About Google Workspace CLI
The Google Workspace CLI, invoked as gws, is a single command line tool for working with Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, Chat, Admin and other Workspace APIs. It produces structured JSON, which makes it handy for scripting and for AI agents, and it ships with more than 40 agent skills. The README states it is not an officially supported Google product.
Its distinctive design is that it has no fixed list of commands. At runtime it reads Google's Discovery Service and builds the command surface dynamically, so when Google adds an API endpoint or method the tool picks it up automatically. Setup needs Node.js 18 or newer for an npm install, or a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases, plus a Google Cloud project for OAuth credentials, which the gws auth setup command can help create.
The project is Apache-2.0 licensed and written in Rust. It is under active development, and the maintainers warn to expect breaking changes before version 1.0. It suits administrators and developers who want to automate Workspace tasks from a terminal or hand the same capabilities to coding agents.
Key features
- Commands for Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets and Docs
- Command surface built from Google Discovery Service
- Structured JSON output
- 40+ bundled AI agent skills
- OAuth setup helper command
- Prebuilt binaries or npm install
Good fit for
- →Scripting Google Workspace administration
- →Giving AI agents access to Workspace APIs
- →Bulk operations on Drive and Sheets data
- Built with
- Rust
- Tags
- google-workspace
- cli
- rust
- automation
- agent-skills
- google-api
- oauth
- gmail
- drive
Google Workspace CLI: questions and answers
- What is Google Workspace CLI used for?
- Google Workspace CLI is a Rust command line tool that exposes all of Google Workspace, from Drive and Gmail to Calendar and Sheets, with JSON output and ready-made AI agent skills. It is a good fit for scripting Google Workspace administration, giving AI agents access to Workspace APIs, and bulk operations on Drive and Sheets data.
- Is Google Workspace CLI open source?
- Yes. Google Workspace CLI is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at googleworkspace/cli and is written mainly in Rust.
- Is Google Workspace CLI free?
- Yes. Google Workspace CLI is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
- What are some alternatives to Google Workspace CLI?
- Similar open-source tools in the Developer Tools category include Apprise, App Store Connect CLI and assh. SaaS products in the same category include act101, Amicro and Angular Material Blocks.
- Is Google Workspace CLI actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Google Workspace CLI was on 24 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.22.5, published on 31 March 2026. The project has 31k stars on GitHub.
Open-source alternatives to Google Workspace CLI
See allApprise
Developer Tools
Apprise - Push Notifications that work with just about every platform!
BSD-2-Clausevs Courier★ 18k
App Store Connect CLI
Developer Tools
Fast, scriptable CLI for the App Store Connect API. Automate TestFlight, builds, submissio
MIT★ 7.6k
assh
Developer Tools
:computer: make your ssh client smarter
MIT★ 3.2kSomo
Developer Tools
A human-friendly alternative to netstat for socket and port monitoring on Linux and macOS.
MITvs Socket★ 2.6k
TypeUI
Developer Tools
Build better UI with AI
OSS★ 2k
Neovim
Developer Tools
Vim-fork focused on extensibility and usability
OSSvs Sublime Text★ 103k
SaaS alternatives to Google Workspace CLI
See all
act101
Developer Tools
Codebase quality and refactoring toolkit for coding agents, with code porting and verification
SaaS
Amicro
Developer Tools
Open-source React library of micro-interactions and page transitions
SaaS
Angular Material Blocks
Developer Tools
Pre-built Angular Material UI blocks, templates and a CLI for rapid interface development
SaaS
AgentKit
Developer Tools
Specialized AI agents on Claude Code for planning, coding, testing, review and deployment
SaaS
CommitFlow
Developer Tools
Automates scheduled GitHub repository maintenance and Markdown changelog updates
SaaS
Debtdrone
Developer Tools
Scans codebases for technical debt and opens AI-generated pull requests to fix it
SaaS

