Google Workspace CLI

Expert guidance and automation for Google Workspace administration using the open-source gws CLI (github.com/googleworkspace/cli, Apache-2.0). The CLI builds its command surface dynamically from Google's Discovery Service, so it covers every supported Workspace API plus +-prefixed helper commands. This skill adds local Python tools (doctor, auth guide, recipe catalog, security audit, output analyzer).

> Verify before scripting: gws generates commands at runtime from Google's API discovery documents, and the CLI is pre-v1.0. Always confirm a command's exact surface with gws --help, gws <service> --help, or gws schema <service>.<resource>.<method> before putting it in automation. Commands in this skill marked (verify) are illustrative of the gws <service> <resource> <method> pattern and must be checked against your installed version.

Quick Start

Check Installation

bash
# Verify gws is installed and authenticated
python3 scripts/gws_doctor.py

Send an Email

bash
gws gmail +send --to "team@company.com" \
  --subject "Weekly Update" --body "Here's this week's summary..."

List Drive Files

bash
gws drive files list --params '{"pageSize": 20}' | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --select "name,mimeType,modifiedTime" --format table

Installation

npm (recommended; requires Node.js 18+)

bash
npm install -g @googleworkspace/cli
gws --version

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

bash
brew install googleworkspace-cli

Cargo (from source)

bash
cargo install --git https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli --locked
gws --version

Pre-built Binaries

Download from github.com/googleworkspace/cli/releases for macOS, Linux, or Windows. Nix users: nix run github:googleworkspace/cli.

Verify Installation

bash
python3 scripts/gws_doctor.py
# Checks: PATH, version, auth status, service connectivity

Authentication

OAuth Setup (Interactive)

bash
# Step 1: Create Google Cloud project and OAuth credentials
python3 scripts/auth_setup_guide.py --guide oauth

# Step 2: Run interactive auth setup (uses gcloud if available)
gws auth setup

# Step 3: Log in, requesting only the scopes you need
gws auth login -s drive,gmail,sheets

Headless/CI

bash
# Generate setup instructions
python3 scripts/auth_setup_guide.py --guide service-account

# Export credentials from an interactive machine, then point the CLI at them
gws auth export --unmasked > credentials.json
export GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CREDENTIALS_FILE=/path/to/credentials.json

Environment Variables

bash
# Generate .env template
python3 scripts/auth_setup_guide.py --generate-env

| Variable | Purpose | |----------|---------| | GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CLIENT_ID | OAuth client ID | | GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CLIENT_SECRET | OAuth client secret | | GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CREDENTIALS_FILE | Path to exported credentials JSON | | GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_TOKEN | Pre-obtained OAuth token | | GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CONFIG_DIR | Override default config location | | GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_LOG | Enable debug logging |

Validate Authentication

bash
python3 scripts/auth_setup_guide.py --validate --json
# Tests each service endpoint

Workflow 1: Gmail Automation

Goal: Automate email operations — send, search, label, and filter management.

Send, Reply, Forward (helper commands)

bash
# Send a new email
gws gmail +send --to "client@example.com" \
  --subject "Proposal" --body "Please find attached..."

# Reply to a message (auto-threading); check exact flags with: gws gmail +reply --help
gws gmail +reply ...

# Forward a message; check exact flags with: gws gmail +forward --help
gws gmail +forward ...

# Unread inbox summary
gws gmail +triage

Search and Inspect (discovery commands)

Discovery commands follow gws <service> <resource> <method> and take request parameters as JSON via --params (query/path params) and --json (request body). Inspect any method's exact schema first:

bash
# What does messages.list accept? (verify)
gws schema gmail.users.messages.list

# Search emails (verify against the schema above)
gws gmail users messages list --params '{"userId": "me", "q": "from:client@example.com after:2025/01/01"}' \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --count

# List labels (verify)
gws gmail users labels list --params '{"userId": "me"}'

Bulk Operations

Use --dry-run first, and --page-all to paginate (one JSON line per page):

bash
# Preview, then archive read emails older than 30 days (verify method schema first)
gws gmail users messages list --params '{"userId": "me", "q": "is:read older_than:30d"}' --page-all \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --select "id" --format json
# Then feed ids to gmail users messages modify (see: gws schema gmail.users.messages.modify)

Workflow 2: Drive & Sheets

Goal: Manage files, create spreadsheets, configure sharing, and export data.

File Operations

bash
# List files
gws drive files list --params '{"pageSize": 50}' \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --select "name,mimeType,size" --format table

# Upload a file (helper)
gws drive +upload ./report.pdf --name "Q1 Report"

# Create a Google Sheet
gws sheets spreadsheets create --json '{"properties": {"title": "Budget 2026"}}'

# Download/export — inspect the method first (verify)
gws schema drive.files.export

Sharing (verify schemas first)

bash
# Inspect the permissions API surface
gws schema drive.permissions.create

# Share with user (verify against schema)
gws drive permissions create --params '{"fileId": "<FILE_ID>"}' \
  --json '{"type": "user", "role": "writer", "emailAddress": "colleague@company.com"}'

# List who has access (verify)
gws drive permissions list --params '{"fileId": "<FILE_ID>"}'

Sheets Data

bash
# Read values (helper); check exact flags with: gws sheets +read --help
gws sheets +read ...

# Append a row (helper); check exact flags with: gws sheets +append --help
gws sheets +append ...

# Or use discovery methods (verify):
gws schema sheets.spreadsheets.values.update
gws sheets spreadsheets values get --params '{"spreadsheetId": "<SHEET_ID>", "range": "Sheet1!A1:D10"}'

Workflow 3: Calendar & Meetings

Goal: Schedule events, find available times, and generate standup reports.

Event Management

bash
# Create an event (helper); check exact flags with: gws calendar +insert --help
gws calendar +insert ...

# Upcoming events (helper, timezone-aware)
gws calendar +agenda

# Or via discovery (verify):
gws schema calendar.events.insert
gws calendar events list --params '{"calendarId": "primary", "maxResults": 10}'

Find Available Time

bash
# Free/busy via the Calendar API (verify schema first)
gws schema calendar.freebusy.query
gws calendar freebusy query --json '{"timeMin": "...", "timeMax": "...", "items": [{"id": "alice@co.com"}]}'

Standup Report (workflow helpers)

bash
# Today's meetings + tasks
gws workflow +standup-report \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --format table

# Next meeting prep; check exact flags with: gws workflow +meeting-prep --help
gws workflow +meeting-prep

Workflow 4: Security Audit

Goal: Audit Google Workspace security configuration and generate remediation commands.

Run Full Audit

bash
# Full audit across all services
python3 scripts/workspace_audit.py --json

# Audit specific services
python3 scripts/workspace_audit.py --services gmail,drive,calendar

# Demo mode (no gws required)
python3 scripts/workspace_audit.py --demo

Audit Checks

| Area | Check | Risk | |------|-------|------| | Drive | External sharing enabled | Data exfiltration | | Gmail | Auto-forwarding rules | Data exfiltration | | Gmail | DMARC/SPF/DKIM records | Email spoofing | | Calendar | Default sharing visibility | Information leak | | OAuth | Third-party app grants | Unauthorized access | | Admin | Super admin count | Privilege escalation | | Admin | 2-Step verification enforcement | Account takeover |

Review and Remediate

bash
# Review findings
python3 scripts/workspace_audit.py --json | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py \
  --filter "status=FAIL" --select "area,check,remediation"

# Execute remediation (example: check current Drive settings first; verify)
gws drive about get --params '{"fields": "*"}'
# Follow remediation commands from audit output (verify each against gws --help)

Python Tools

| Script | Purpose | Usage | |--------|---------|-------| | gws_doctor.py | Pre-flight diagnostics | python3 scripts/gws_doctor.py [--json] [--services gmail,drive] | | auth_setup_guide.py | Guided auth setup | python3 scripts/auth_setup_guide.py --guide oauth | | gws_recipe_runner.py | Recipe catalog & runner | python3 scripts/gws_recipe_runner.py --list [--persona pm] | | workspace_audit.py | Security/config audit | python3 scripts/workspace_audit.py [--json] [--demo] | | output_analyzer.py | JSON/NDJSON analysis | gws ... --json \| python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --count |

All scripts are stdlib-only, support --json output, and include demo mode with embedded sample data.

Best Practices

Security

1. Use OAuth with minimal scopes — request only what each workflow needs
2. Store tokens in the system keyring, never in plain text files
3. Rotate service account keys every 90 days
4. Audit third-party OAuth app grants quarterly
5. Use --dry-run before bulk destructive operations

Automation

1. All gws output is structured JSON — pipe it through output_analyzer.py for filtering and aggregation
2. Use gws workflow +* helpers for multi-step operations instead of chaining raw commands
3. Use the local recipe catalog (gws_recipe_runner.py) as command templates, then verify each against gws --help
4. --page-all emits one JSON line per page (NDJSON) for streaming large result sets
5. Use --dry-run to preview any request before executing it

Performance

1. Request only needed fields via the API's fields parameter in --params (reduces payload size)
2. Use pageSize in --params to cap results when browsing
3. Use --page-all only when you need complete datasets; tune with --page-limit / --page-delay
4. Prefer + helpers (single optimized calls) over hand-chained API calls
5. Cache frequently accessed data (e.g., label IDs, folder IDs) in variables

Limitations

| Constraint | Impact | |------------|--------| | OAuth tokens expire after 1 hour | Re-auth needed for long-running scripts | | API rate limits (per-user, per-service) | Bulk operations may hit 429 errors | | Scope requirements vary by service | Must request correct scopes during auth | | Pre-v1.0 CLI status | Breaking changes possible between releases | | Google Cloud project required | Free, but requires setup in Cloud Console | | Admin API needs admin privileges | Some audit checks require Workspace Admin role |

Required Scopes by Service

bash
# List scopes for specific services
python3 scripts/auth_setup_guide.py --scopes gmail,drive,calendar,sheets

| Service | Key Scopes | |---------|-----------| | Gmail | gmail.modify, gmail.send, gmail.labels | | Drive | drive.file, drive.metadata.readonly | | Sheets | spreadsheets | | Calendar | calendar, calendar.events | | Admin | admin.directory.user.readonly, admin.directory.group | | Tasks | tasks |