gws-install

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Quick install of the Google Workspace CLI (gws) on an additional machine using existing OAuth credentials. Requires client_secret.json from a previous gws-setup. Use when setting up gws on a new computer, reinstalling after a fresh OS, or configuring a second workstation. Triggers: "install gws", "gws on new machine", "gws install", "set up gws again".

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Sourcejezweb/claude-skills
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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add jezweb/claude-skills gws-install

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
gws-cliquick-installationoauth-credentialsgoogle-workspaceagent-skills

SKILL.md Content

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Google Workspace CLI — Quick Install

Install 
gws
on an additional machine using OAuth credentials from a previous setup. Produces an authenticated CLI with all agent skills ready to use.
Prerequisite: The user must have 
client_secret.json
from a previous 
gws-setup
(or from Google Cloud Console). If they don't have it, use the 
gws-setup
skill instead.

Workflow

Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

bash
which gws && gws --version
ls ~/.config/gws/client_secret.json
gws auth status
If already authenticated with the right scopes, skip to Step 4.

Step 2: Install the CLI

bash
npm install -g @googleworkspace/cli
gws --version

Step 3: Set Up Credentials

Ask the user to provide their 
client_secret.json
. Three options:
Option A — Paste the JSON content:
Ask the user to paste the JSON. Write it to 
~/.config/gws/client_secret.json
:
bash
mkdir -p ~/.config/gws
Expected format:
json
{
  "installed": {
    "client_id": "...",
    "project_id": "...",
    "auth_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth",
    "token_uri": "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token",
    "client_secret": "...",
    "redirect_uris": ["http://localhost"]
  }
}
Option B — File path:
If the user has the file locally (e.g. in Downloads):
bash
mkdir -p ~/.config/gws
cp /path/to/client_secret.json ~/.config/gws/client_secret.json
Option C — Environment variables:
bash
export GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_CLI_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

Step 4: Authenticate

Ask which Google account to use, then run:
bash
gws auth login --full
Or with specific services to match the original setup:
bash
gws auth login -s gmail,drive,calendar,sheets,docs,chat,tasks
The user can check their original machine's scopes with 
gws auth status
to see what was granted.
After browser approval, verify:
bash
gws auth status

Step 5: Install Agent Skills

bash
npx skills add googleworkspace/cli -g --agent claude-code --all
This installs 90+ skills into 
~/.claude/skills/
. Safe to re-run if skills are already installed.

Step 6: Verify

bash
gws auth status
gws calendar +agenda --today
gws gmail +triage

Troubleshooting

"Auth error — credentials missing or invalid" (exit code 2)

  • Check 
    ~/.config/gws/client_secret.json
    exists and has valid JSON
  • Re-run 
    gws auth login

Token expired

  • If the GCP app is in "Testing" status, tokens expire after 7 days
  • Re-run 
    gws auth login
    to refresh
  • For permanent tokens, push the app to Production in GCP Console OAuth consent screen

Skills not appearing in Claude Code

  • Skills load at session start — restart Claude Code after installing
  • Verify: 
    ls ~/.claude/skills/gws-* | wc -l
    should show 30+ directories

See Also

  • gws-setup — First-time setup including GCP project creation
  • gws-shared — Auth patterns and global flags