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If I download Google Docs or Google Sheets files from Google Drive to a local hard disk using rclone or Google Takeout, I end up getting files in MS Office format (.docx., .xlsx etc.).

Now, I can edit those files, but when I upload them to Google Drive again, Google Drive will create a new copy when I edit them on Drive again, so I always end up with duplicate files.

Is there any way to download Google Docs (or Sheets) files in the original Google Docs format?

Or is there any way how I can upload the files to Drive so that they will be converted back to original Google Docs files?

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Is there any way to download Google Docs (or Sheets) files in the original Google Docs format?

Not in the way that this could be generally understood but it's possible to Work on Google Docs, Sheets, & Slides offline

Or is there any way how I can upload the files to Drive so that they will be converted back to original Google Docs files?

Google documents, spreadsheets, slides that were converted to MS Office files formats could be converted back to Google file formats but they will have new ids; they can't be easily merged into the original documents. The not easy way is selecting all the orginal content and replace it by the new version. You could do this manually or programmatically.

Related Google APIs:

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  • How would I go about the "not easy way"? Is there an existing tool I can use? Or an API I could use as a developer?
    – tmh
    Oct 7, 2017 at 7:30
  • @tmh: I added links to some APIs. Oct 8, 2017 at 4:35

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