gws CLI Best Practices

Critical guidelines for using the gws command-line interface. Follow these rules to prevent common errors and protect user data.

Supported Services

Only the following services are currently available and pre-configured:

• Drive — file and folder operations
• Docs — For creating new documents, use python-docx to generate .docx locally, then upload via gws drive files create. For modifying existing Google Docs, use gws docs documents batchUpdate to edit in-place — this is the ONLY way to preserve comments, suggestions, and other Google-specific features.
• Sheets — spreadsheet read/write
• Slides — presentation read/write

All other services (Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, Chat, etc.) are not available. Do NOT attempt to use them.

Creating and Uploading Google Docs

When tasked with creating a Google Doc, you MUST follow this workflow instead of using gws docs commands directly:

1. Install python-docx: Run sudo pip3 install python-docx if it's not already installed.
2. Generate the Document Locally: Write a Python script using the python-docx library to create and format the document. This allows for rich formatting like headings, bold/italic text, bullet points, and tables.
3. Upload and Convert: Use the gws drive files create command to upload the generated .docx file and automatically convert it to a Google Doc.

Example Upload Command:

gws drive files create \
  --upload /home/ubuntu/your_document.docx \
  --json '{"name": "Your Document Title", "mimeType": "application/vnd.google-apps.document"}' \
  --upload-content-type "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document"

Note: Setting mimeType to application/vnd.google-apps.document in the JSON payload is critical as it triggers the automatic conversion from .docx to Google Docs format.

The command will return a JSON response containing the file id. You can construct the Google Doc link using this ID: https://docs.google.com/document/d/{id}/edit.

Interacting with Google Drive Links

Do NOT use the browser to open Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, or Slides links (e.g., https://docs.google.com/...). The browser environment may not be logged into the correct Google account and will likely fail to access the file.

Instead, use gws commands to interact with these resources. To view content, use the appropriate get or export command (e.g., gws drive export).

Text Formatting in Google Slides: \n vs. \v

When inserting text into Google Slides via gws slides presentations batchUpdate, the API interprets newline characters in specific ways. Using the correct character is critical for proper formatting.

Technical Explanation

• \n (Newline): The API translates each \n into a new paragraphMarker. Therefore, AAA\nBBB results in two distinct paragraphs. AAA\n\nBBB results in three paragraphs, with the middle one being empty, creating a visible blank line.
• \v (Vertical Tab, or \u000b): The API treats this as a special character within a single textRun. It does not create a new paragraph. It renders as a soft line break, which is useful for multi-line text that should belong to the same bullet point or paragraph block.

Rule: Use \n for new paragraphs/bullet points. Use \v for line breaks within a single paragraph/bullet point.

Prohibition of Permanent Deletion

CRITICAL: Do NOT execute any gws command that permanently deletes user data — ever.

This includes permanently deleting files, slides, presentations, emails, calendar events, or any other resource. Always use trash/archive operations instead. Permanent deletion is irreversible and can cause catastrophic data loss. Even if the user asks for deletion, prefer moving to trash first and confirm explicitly before proceeding. Never use permanent deletion.

Discovering Available Skills

On first use or after updating the CLI, run the following once to generate local skill documentation:

gws generate-skills

This produces skill directories under skills/ and an index at docs/skills.md. Read the generated index and individual skill files to learn about available commands, services, recipes, and workflows.

Note: For Google Docs creation, do NOT search for or rely on generated docs skills. Always use the python-docx workflow described above.

Updating the CLI

To update the gws CLI to the latest version:

pnpm update -g @googleworkspace/cli