gws (Google Workspace CLI)

// Overview

gws is a single command-line tool that covers Google Workspace: Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, Chat, Admin and the rest. Its distinguishing trick is that it ships no static command list. At runtime it reads Google's own Discovery Service and builds its entire command surface from the API descriptions, so when Workspace adds an endpoint or a method, gws picks it up without waiting for a release.

Everything comes back as structured JSON, which is what makes it useful on the agent side of the house as well as the human side. The repository bundles 40+ agent skills, so an LLM-driven assistant can manage Workspace through the CLI instead of needing bespoke tool definitions per API. For humans there is `--help` on every resource, `--dry-run` to preview a request before it fires, and automatic pagination.

The project is published under the googleworkspace GitHub organisation and licensed Apache 2.0, but its README states plainly that it is not an officially supported Google product and that it is under active development with breaking changes expected before v1.0. Authentication uses OAuth against a Google Cloud project you own; `gws auth setup` walks through creating the credentials.

// What it does

• Command surface built dynamically from Google's Discovery Service — new API methods appear automatically
• Covers Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, Chat, Admin and the other Workspace APIs from one binary
• Structured JSON responses on every command, so agents and scripts can parse the output
• 40+ bundled AI agent skills for LLM-driven Workspace automation
• `--help` on every resource, `--dry-run` request previews and auto-pagination
• Installs as a prebuilt binary, via npm, Homebrew, Nix or `cargo install`

// Getting started

You need Node.js 18+ for the npm route, a Google Cloud project for OAuth credentials, and a Google account with Workspace access. All commands below come from the project README.

npm install -g @googleworkspace/cli

brew install googleworkspace-cli
nix run github:googleworkspace/cli
cargo install --git https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli --locked

gws auth setup
gws auth login

gws drive files list --params '{"pageSize": 5}'

gws sheets spreadsheets create --json '{"properties": {"title": "Q1 Budget"}}'

gws chat spaces messages create \
  --params '{"parent": "spaces/xyz"}' \
  --json '{"text": "Deploy complete."}' \
  --dry-run

Commands and code are distilled from the project's own documentation — always check the official repo for the latest.

// When to use it

• Reach for it when an agent needs to act on Drive, Gmail or Calendar and you would rather not write a tool wrapper per API
• Reach for it to script Workspace admin chores with JSON in and JSON out
• Reach for it when a Workspace API method is too new for the client library you are using
• Reach for it to preview a destructive Workspace call with `--dry-run` before running it for real

// How gws (Google Workspace CLI) compares

gws (Google Workspace CLI) alongside other open-source workflow automation tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.