Docs

Google Docs (gws docs)

gws docs provides CLI access to Google Docs with structured JSON output.

Disclaimer: gws is not the official Google CLI. This is an independent, open-source project not endorsed by or affiliated with Google.

Dependency Check

Before executing any gws command, verify the CLI is installed:

gws version

If not found, install: go install github.com/omriariav/workspace-cli/cmd/gws@latest

Authentication

Requires OAuth2 credentials. Run gws auth status to check. If not authenticated: gws auth login (opens browser for OAuth consent). For initial setup, see the gws-auth skill.

Quick Command Reference

Task	Command
Read a document	gws docs read <doc-id>
Read with formatting	gws docs read <doc-id> --include-formatting
Get document info	gws docs info <doc-id>
Create a document	gws docs create --title "My Doc"
Create with markdown	gws docs create --title "My Doc" --text "# Heading\n\n**Bold**"
Create with plain text	gws docs create --title "My Doc" --text "Plain" --content-format plaintext
Append text	gws docs append <doc-id> --text "New paragraph"
Insert text at position	gws docs insert <doc-id> --text "Hello" --at 1
Find and replace	gws docs replace <doc-id> --find "old" --replace "new"
Replace all content	gws docs replace-content <doc-id> --text "# New content"
Replace from file	gws docs replace-content <doc-id> --file ./content.md
Delete content	gws docs delete <doc-id> --from 5 --to 10
Add a table	gws docs add-table <doc-id> --rows 3 --cols 4
Format text	gws docs format <doc-id> --from 1 --to 10 --bold
Set paragraph style	gws docs set-paragraph-style <doc-id> --from 1 --to 100 --alignment CENTER
Set heading style	gws docs set-paragraph-style <doc-id> --from 1 --to 100 --style HEADING_1
Add a list	gws docs add-list <doc-id> --at 1 --type bullet --items "A;B;C"
Remove list	gws docs remove-list <doc-id> --from 1 --to 50
Trash document	gws docs trash <doc-id>
Permanently delete	gws docs trash <doc-id> --permanent
Add a tab	gws docs add-tab <doc-id> --title "Tab 2"
Delete a tab	gws docs delete-tab <doc-id> --tab-id <id>
Rename a tab	gws docs rename-tab <doc-id> --tab-id <id> --title "New Name"
Read specific tab	gws docs read <doc-id> --tab "Tab 2"
Add an image	gws docs add-image <doc-id> --uri <url>
Insert table row	gws docs insert-table-row <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0
Delete table row	gws docs delete-table-row <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0
Insert table column	gws docs insert-table-col <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0
Delete table column	gws docs delete-table-col <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0
Merge table cells	gws docs merge-cells <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0 --row-span 2 --col-span 2
Unmerge table cells	gws docs unmerge-cells <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0 --row-span 2 --col-span 2
Pin header rows	gws docs pin-rows <doc-id> --table-start 5 --count 1
Insert page break	gws docs page-break <doc-id> --at 10
Insert section break	gws docs section-break <doc-id> --at 10
Add header	gws docs add-header <doc-id>
Delete header	gws docs delete-header <doc-id> <header-id>
Add footer	gws docs add-footer <doc-id>
Delete footer	gws docs delete-footer <doc-id> <footer-id>
Add named range	gws docs add-named-range <doc-id> --name "range1" --from 1 --to 10
Delete named range	gws docs delete-named-range <doc-id> --name "range1"
Add footnote	gws docs add-footnote <doc-id> --at 5
Delete object	gws docs delete-object <doc-id> <object-id>
Replace image	gws docs replace-image <doc-id> --object-id <id> --uri <url>
Replace named range	gws docs replace-named-range <doc-id> --name "range1" --text "new"
Update doc margins	gws docs update-style <doc-id> --margin-top 72
Update section style	gws docs update-section-style <doc-id> --from 1 --to 100 --column-count 2
Update cell style	gws docs update-table-cell-style <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --col 0 --bg-color "#FF0000"
Update column width	gws docs update-table-col-properties <doc-id> --table-start 5 --col-index 0 --width 200
Update row height	gws docs update-table-row-style <doc-id> --table-start 5 --row 0 --min-height 50

Detailed Usage

read — Read document content

gws docs read <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --include-formatting — Include formatting information and element positions

Use --include-formatting to see position indices needed for insert, delete, and add-table.

info — Get document info

gws docs info <document-id>

Gets metadata about a Google Doc (title, ID, revision info).

create — Create a new document

gws docs create --title <title> [flags]

Flags:

• --title string — Document title (required)
• --text string — Initial text content
• --content-format string — Content format: markdown (default), plaintext, or richformat

Examples:

gws docs create --title "Meeting Notes"
gws docs create --title "Report" --text "# Q4 Summary\n\n**Revenue** grew 15%"
gws docs create --title "Plain" --text "No formatting" --content-format plaintext

append — Append text

gws docs append <document-id> --text <text> [flags]

Flags:

• --text string — Text to append (required)
• --newline — Add newline before appending (default: true)
• --content-format string — Content format: markdown (default), plaintext, or richformat

insert — Insert text at position

gws docs insert <document-id> --text <text> [flags]

Flags:

• --text string — Text to insert (required)
• --at int — Position to insert at (1-based index, default: 1)
• --content-format string — Content format: markdown (default), plaintext, or richformat

Position 1 is the start of the document content. Use gws docs read <id> --include-formatting to see element positions.

replace — Find and replace text

gws docs replace <document-id> --find <text> --replace <text> [flags]

Flags:

• --find string — Text to find (required)
• --replace string — Replacement text (required)
• --match-case — Case-sensitive matching (default: true)

replace-content — Replace all document content

gws docs replace-content <document-id> --text "# New content"
gws docs replace-content <document-id> --file ./content.md

Flags:

• --text string — Replacement text
• --file string — Read content from file (alternative to --text)
• --content-format string — Content format: markdown (default), plaintext, or richformat

Replaces the entire document body while preserving the doc ID, permissions, comments, and revision history. Provide exactly one of --text or --file.

delete — Delete content

gws docs delete <document-id> --from <pos> --to <pos>

Flags:

• --from int — Start position (1-based index, required)
• --to int — End position (1-based index, required)

Use gws docs read <id> --include-formatting to see position indices.

add-table — Add a table

gws docs add-table <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --rows int — Number of rows (default: 3)
• --cols int — Number of columns (default: 3)
• --at int — Position to insert at (1-based index, default: 1)

format — Format text style

gws docs format <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --from int — Start position (1-based index, required)
• --to int — End position (1-based index, required)
• --bold — Make text bold
• --italic — Make text italic
• --font-size int — Font size in points
• --color string — Text color (hex, e.g., "#FF0000")
• --font-family string — Font family (e.g., "Arial", "David Libre")

set-paragraph-style — Set paragraph style

gws docs set-paragraph-style <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --from int — Start position (1-based index, required)
• --to int — End position (1-based index, required)
• --alignment string — Paragraph alignment: START, CENTER, END, JUSTIFIED
• --line-spacing float — Line spacing multiplier (e.g., 1.15, 1.5, 2.0)
• --style string — Named style: NORMAL_TEXT, TITLE, SUBTITLE, HEADING_1..HEADING_6
• --direction string — Text direction: LEFT_TO_RIGHT or RIGHT_TO_LEFT

add-list — Add a bullet or numbered list

gws docs add-list <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --at int — Position to insert at (1-based index, default: 1)
• --type string — List type: bullet or numbered (default: bullet)
• --items string — List items separated by semicolons (required)

remove-list — Remove list formatting

gws docs remove-list <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --from int — Start position (1-based index, required)
• --to int — End position (1-based index, required)

trash — Trash or permanently delete a document

gws docs trash <document-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --permanent — Permanently delete instead of trashing (cannot be undone)

Content Formats

The --content-format flag controls how --text input is handled for create, append, and insert.

Format	Description
markdown (default)	Text is inserted as-is with markdown syntax preserved. Select the text in Google Docs and use "Paste from Markdown" to apply formatting.
plaintext	Text is inserted as-is with no markdown syntax expected.
richformat	--text is parsed as a JSON array of Google Docs API Request objects, passed directly to BatchUpdate.

Markdown example:

gws docs create --title "Report" --text "# Summary\n\n- Item **one**\n- Item *two*"

Richformat example:

gws docs create --title "Styled" --text '[{"insertText":{"location":{"index":1},"text":"Hello World"}},{"updateTextStyle":{"range":{"startIndex":1,"endIndex":6},"textStyle":{"bold":true},"fields":"bold"}}]' --content-format richformat

Output Modes

gws docs read <doc-id> --format json    # Structured JSON (default)
gws docs read <doc-id> --format yaml    # YAML format
gws docs read <doc-id> --format text    # Human-readable text

Tips for AI Agents

• Always use --format json (the default) for programmatic parsing
• To get position indices for insert/delete/add-table, first run gws docs read <id> --include-formatting
• Positions are 1-based (1 = start of document content)
• append is the simplest way to add content — it adds to the end with an automatic newline
• replace replaces ALL occurrences in the document, not just the first one
• Document IDs can be extracted from Google Docs URLs: docs.google.com/document/d/<ID>/edit
• For comments on a doc, use gws drive comments <doc-id>
• Use --quiet on write operations to suppress JSON output in scripts