Google Workspace CLI Master

Operate all Google Workspace services from the terminal using gws — Google's official CLI. Dynamically discovers APIs from Google's Discovery Service, so it covers every Workspace endpoint.

When this applies

• Sending, searching, or managing email (Gmail)
• Managing calendar events and availability
• Uploading, downloading, or sharing Google Drive files
• Reading or writing Google Sheets data
• Creating or exporting Docs, Slides, and Forms
• Managing Google Chat spaces and messages
• Admin operations (users, groups, domains)

Self-Help

gws dynamically generates commands from Google's Discovery Service — it knows every API endpoint.

1. Run gws --help for top-level service list
2. Run gws <service> --help for all methods in a service (e.g. gws gmail --help)
3. Run gws <service> <method> --help for flags and parameters
4. Run gws discover to see all available Google APIs
5. Use --output json on any command for machine-readable output

Auth

Two modes:

• Service account: set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to the key JSON path
• OAuth2 user context: run gws auth login (interactive) or set GWS_REFRESH_TOKEN + GWS_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID + GWS_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET for headless

Check auth: gws auth status

Gmail

gws gmail messages list --query "is:unread newer_than:7d" --max-results 20 --output json
gws gmail messages get <messageId> --output json
gws gmail messages send --to "[email protected]" --subject "Report" --body "See attached" --attachment report.pdf
gws gmail drafts list --output json
gws gmail drafts create --to "[email protected]" --subject "Draft" --body "..."
gws gmail labels list --output json
gws gmail threads get <threadId> --output json
gws gmail messages trash <messageId>

Gmail search operators: from:, to:, subject:, is:unread, has:attachment, newer_than:, older_than:, label:, in:sent.

Calendar

gws calendar events list --calendar-id primary --max-results 10 --output json
gws calendar events insert --calendar-id primary --summary "Meeting" \
  --start "2026-03-25T14:00:00" --end "2026-03-25T15:00:00" --timezone "UTC"
gws calendar events update <eventId> --calendar-id primary --summary "Updated"
gws calendar events delete <eventId> --calendar-id primary
gws calendar freebusy --email "[email protected]" --time-min "2026-03-25T00:00:00Z" --time-max "2026-03-26T00:00:00Z" --output json
gws calendar calendars list --output json

Drive

gws drive files list --output json
gws drive files list --query "mimeType='application/pdf'" --max-results 10 --output json
gws drive files list --query "name contains 'quarterly'" --output json
gws drive files get <fileId> --output json
gws drive files download <fileId> --output-file ./local.pdf
gws drive files export <fileId> --mime-type application/pdf --output-file ./export.pdf
gws drive files upload ./file.pdf --parent <folderId> --name "file.pdf"
gws drive files create-folder "New Folder" --parent <folderId>
gws drive permissions list <fileId> --output json
gws drive permissions create <fileId> --email "[email protected]" --role writer

Sheets

gws sheets values get <spreadsheetId> --range "Sheet1!A1:D10" --output json
gws sheets values update <spreadsheetId> --range "Sheet1!A1" --values '[["a","b"],["c","d"]]'
gws sheets values append <spreadsheetId> --range "Sheet1!A1" --values '[["new","row"]]'
gws sheets spreadsheets get <spreadsheetId> --output json    # metadata + sheet tabs
gws sheets values clear <spreadsheetId> --range "Sheet1!A1:D10"

Docs & Slides

gws docs documents get <docId> --output json
gws docs documents create --title "New Doc"
gws drive files export <docId> --mime-type application/pdf --output-file ./doc.pdf
gws drive files export <slideId> --mime-type application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation --output-file ./slides.pptx

Chat

gws chat spaces list --output json
gws chat spaces messages list <spaceName> --output json
gws chat spaces messages create <spaceName> --text "Hello from agent"

Admin

gws admin users list --domain example.com --output json
gws admin users get <userId> --output json
gws admin groups list --output json
gws admin groups members list <groupId> --output json

Decision Rules

• If searching email → gws gmail messages list --query with Gmail query syntax
• If checking availability → gws calendar freebusy before creating events
• If exporting Google-native files (Docs/Sheets/Slides) → gws drive files export with --mime-type
• If downloading non-native files → gws drive files download
• If writing structured data → gws sheets values update with JSON array values
• If need file ID → gws drive files list --query first
• If command not covered above → gws <service> --help to discover it

Do

• Always use --output json for parseable output
• Use --max-results to limit results and avoid token overflow
• Check calendar availability before creating events
• Use Gmail search operators for precise filtering
• Confirm file ID before export/download (gws drive files list --query)
• Use gws discover to find services not listed here

Don't

• Send emails without user confirmation (irreversible — always confirm recipient + content)
• Delete calendar events or Drive files without confirmation (destructive)
• Modify shared Sheets without confirming the target range (overwrites data)
• Create Drive permissions without confirmation (grants external access)
• Omit --output json (plain text is harder to parse reliably)
• Read email threads without a clear task reason (privacy)