Google Docs

Interact with Google Docs for document creation, editing, and content management.

Installation

Dependencies: pip install --user google-auth google-auth-oauthlib google-api-python-client keyring pyyaml

Setup Verification

After installation, verify the skill is properly configured:

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py check

This will check:

• Python dependencies (google-auth, google-auth-oauthlib, google-api-python-client, keyring, pyyaml)
• Authentication configuration
• Connectivity to Google Docs API

If anything is missing, the check command will provide setup instructions.

Authentication

Google Docs uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. For complete setup instructions, see:

1. GCP Project Setup Guide - Create project, enable Docs API
2. Google OAuth Setup Guide - Configure credentials

Quick Start

1. Create ~/.config/agent-skills/google.yaml:

   oauth_client:
     client_id: your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com
     client_secret: your-client-secret

2. Run $SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py check to trigger OAuth flow and verify setup.

On scope or authentication errors, see the OAuth troubleshooting guide.

Commands

check

Verify configuration and connectivity.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py check

This validates:

• Python dependencies are installed
• Authentication is configured
• Can connect to Google Docs API
• Creates a test document to verify write access

auth setup

Store OAuth 2.0 client credentials for custom OAuth flow.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py auth setup \
  --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID \
  --client-secret YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET

Credentials are saved to ~/.config/agent-skills/google-docs.yaml.

Options:

• --client-id - OAuth 2.0 client ID (required)
• --client-secret - OAuth 2.0 client secret (required)

auth reset

Clear stored OAuth token. The next command that needs authentication will trigger re-authentication automatically.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py auth reset

Use this when you encounter scope or authentication errors.

auth status

Show current OAuth token information without making API calls.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py auth status

Displays: whether a token is stored, granted scopes, refresh token presence, token expiry, and client ID.

documents create

Create a new blank Google Doc.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents create --title "My Document"

Options:

• --title - Document title (required)

Example:

# Create a new document
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents create --title "Project Notes"

# Output:
# ✓ Document created successfully
#   Title: Project Notes
#   Document ID: 1abc...xyz
#   URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1abc...xyz/edit

documents get

Get document metadata and structure.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents get DOCUMENT_ID

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Example:

# Get document metadata
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents get 1abc...xyz

# Output:
# Title: Project Notes
# Document ID: 1abc...xyz
# Characters: 1234
# Revision ID: abc123

documents read

Read document content as plain text, markdown, or PDF.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents read DOCUMENT_ID

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Options:

• --format - Output format: markdown (default, preserves tables and headings) or pdf
• --output, -o - Output file path (used with pdf format)

Example:

# Read as markdown (default, preserves tables and headings)
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents read 1abc...xyz

# Export as PDF
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents read 1abc...xyz --format pdf --output document.pdf

# Output as markdown:
# # Heading
#
# This is a paragraph.
#
# | Column 1 | Column 2 |
# |----------|----------|
# | Value 1  | Value 2  |

Note: Markdown and PDF export use Google's native Drive API export. Markdown preserves tables, headings, formatting, and structure with high fidelity. Both require the drive.readonly scope.

content append

Append text to the end of a document.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content append DOCUMENT_ID --text "Additional content"

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Options:

• --text - Text to append (required)

Example:

# Append text
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content append 1abc...xyz --text "Meeting notes from today..."

# Output:
# ✓ Text appended successfully

content insert

Insert text at a specific position in the document.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert DOCUMENT_ID --text "Insert this" --index 10

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Options:

• --text - Text to insert (required)
• --index - Position to insert at, 0-based (required)

Example:

# Insert text at the beginning (index 1, after title)
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert 1abc...xyz --text "Introduction\n\n" --index 1

# Output:
# ✓ Text inserted successfully

Note: Index 0 is before the document content. Index 1 is at the beginning of content.

content delete

Delete a range of content from the document.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content delete DOCUMENT_ID --start-index 10 --end-index 50

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Options:

• --start-index - Start position, inclusive (required)
• --end-index - End position, exclusive (required)

Example:

# Delete characters 10-50
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content delete 1abc...xyz --start-index 10 --end-index 50

# Output:
# ✓ Content deleted successfully

Warning: Be careful with indices. Deleting the wrong range can corrupt document structure.

content insert-after-anchor

Insert markdown-formatted content after a structural anchor (horizontal rule, heading, or bookmark) in a document. Handles text insertion, heading styles, bullet lists, bold formatting, and links in a single operation.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert-after-anchor DOCUMENT_ID \
  --anchor-type ANCHOR_TYPE --markdown "MARKDOWN_CONTENT"

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Options:

• --anchor-type - Type of anchor to find: horizontal_rule, heading, or bookmark (required)
• --anchor-value - Anchor-specific value: heading text (for heading), bookmark ID (for bookmark), or occurrence number (for horizontal_rule, default 1)
• --markdown - Markdown-formatted content to insert (required). Use \n for newlines.

Supported markdown:

Examples:

# Insert after the first horizontal rule
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert-after-anchor 1abc...xyz \
  --anchor-type horizontal_rule \
  --markdown '## Status Update\n\n**Summary:**\n- Task completed\n  - Sub-task done\n- [Details](https://example.com)'

# Insert after a specific heading
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert-after-anchor 1abc...xyz \
  --anchor-type heading \
  --anchor-value "Notes" \
  --markdown '- New note item\n- Another item'

# Insert after the second horizontal rule
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert-after-anchor 1abc...xyz \
  --anchor-type horizontal_rule \
  --anchor-value 2 \
  --markdown '## New Section\n\nParagraph text here.'

formatting apply

Apply text formatting to a range of text.

$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py formatting apply DOCUMENT_ID \
  --start-index 1 --end-index 20 --bold --italic

Arguments:

• document_id - The Google Docs document ID

Options:

• --start-index - Start position, inclusive (required)
• --end-index - End position, exclusive (required)
• --bold - Apply bold formatting
• --italic - Apply italic formatting
• --underline - Apply underline formatting
• --font-size SIZE - Set font size in points

Example:

# Make title bold and larger
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py formatting apply 1abc...xyz \
  --start-index 1 --end-index 20 --bold --font-size 18

# Apply italic to a section
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py formatting apply 1abc...xyz \
  --start-index 50 --end-index 100 --italic

# Output:
# ✓ Formatting applied successfully

Examples

Create and populate a document

# Create a new document
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents create --title "Weekly Report"

# Add content
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content append $DOC_ID --text "Weekly Report\n\n"
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content append $DOC_ID --text "Summary: This week's accomplishments...\n"

# Format the title
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py formatting apply $DOC_ID --start-index 1 --end-index 14 --bold --font-size 18

# Read it back
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents read $DOC_ID

Read and extract content

# Get document info
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents get 1abc...xyz

# Extract plain text
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents read 1abc...xyz > document.txt

# Get document structure
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py documents get 1abc...xyz

Insert formatted content after an anchor

# Insert a formatted status update after a horizontal rule
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert-after-anchor $DOC_ID \
  --anchor-type horizontal_rule \
  --markdown '## Weekly Update\n\n**Completed:**\n- Feature implementation\n  - Backend API\n  - Frontend UI\n- [Project board](https://example.com/board)'

Edit existing content

# Insert a new section
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content insert 1abc...xyz \
  --text "\n\nNew Section\n" --index 100

# Format the new section header
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py formatting apply 1abc...xyz \
  --start-index 102 --end-index 113 --bold

# Append more content
$SKILL_DIR/scripts/google-docs.py content append 1abc...xyz \
  --text "Additional details about the new section..."

Error Handling

Authentication and scope errors are not retryable. If a command fails with an authentication error, insufficient scope error, or permission denied error (exit code 1), stop and inform the user. Do not retry or attempt to fix the issue autonomously — these errors require user interaction (browser-based OAuth consent). Point the user to the OAuth troubleshooting guide.

Retryable errors: Rate limiting (HTTP 429) and temporary server errors (HTTP 5xx) may succeed on retry after a brief wait. All other errors should be reported to the user.

Model Guidance

This skill makes API calls requiring structured input/output. A standard-capability model is recommended.

Troubleshooting

Cannot find document

Make sure you're using the correct document ID from the URL:

• URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1abc...xyz/edit
• Document ID: 1abc...xyz

Index errors when inserting/deleting

Use documents get to see the document structure and valid index ranges. Remember:

• Index 0 is before any content
• Index 1 is at the start of document body
• The last index is the document length

API Reference

For advanced usage, see:

• Google Docs API Documentation
• Document structure
• Formatting reference