **OAuth client ID**.
- Set *Application type* to **Web application**.
- Add **Authorized JavaScript origins**:
http://localhost:8543 (and/or any host URL you are using).
- Add **Authorized redirect URIs**:
http://localhost:8543 (matching your server URL).
- Click **Create** and copy the generated **Client ID** (ends in
.apps.googleusercontent.com).
- Paste it into the **Google OAuth Client ID** field in settings and click **Save Settings**.
How to Connect a Google Drive Shared Folder
You can load an entire folder of comic covers directly from Google Drive. To make this work, the folder must be publicly shared so the app can fetch the files client-side:
- Upload your comic covers (.jpg, .png, or .webp) to a folder in Google Drive.
- Right-click the folder (or tap the menu icon on mobile) and select Share → Share.
- Under General Access, change Restricted to "Anyone with the link". Ensure the role is set to Viewer.
- Click Copy Link and click Done.
- Paste this link into the **Folder URL** field in this app, and click **Process Cloud Folder**.
Privacy Note: This app runs entirely in your browser. Your API keys, folder links, and images are processed 100% locally and are never stored or logged on any remote server.
How to Ingest folders from Dropbox
Web browsers block direct API downloads of Dropbox folders due to CORS security policies. You can easily process Dropbox folders using a 2-step download-and-drop workflow:
- Open your shared Dropbox folder link in a browser tab.
- Click the **Download** button in the top-right corner to download the entire folder as a single **ZIP file** to your machine.
- Drag and drop that ZIP file directly into the **Drag & Drop Local Images or ZIP** dropzone in this app.
- The app will automatically unpack the ZIP in memory and process your covers!
Google Drive Ingest Hosting Setup
When you ingest files from your local machine (via Drag & Drop or ZIP), the app can automatically upload them to your Google Drive and map them to your eBay CSV. Here is how to configure each credential:
1. Google API Key (Optional)
This is used to read shared cloud folder contents. To create one: Go to the Google Cloud Console → **APIs & Services** → **Credentials** → click **Create Credentials** → select **API Key**. Paste this into the Google API Key settings field.
2. Google Drive OAuth Access Token (Optional)
Google API Keys are read-only. To upload local files directly to your Drive, you need a temporary OAuth Access Token:
- Go to the Google OAuth 2.0 Playground.
- In the left panel under Step 1, scroll to **Drive API v3**.
- Expand it and select
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive scope (ticking the checkbox).
- Click the blue **Authorize APIs** button and sign in with your Google account.
- Under Step 2, click the **Exchange authorization code for tokens** button.
- Copy the generated **Access Token** string (starts with
ya29.) and paste it into the Settings field. (Note: Tokens expire after 1 hour).
3. Google Drive Upload Folder ID (Optional)
This is the folder where uploaded covers will be saved:
- Create or open a folder in your Google Drive (e.g., named "Comic Ingests").
- Copy the full folder link from your browser address bar. It will look like:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/FOLDER_ID.
- Paste this link into the **Upload Folder ID** Settings field. The app will automatically parse and extract the Folder ID when you click Save.