Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Google Classroom Manager agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The gws-classroom skill is a set of instructions that teaches an AI agent to work with Google Classroom through the gws command-line tool. Once it is installed, you can ask the agent to look up, create, update or delete classes, send and accept invitations, check grading period settings and read user profiles. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to phrase requests, and what to watch out for before letting an agent change live classes.
Google Classroom Managergoogleworkspace/cli · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Install the gws tool. Set up the gws command-line tool (Google Workspace CLI) that the skill depends on.
- 2Set up authentication. Follow the gws-shared SKILL.md file to configure authentication for gws.
- 3Download and unzip the skill. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 4Or upload it in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 5Ask for a Classroom task. Describe the task in plain language, mentioning Classroom, courses or rosters.
- 6Review before changes. Check the exact command the agent plans to run, especially for deletes and updates.
What does the gws-classroom skill let an agent do?
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that tells an AI agent how to perform a particular task. This skill covers the Google Classroom API (v1) and is organised around its resources: courses, invitations, registrations and user profiles.
Before calling any method, the agent is directed to check the available commands and parameters, so it can build correct requests instead of guessing.
- courses: create, get, list, patch, update, delete, and read or update grading period settings
- invitations: create, get, list, accept and delete teacher or student invitations
- registrations: create and delete notification registrations for a feed
- userProfiles: get a user profile, plus guardian and guardian invitation operations
What do you need before installing the skill?
The skill only wraps the gws command-line tool, so it cannot work on its own. The skill's metadata lists gws as a required binary. The SKILL.md also refers to a shared file, gws-shared/SKILL.md, which covers authentication, global flags and security rules.
You also need a Google Workspace or Classroom account with permissions appropriate to the actions you want the agent to take.
- The gws command-line tool (Google Workspace CLI) installed
- Authentication set up for gws, as described in the shared gws-shared SKILL.md file
- A Google Workspace or Classroom account with suitable permissions
How do you install the skill?
Option 1, for Claude Code: download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ to make the skill available to you across projects. To scope it to a single project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder instead.
Option 2, for the Claude apps: download the ZIP, then upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
How do you trigger the skill with a natural request?
You do not need a special command. Describe the Classroom task in plain language and mention Classroom, and the agent should pick up the skill. The skill's description is 'Google Classroom: Manage classes, rosters, and coursework.', so requests about classes, rosters or coursework are the closest match.
If the agent is unsure about a method, it should inspect the command first rather than guess. You can also ask it to do this explicitly.
- 'List all the courses I teach in Google Classroom.'
- 'Create a course called Year 9 Biology owned by me.'
- 'Send a teacher invitation to the user for course 123456.' (replace with a real course ID)
- 'Show me the grading period settings for this course.'
What commands does the agent use?
The skill uses the pattern below. The agent discovers resources and methods with the help flag, then checks a method's required parameters, types and defaults with the schema command before building --params and --json flags.
You can run the same discovery commands yourself to learn what the agent will see.
gws classroom <resource> <method> [flags]
# Browse resources and methods
gws classroom --help
# Inspect a method's required params, types, and defaults
gws schema classroom.<resource>.<method>What safety points should you know?
The skill declares that it runs scripts and uses the network. Deletes and updates act immediately on real course and student records, and an agent can make mistakes. Review what the agent intends to do before it runs any change, and avoid giving it bulk changes to live classes without checking first.
Note that some actions are restricted. For example, creating a course is limited to yourself as owner unless you are a domain admin, and grading period changes depend on licensing requirements described in Google's documentation.
- Ask the agent to show the exact command before deletes, patches or updates run
- Test on a non-live or test course where possible
- Check the shared authentication setup so you know which account is in use
- Remember that accept can only be done by the invited user
What tips help the agent work well?
Give the agent specific identifiers such as course IDs and user IDs when you have them. Errors returned by the API are listed in the skill, including PERMISSION_DENIED, NOT_FOUND, INVALID_ARGUMENT and FAILED_PRECONDITION, so when a call fails, the error name tells you where to look.
For updates, the source notes that patch requires an update mask. If the agent reports INVALID_ARGUMENT for a patch, check that the fields it named are valid and that a mask was supplied.
- Name the course by ID when possible to avoid ambiguity
- For invitations, remember that only one invitation per user and course can exist, so delete and re-create to change it
- Use gws classroom --help to see every resource the skill can reach
What people use it for
- Listing the courses you teach and checking their details
- Creating a new course and setting its owner within your domain rules
- Sending teacher or student invitations and tracking them
- Reviewing grading period settings for a course
- Exploring the Classroom API to learn which parameters a method needs
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the gws-classroom skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
What do I need to run the gws-classroom skill?
You need the gws command-line tool (Google Workspace CLI), authentication set up for gws as described in the shared gws-shared SKILL.md file, and a Google Workspace or Classroom account with suitable permissions. The skill cannot work without the gws tool.
Is the gws-classroom skill free?
The skill is licensed under Apache-2.0. The source does not state pricing for the Google Workspace or Classroom services it relies on, so check those separately.
Can the agent delete classes or students?
The skill can delete courses and invitations, and it can update course fields. These changes take effect immediately on real records, so review the agent's commands before running them.
Why does my request fail with PERMISSION_DENIED?
PERMISSION_DENIED means the requesting account is not allowed to perform that action or access that resource. Check the account used in your gws authentication and whether it has the needed role, such as a domain admin for creating courses owned by other users.
What is the difference between this skill and using gws directly?
The skill gives an agent instructions for choosing and building gws classroom commands, including checking parameters before calling a method. You can still run the same commands yourself with the gws CLI.
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Our verdict
This skill suits teachers, school administrators and developers who want an AI agent to handle Classroom setup, rosters and API exploration, provided they already have gws and authentication working. It is not a good fit for anyone without Classroom access or gws, or for bulk changes to live classes that you have not reviewed, since deletes and updates apply immediately.
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