using-gs

name

using-gs

description

Use when managing Google Suite from the command line with the `gs` CLI — Gmail (tail/stream as JSON, send with attachments, delete, mark read/unread, labels, move), Google Calendar (list calendars, list/create/delete events, invite attendees), Google Drive (list/upload/download/mkdir/delete), or authentication (gs auth login/logout/status). Covers the nested subcommand structure, combined OAuth scope, and per-command options.

Using gs

Overview

gs is a Google Suite CLI. Structure is gs <service> <action>:

gs auth      login | logout | status        # one token for all services
gs gmail     tail | send | read | mark | rm | mv | label | profile | repl
gs calendar  ls | events | add | rm
gs drive     ls | upload | download | mkdir | rm

Run from this repo with uv run gs ..., or gs ... if installed (uv pip install -e .).

Lineage: gmailtail → gmail → gs. gmailtail --tail is now gs gmail tail --tail.

Authentication

One combined OAuth scope (Gmail full + Calendar + Drive) → one login covers all.

gs auth login --credentials credentials.json   # browser once; token at ~/.gs/tokens
gs auth status                                  # who am I / am I logged in
gs auth logout                                  # delete cached token

• Enable Gmail, Calendar, and Drive APIs in Google Cloud Console; OAuth 2.0 Client ID (Desktop app) → download JSON.
• gs auth login --auth-token key.json for a service account; --force-headless for SSH/no-browser.
• Other commands reuse the cached token and error with "run gs auth login" if absent.
• Global options (--credentials, --config-file, --verbose, --quiet, --ignore-token, --cached-auth-token) go before the service: gs --config-file gs.yaml gmail tail.

gmail

gs gmail tail --tail                      # stream new mail as JSON (follow)
gs gmail tail --once --format json-lines  # one-shot, pipe to jq
gs gmail tail --from [e-mail] --query "subject:alert" --tail
gs gmail send --to [e-mail] --subject Hi --body hello \
  --cc [e-mail] --attach f.pdf --html --body-file -    # attach repeatable; - = stdin
gs gmail read <id> --mark-read            # display full JSON, optionally mark read
gs gmail mark <id...> --read|--unread     # bulk read state
gs gmail rm <id...>                       # Trash (reversible)
gs gmail rm <id...> --permanently --yes   # hard delete (prompts without -y)
gs gmail label ls|create <n>|rm <n>|rename <old> <new>
gs gmail mv <id...> --to Work [--from INBOX]   # --from removes source label
gs gmail profile ; gs gmail repl

calendar

gs calendar ls                                 # list calendars
gs calendar events --from today --to +7d       # window: ISO or now/today/tomorrow/+7d/-2h
gs calendar add --summary "Mtg" --start 2026-06-01T10:00:00Z --end 2026-06-01T11:00:00Z \
  [--calendar <id>] [--location ..] [--timezone America/New_York]
gs calendar add --summary Holiday --start 2026-06-01 --end 2026-06-02   # date-only = all-day
gs calendar add --summary Coffee --start 2026-06-01T10:00:00-07:00 --end 2026-06-01T11:00:00-07:00 \
  --attendee [e-mail] --attendee [e-mail]    # repeatable; emails invitations (sendUpdates=all)
gs calendar rm <event-id...>

Timezones: today/tomorrow use local midnight; now/+7d/-2h are relative. A --start/--end with an offset (…-07:00) or Z is honored as-is; a naive value (no offset) is treated as local time unless --timezone is given. Gmail message timestamp is local time with an explicit offset.

drive

gs drive ls ["name contains 'report'"]    # optional Drive query
gs drive upload <local-file> [--parent <folder-id>]
gs drive download <file-id> -o out.pdf
gs drive mkdir <name> [--parent <folder-id>]
gs drive rm <file-id...>                   # Trash (reversible)
gs drive rm <file-id...> --permanently --yes

Architecture (for editing the tool)

• gs/cli.py — top group; shared options in ctx.obj (propagates to subgroups).
• gs/commands/ — one module per command; auth.py, gmail_group.py, calendar.py, drive.py define the subgroups. Helpers in commands/__init__.py: build_config, get_auth, get_service (gmail), get_calendar_service, get_drive_service, get_client.
• gs/auth.py — GoogleAuth: combined SCOPES, credentials(allow_login), service(api, version), login/logout/status, NotAuthenticatedError.
• Service layers: gs/messages.py + gs/labels.py (Gmail), gs/calendar_service.py (+ parse_when), gs/drive_service.py.
• gs/client.py/gs/monitor.py back gs gmail tail/repl.
• Tests mock the Google service: tests/test_services.py, tests/test_calendar_drive.py, tests/test_cli.py (CliRunner). uv run pytest.

Common mistakes

• Global options after the service → gs gmail tail --credentials … fails; put --credentials/--config-file/--verbose before the service name.
• Skipping gs auth login → other commands won't open a browser; they error until you log in once.
• Expecting gs gmail tail to stop → with --tail it follows forever; use --once.
• rm default is permanent → no; default is Trash (Gmail and Drive). --permanently is irreversible and prompts unless -y.
• gmail mv without --from removes the old label → no; it only adds --to.
• Stale token after upgrade → scope changed; gs auth logout then gs auth login.