gws-slides

name	gws-slides
description	Google Slides CLI operations via gws. Use when users need to create, read, or edit Google Slides presentations. Triggers: slides, presentation, google slides, deck.
metadata	{"short-description":"Google Slides CLI operations","compatibility":"claude-code, codex-cli"}

Google Slides (gws slides)

gws slides provides CLI access to Google Slides 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
Get presentation info	gws slides info <id>
List all slides	gws slides list <id>
Read slide content	gws slides read <id>
Read specific slide	gws slides read <id> 3
Read with speaker notes	gws slides read <id> --notes
Create presentation	gws slides create --title "My Deck"
Add a slide	gws slides add-slide <id> --title "Slide Title" --body "Content"
Add blank slide	gws slides add-slide <id> --layout BLANK
Delete a slide	gws slides delete-slide <id> --slide-number 3
Duplicate a slide	gws slides duplicate-slide <id> --slide-number 2
Add a shape	gws slides add-shape <id> --slide-number 1 --type RECTANGLE
Add an image	gws slides add-image <id> --slide-number 1 --url "https://..."
Add text to shape	gws slides add-text <id> --object-id <obj-id> --text "Hello"
Add text to table cell	gws slides add-text <id> --table-id <tbl-id> --row 0 --col 0 --text "Cell"
Add speaker notes	gws slides add-text <id> --notes --slide-number 1 --text "Notes here"
Clear speaker notes	gws slides delete-text <id> --notes --slide-number 1
Find and replace	gws slides replace-text <id> --find "old" --replace "new"
Delete any element	gws slides delete-object <id> --object-id <obj-id>
Clear text from shape	gws slides delete-text <id> --object-id <obj-id>
Style text	gws slides update-text-style <id> --object-id <obj-id> --bold --color "#FF0000"
Move/resize element	gws slides update-transform <id> --object-id <obj-id> --x 200 --y 100
Create a table	gws slides create-table <id> --slide-number 1 --rows 3 --cols 4
Insert table rows	gws slides insert-table-rows <id> --table-id <tbl-id> --at 1 --count 2
Delete table row	gws slides delete-table-row <id> --table-id <tbl-id> --row 2
Style table cell	gws slides update-table-cell <id> --table-id <tbl-id> --row 0 --col 0 --background-color "#FFFF00"
Style table border	gws slides update-table-border <id> --table-id <tbl-id> --row 0 --col 0 --color "#000000"
Paragraph style	gws slides update-paragraph-style <id> --object-id <obj-id> --alignment CENTER
Shape properties	gws slides update-shape <id> --object-id <obj-id> --background-color "#0000FF"
Reorder slides	gws slides reorder-slides <id> --slide-ids "slide1,slide2" --to 0
Set slide background color	gws slides update-slide-background <id> --slide-number 1 --color "#005843"
Set slide background image	gws slides update-slide-background <id> --slide-number 1 --image-url "https://..."
List available layouts	gws slides list-layouts <id>
Add slide with custom layout	gws slides add-slide <id> --layout-id <layout-id>
Add a line	gws slides add-line <id> --slide-number 1 --start-x 50 --start-y 50 --end-x 300 --end-y 200
Group elements	gws slides group <id> --object-ids "obj1,obj2,obj3"
Ungroup elements	gws slides ungroup <id> --group-id <group-id>
Get slide thumbnail	gws slides thumbnail <id> --slide <slide-id-or-number>

Detailed Usage

info — Get presentation info

gws slides info <presentation-id> [--notes]

Flags:

• --notes — Include speaker notes in output

list — List all slides

gws slides list <presentation-id> [--notes]

Lists all slides with their content and object IDs.

Flags:

• --notes — Include speaker notes in output

read — Read slide content

gws slides read <presentation-id> [slide-number] [--notes]

Reads text content. Omit slide number to read all slides. Slide numbers are 1-indexed.

Flags:

• --notes — Include speaker notes in output

create — Create a presentation

gws slides create --title <title>

add-slide — Add a slide

gws slides add-slide <presentation-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --title string — Slide title
• --body string — Slide body text
• --layout string — Layout type (default: "TITLE_AND_BODY")
• --layout-id string — Custom layout ID from presentation's masters (overrides --layout)

Available predefined layouts: TITLE_AND_BODY, TITLE_ONLY, BLANK, SECTION_HEADER, TITLE, ONE_COLUMN_TEXT, MAIN_POINT, BIG_NUMBER

For custom layouts, use gws slides list-layouts <id> to discover layout IDs.

delete-slide — Delete a slide

gws slides delete-slide <presentation-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --slide-number int — Slide number (1-indexed)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID (alternative)

duplicate-slide — Duplicate a slide

gws slides duplicate-slide <presentation-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --slide-number int — Slide number (1-indexed)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID (alternative)

add-shape — Add a shape

gws slides add-shape <presentation-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --slide-number int — Slide number (1-indexed)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID
• --type string — Shape type (default: "RECTANGLE")
• --x float — X position in points (default: 100)
• --y float — Y position in points (default: 100)
• --width float — Width in points (default: 200)
• --height float — Height in points (default: 100)

Shape types: RECTANGLE, ELLIPSE, TEXT_BOX, ROUND_RECTANGLE, TRIANGLE, ARROW, etc.

add-image — Add an image

gws slides add-image <presentation-id> --url <image-url> [flags]

Flags:

• --url string — Image URL (required, must be publicly accessible)
• --slide-number int — Slide number (1-indexed)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID
• --x float — X position in points (default: 100)
• --y float — Y position in points (default: 100)
• --width float — Width in points (default: 400)
• --height float — Height in points (default: auto-calculated from image aspect ratio)

add-text — Add text to shape, table cell, or speaker notes

# For shapes/text boxes:
gws slides add-text <presentation-id> --object-id <id> --text <text> [flags]

# For table cells:
gws slides add-text <presentation-id> --table-id <id> --row <n> --col <n> --text <text> [flags]

# For speaker notes:
gws slides add-text <presentation-id> --notes --slide-number <n> --text <text> [flags]

Flags:

• --object-id string — Shape/text box ID (mutually exclusive with --table-id and --notes)
• --table-id string — Table object ID (requires --row and --col)
• --row int — Row index, 0-based (required with --table-id)
• --col int — Column index, 0-based (required with --table-id)
• --notes — Target speaker notes shape (mutually exclusive with --object-id and --table-id)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID (required with --notes)
• --slide-number int — Slide number, 1-indexed (required with --notes)
• --text string — Text to insert (required)
• --at int — Position to insert at (0 = beginning)

Get object IDs from gws slides list <id> output. For tables, find elements with "type": "TABLE" and use their objectId as the --table-id value.

replace-text — Find and replace text

gws slides replace-text <presentation-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)

Replaces across ALL slides in the presentation.

delete-object — Delete any page element

gws slides delete-object <presentation-id> --object-id <id>

Deletes shapes, images, tables, or any page element by object ID.

delete-text — Clear text from shape or speaker notes

gws slides delete-text <presentation-id> --object-id <id> [flags]
gws slides delete-text <presentation-id> --notes --slide-number <n> [flags]

Flags:

• --object-id string — Shape containing text (required unless --notes)
• --notes — Target speaker notes shape (alternative to --object-id)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID (required with --notes)
• --slide-number int — Slide number, 1-indexed (required with --notes)
• --from int — Start index (default: 0)
• --to int — End index (if omitted, deletes to end)

update-text-style — Style text formatting

gws slides update-text-style <presentation-id> --object-id <id> [flags]

Flags:

• --object-id string — Shape containing text (required)
• --from int / --to int — Text range (optional)
• --bold / --italic / --underline — Boolean styles
• --font-size float — Size in points
• --font-family string — Font name
• --color string — Hex color #RRGGBB

update-transform — Move, scale, or rotate elements

gws slides update-transform <presentation-id> --object-id <id> [flags]

Flags:

• --object-id string — Element to transform (required)
• --x / --y float — Position in points
• --scale-x / --scale-y float — Scale factors
• --rotate float — Rotation in degrees

create-table — Add a table

gws slides create-table <presentation-id> --rows <n> --cols <n> [flags]

Flags:

• --slide-number int or --slide-id string — Target slide
• --rows int — Number of rows (required)
• --cols int — Number of columns (required)
• --x / --y / --width / --height float — Position and size

insert-table-rows — Insert rows into table

gws slides insert-table-rows <presentation-id> --table-id <id> --at <row> [flags]

Flags:

• --table-id string — Table object ID (required)
• --at int — Row index to insert at (required)
• --count int — Number of rows (default: 1)
• --below — Insert below the index (default: true)

delete-table-row — Remove row from table

gws slides delete-table-row <presentation-id> --table-id <id> --row <index>

update-table-cell — Style table cell

gws slides update-table-cell <presentation-id> --table-id <id> --row <r> --col <c> [flags]

Flags:

• --table-id string — Table object ID (required)
• --row int / --col int — Cell location (required)
• --background-color string — Hex color #RRGGBB

update-table-border — Style table borders

gws slides update-table-border <presentation-id> --table-id <id> --row <r> --col <c> [flags]

Flags:

• --table-id string — Table object ID (required)
• --row int / --col int — Cell location (required)
• --border string — top, bottom, left, right, or all
• --color string — Hex color #RRGGBB
• --width float — Border width in points
• --style string — solid, dashed, or dotted

update-paragraph-style — Paragraph formatting

gws slides update-paragraph-style <presentation-id> --object-id <id> [flags]

Flags:

• --object-id string — Shape containing text (required)
• --from int / --to int — Text range (optional)
• --alignment string — START, CENTER, END, JUSTIFIED
• --line-spacing float — Line spacing percentage (100 = single)
• --space-above / --space-below float — Paragraph spacing in points

update-shape — Shape properties

gws slides update-shape <presentation-id> --object-id <id> [flags]

Flags:

• --object-id string — Shape to update (required)
• --background-color string — Fill color #RRGGBB
• --outline-color string — Outline color #RRGGBB
• --outline-width float — Outline width in points

reorder-slides — Change slide order

gws slides reorder-slides <presentation-id> --slide-ids <ids> --to <position>

Flags:

• --slide-ids string — Comma-separated slide IDs to move (required)
• --to int — Target position, 0-indexed (required)

update-slide-background — Set slide background

gws slides update-slide-background <presentation-id> [flags]

Sets the background of a slide to a solid color or an image URL.

Flags:

• --slide-number int — Slide number (1-indexed)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID
• --color string — Background color as hex #RRGGBB
• --image-url string — Background image URL

One of --color or --image-url is required (mutually exclusive).

list-layouts — List available slide layouts

gws slides list-layouts <presentation-id>

Lists all available slide layouts from the presentation's masters. Use the returned layout IDs with add-slide --layout-id.

add-slide with custom layout

The add-slide command also supports --layout-id for custom master layouts:

gws slides add-slide <presentation-id> --layout-id <layout-object-id>

Use list-layouts to discover available layout IDs.

add-line — Add a line or connector

gws slides add-line <presentation-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --slide-number int — Slide number (1-indexed)
• --slide-id string — Slide object ID
• --type string — Line type (default: "STRAIGHT_CONNECTOR_1")
• --start-x float — Start X position in points
• --start-y float — Start Y position in points
• --end-x float — End X position in points (default: 200)
• --end-y float — End Y position in points (default: 200)
• --color string — Line color as hex #RRGGBB
• --weight float — Line thickness in points (default: 1)

Line categories: Prefix determines routing: STRAIGHT_* for straight lines, BENT_* for bent connectors, CURVED_* for curved connectors.

group — Group elements together

gws slides group <presentation-id> --object-ids <ids>

Flags:

• --object-ids string — Comma-separated element IDs to group (required, minimum 2)

ungroup — Ungroup elements

gws slides ungroup <presentation-id> --group-id <id>

Flags:

• --group-id string — Object ID of the group to ungroup (required)

thumbnail — Get slide page thumbnail

gws slides thumbnail <presentation-id> --slide <slide-id-or-number> [flags]

Gets a thumbnail image URL for a specific slide page.

Flags:

• --slide string — Slide object ID or 1-based slide number (required)
• --size string — Thumbnail size: SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE (default: "MEDIUM")
• --download string — Download thumbnail to file path instead of returning URL

Output Modes

gws slides list <id> --format json    # Structured JSON (default)
gws slides list <id> --format yaml    # YAML format
gws slides list <id> --format text    # Human-readable text

Tips for AI Agents

General

• Always use --format json (the default) for programmatic parsing
• Use gws slides list <id> to get slide object IDs and element object IDs before using update commands
• Slide numbers are 1-indexed (first slide is 1, not 0)
• Positions and sizes are in points (PT): standard slide is 720x405 points
• Presentation IDs can be extracted from URLs: docs.google.com/presentation/d/<ID>/edit
• For comments on a presentation, use gws drive comments <presentation-id>
• Use --quiet on update operations to suppress JSON output in scripts

Styling

• Colors are always hex format with # prefix: --background-color "#005843", --color "#FFFFFF"
• To style text: first add-text, then update-text-style for font/color, then update-paragraph-style for alignment
• update-shape sets fill and outline colors on shapes, not text
• update-text-style sets font properties (bold, italic, size, color) on text within shapes

Gotchas & Workarounds

• add-slide --layout may fail on presentations with custom slide masters; use list-layouts to get layout IDs and add-slide --layout-id instead
• replace-text operates across ALL slides in the presentation — cannot target specific slides
• Image URLs must be publicly accessible — Google Slides fetches them server-side
• add-text inserts into shapes/text boxes or table cells; use add-shape --type TEXT_BOX to create a text container first
• When creating a styled slide from scratch, work in this order: (1) add shape, (2) style shape with update-shape, (3) add text, (4) style text with update-text-style, (5) align with update-paragraph-style

Common Workflows

Create a Colored Title Slide

# 1. Add a full-slide rectangle as background
gws slides add-shape "<PRES_ID>" --slide-number 1 --type RECTANGLE \
  --x 0 --y 0 --width 720 --height 405

# 2. Get the shape ID from the output, then set fill color
gws slides update-shape "<PRES_ID>" --object-id "<SHAPE_ID>" \
  --background-color "#005843"

# 3. Add title text to the shape
gws slides add-text "<PRES_ID>" --object-id "<SHAPE_ID>" \
  --text "Thank You"

# 4. Style text: white, large, bold
gws slides update-text-style "<PRES_ID>" --object-id "<SHAPE_ID>" \
  --color "#FFFFFF" --font-size 48 --bold

# 5. Center the text
gws slides update-paragraph-style "<PRES_ID>" --object-id "<SHAPE_ID>" \
  --alignment CENTER

Populate a Table with Data

# 1. List slide to find table ID
gws slides list "<PRES_ID>" | jq '.slides[0].elements[] | select(.type=="TABLE")'

# 2. Add text to cells (0-indexed rows and columns)
gws slides add-text "<PRES_ID>" --table-id "<TABLE_ID>" --row 0 --col 0 --text "Header 1"
gws slides add-text "<PRES_ID>" --table-id "<TABLE_ID>" --row 0 --col 1 --text "Header 2"
gws slides add-text "<PRES_ID>" --table-id "<TABLE_ID>" --row 1 --col 0 --text "Data A"
gws slides add-text "<PRES_ID>" --table-id "<TABLE_ID>" --row 1 --col 1 --text "Data B"

# 3. Style header row with background color
gws slides update-table-cell "<PRES_ID>" --table-id "<TABLE_ID>" \
  --row 0 --col 0 --background-color "#005843"
gws slides update-table-cell "<PRES_ID>" --table-id "<TABLE_ID>" \
  --row 0 --col 1 --background-color "#005843"

Template Variable Replacement

# Replace placeholders across all slides
gws slides replace-text "<PRES_ID>" --find "{{COMPANY_NAME}}" --replace "Acme Corp"
gws slides replace-text "<PRES_ID>" --find "{{DATE}}" --replace "February 2026"
gws slides replace-text "<PRES_ID>" --find "{{PRESENTER}}" --replace "Jane Smith"

Move Slide to End

# Get slide ID from list (use .id field)
SLIDE_ID=$(gws slides list "<PRES_ID>" | jq -r '.slides[2].id')

# Move to high position (API adjusts to valid range)
gws slides reorder-slides "<PRES_ID>" --slide-ids "$SLIDE_ID" --to 99

Learnings

See LEARNINGS.md for session-specific learnings and gotchas discovered during real usage.

Note: LEARNINGS.md is a template. Keep sensitive/proprietary learnings local - don't commit them to the repo.