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gws CLI Shared Reference

Teaches the agent how to authenticate and use the gws Google Workspace command-line tool

Source Download skill
Repository
googleworkspace/cli
Stars
32,059
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
1 file

What it does

This is a reference guide that teaches an AI agent how to use the gws command-line tool for Google Workspace services. It covers how to log in (via browser OAuth or a service account key), the common command syntax, global flags such as output format and a dry-run mode, and safety habits like confirming before write or delete actions. Once installed, the agent knows these conventions so it can run gws commands for the user more reliably.

Great for

  • Developers who already use or want to automate Google Workspace (Drive, Sheets, etc.) from the terminal
  • Teams setting up an AI agent to read or manage Google Workspace data through the gws tool
  • Users who keep hitting zsh quoting problems with gws sheet ranges or JSON arguments

Skip it if

  • People who do not have the gws binary installed or a Google account with the right permissions; the skill only documents commands and cannot run them without the tool
  • Anyone wanting to give an agent unsupervised write access to real data, since the skill relies on the agent asking for confirmation and does not enforce it

Try asking

  • “Set up gws authentication for my Google account and check that it works”
  • “Read the values in Sheet1 A1:D10 of my spreadsheet using gws”
  • “List my five most recent Drive files in JSON format using gws”
  • “Show me a dry-run of this gws command before running it for real”
Step-by-step guide: how to use gws CLI Shared ReferenceInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    gws-shared.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip gws-shared.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip gws-shared.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Run gws commands with --dry-run first for anything that changes data, and review the output before running it live
  • Store service account key files outside the project folder and never paste credentials into chat
  • Quote sheet ranges with double quotes on zsh to avoid the ! history expansion problem

What's inside

  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from googleworkspace/cli under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.