ContextQMD
Back to Googleworkspace

Google Workspace CLI (`gws`) Context

CONTEXT.md

0.22.52.6 KB
Original Source

Google Workspace CLI (gws) Context

The gws CLI provides dynamic access to Google Workspace APIs (Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, Admin, etc.) by parsing Discovery Documents at runtime.

Rules of Engagement for Agents

  • Schema Discovery: If you don't know the exact JSON payload structure, run gws schema <resource>.<method> first to inspect the schema before executing.
  • Context Window Protection: Workspace APIs (like Drive and Gmail) return massive JSON blobs. ALWAYS use field masks when listing or getting resources by appending --params '{"fields": "id,name"}' to avoid overwhelming your context window.
  • Dry-Run Safety: Always use the --dry-run flag for mutating operations (create, update, delete) to validate your JSON payload before actual execution.

Core Syntax

bash
gws <service> <resource> [sub-resource] <method> [flags]

Use --help to get help on the available commands.

bash
gws --help
gws <service> --help
gws <service> <resource> --help
gws <service> <resource> <method> --help

Key Flags

  • --params '<JSON>': URL/query parameters (e.g., id, q, pageSize).
  • --json '<JSON>': Request body for POST/PUT/PATCH methods.
  • --page-all: Auto-paginates results and outputs NDJSON (one JSON object per line).
  • --fields '<MASK>': Limits the response fields (critical for AI context window efficiency).
  • --upload <PATH>: Files for multipart uploads (e.g., drive files create).
  • --output <PATH>: Destination for binary downloads (e.g., drive files get).
  • --sanitize <TEMPLATE>: Sanitizes output using Google Cloud Model Armor.

Usage Patterns

1. Reading Data (GET/LIST)

Always use --fields to minimize tokens.

bash
# List Drive files (efficient)
gws drive files list --params '{"q": "name contains \"Report\"", "pageSize": 10}' --fields "files(id,name,mimeType)"

# Get Gmail message details
gws gmail users messages get --params '{"userId": "me", "id": "MSG_123"}'

2. Writing Data (POST/PUT/PATCH)

Use --json for the request body.

bash
# Send Email
gws gmail users messages send --params '{"userId": "me"}' --json '{"raw": "BASE64..."}'

# Create Spreadsheet
gws sheets spreadsheets create --json '{"properties": {"title": "Q4 Budget"}}'

3. Pagination (NDJSON)

Use --page-all for listing large collections. The output is Newline Delimited JSON.

bash
# Stream all users
gws admin users list --params '{"domain": "example.com"}' --page-all

4. Schema Introspection

If unsure about parameters or body structure, check the schema:

bash
gws schema drive.files.list
gws schema sheets.spreadsheets.create