Google Workspace CLI

Expert guidance and automation for Google Workspace administration using the open-source gws CLI. Covers installation, authentication, 18+ service APIs, 43 built-in recipes, and 10 persona bundles for role-based workflows.

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Quick Start

Check Installation

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

Send an Email

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

List Drive Files

gws drive files list --json --limit 20 | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --select "name,mimeType,modifiedTime" --format table

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Installation

npm (recommended)

npm install -g @anthropic/gws
gws --version

Cargo (from source)

cargo install gws-cli
gws --version

Pre-built Binaries

Download from github.com/googleworkspace/cli/releases for macOS, Linux, or Windows.

Verify Installation

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

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Authentication

OAuth Setup (Interactive)

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

Step 2: Run auth setup
gws auth setup

Step 3: Validate
gws auth status --json

Service Account (Headless/CI)

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

Configure with key file
export GWS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY=/path/to/key.json
export GWS_DELEGATED_USER=admin@company.com
gws auth status

Environment Variables

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

| Variable | Purpose |

|----------|---------|

| GWS_CLIENT_ID | OAuth client ID |

| GWS_CLIENT_SECRET | OAuth client secret |

| GWS_TOKEN_PATH | Custom token storage path |

| GWS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY | Service account JSON key path |

| GWS_DELEGATED_USER | User to impersonate (service accounts) |

| GWS_DEFAULT_FORMAT | Default output format (json/ndjson/table) |

Validate Authentication

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

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Workflow 1: Gmail Automation

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

Send and Reply

# Send a new email
gws gmail users.messages send me --to "client@example.com" \
  --subject "Proposal" --body "Please find attached..." \
  --attachment proposal.pdf

Reply to a thread
gws gmail users.messages reply me --thread-id <THREAD_ID> \
  --body "Thanks for your feedback..."

Forward a message
gws gmail users.messages forward me --message-id <MSG_ID> \
  --to "manager@company.com"

Search and Filter

# Search emails
gws gmail users.messages list me --query "from:client@example.com after:2025/01/01" --json \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --count

List labels
gws gmail users.labels list me --json

Create a filter
gws gmail users.settings.filters create me \
  --criteria '{"from":"notifications@service.com"}' \
  --action '{"addLabelIds":["Label_123"],"removeLabelIds":["INBOX"]}'

Bulk Operations

# Archive all read emails older than 30 days
gws gmail users.messages list me --query "is:read older_than:30d" --json \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --select "id" --format json \
  | xargs -I {} gws gmail users.messages modify me {} --removeLabelIds INBOX

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Workflow 2: Drive & Sheets

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

File Operations

# List files
gws drive files list --json --limit 50 \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --select "name,mimeType,size" --format table

Upload a file
gws drive files create --name "Q1 Report" --upload report.pdf \
  --parents <FOLDER_ID>

Create a Google Sheet
gws sheets spreadsheets create --title "Budget 2026" --json

Download/export
gws drive files export <FILE_ID> --mime "application/pdf" --output report.pdf

Sharing

# Share with user
gws drive permissions create <FILE_ID> \
  --type user --role writer --emailAddress "colleague@company.com"

Share with domain (view only)
gws drive permissions create <FILE_ID> \
  --type domain --role reader --domain "company.com"

List who has access
gws drive permissions list <FILE_ID> --json

Sheets Data

# Read a range
gws sheets spreadsheets.values get <SHEET_ID> --range "Sheet1!A1:D10" --json

Write data
gws sheets spreadsheets.values update <SHEET_ID> --range "Sheet1!A1" \
  --values '[["Name","Score"],["Alice",95],["Bob",87]]'

Append rows
gws sheets spreadsheets.values append <SHEET_ID> --range "Sheet1!A1" \
  --values '[["Charlie",92]]'

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Workflow 3: Calendar & Meetings

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

Event Management

# Create an event
gws calendar events insert primary \
  --summary "Sprint Planning" \
  --start "2026-03-15T10:00:00" --end "2026-03-15T11:00:00" \
  --attendees "team@company.com" \
  --location "Conference Room A"

List upcoming events
gws calendar events list primary --timeMin "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
  --maxResults 10 --json

Quick event (natural language)
gws helpers quick-event "Lunch with Sarah tomorrow at noon"

Find Available Time

# Check free/busy for multiple people
gws helpers find-time \
  --attendees "alice@co.com,bob@co.com,charlie@co.com" \
  --duration 60 --within "2026-03-15,2026-03-19" --json

Standup Report

# Generate daily standup from calendar + tasks
gws recipes standup-report --json \
  | python3 scripts/output_analyzer.py --format table

Meeting prep (agenda + attendee info)
gws recipes meeting-prep --event-id <EVENT_ID>

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Workflow 4: Security Audit

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

Run Full Audit

# 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

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

Execute remediation (example: restrict external sharing)
gws drive about get --json  # Check current settings
Follow remediation commands from audit output

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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.

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Best Practices

Security

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

Automation

• Pipe --json output through output_analyzer.py for filtering and aggregation
• Use recipes for multi-step operations instead of chaining raw commands
• Select a persona bundle to scope recipes to your role
• Use NDJSON format (--format ndjson) for streaming large result sets
• Set GWS_DEFAULT_FORMAT=json in your shell profile for scripting

Performance

• Use --fields to request only needed fields (reduces payload size)
• Use --limit to cap results when browsing
• Use --page-all only when you need complete datasets
• Batch operations with recipes rather than individual API calls
• Cache frequently accessed data (e.g., label IDs, folder IDs) in variables

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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

# 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 |