gws-chat

name	gws-chat
description	Google Chat CLI operations via gws. Use when users need to list/create/manage chat spaces, read/send messages, manage members, track read state, handle attachments, or monitor space events. Triggers: google chat, gchat, chat spaces, chat messages.
metadata	{"short-description":"Google Chat CLI operations","compatibility":"claude-code, codex-cli"}

Google Chat (gws chat)

gws chat provides CLI access to Google Chat 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.

Note: Google Chat API requires additional setup:

1. Enable the Chat API in your Google Cloud project
2. Configure the OAuth consent screen for Chat scopes
3. For some operations, you may need a service account with domain-wide delegation

Quick Command Reference

Task	Command
Spaces
List chat spaces	gws chat list
List spaces (filtered)	gws chat list --filter 'spaceType = "SPACE"'
Get space details	gws chat get-space <space-id>
Create a space	gws chat create-space --display-name "Team" --type SPACE
Delete a space	gws chat delete-space <space-id>
Update a space	gws chat update-space <space-id> --display-name "New Name"
Search spaces (admin only)	gws chat search-spaces --query "Engineering"
Find DM with user	gws chat find-dm --email [e-mail]
Create space + members	gws chat setup-space --display-name "Team" --members "users/1,users/2"
Create DM	gws chat setup-space --type DIRECT_MESSAGE --members "users/123"
Create group chat	gws chat setup-space --type GROUP_CHAT --members "users/1,users/2"
Build member cache	gws chat build-cache
Find group by members	gws chat find-group --members "[e-mail],[e-mail]"
Find space by name	gws chat find-space --name "sales-skills"
Messages
Read messages	gws chat messages <space-id>
Read recent messages	gws chat messages <space-id> --order-by "createTime DESC" --max 10
Messages after a date	gws chat messages <space-id> --after "2026-02-17T00:00:00Z"
Messages in a range	gws chat messages <space-id> --after "2026-02-17T00:00:00Z" --before "2026-02-20T00:00:00Z"
Recap recent messages	gws chat recent --since 2h
Recap last 7 days	gws chat recent --since 7d --max 1000
Send a message	gws chat send --space <space-id> --text "Hello"
Quote a message	gws chat send --space <space-id> --text "Reply" --quote <message-id>
Get a single message	gws chat get <message-name>
Update a message	gws chat update <message-name> --text "New text"
Delete a message	gws chat delete <message-name>
Members
List space members	gws chat members <space-id>
Get member details	gws chat get-member <member-name>
Add a member	gws chat add-member <space-id> --user users/123
Remove a member	gws chat remove-member <member-name>
Update member role	gws chat update-member <member-name> --role ROLE_MANAGER
Reactions
List reactions	gws chat reactions <message-name>
Add a reaction	gws chat react <message-name> --emoji "👍"
Remove a reaction	gws chat unreact <reaction-name>
Read State
Get read state	gws chat read-state <space-id>
Mark space as read	gws chat mark-read <space-id>
Get thread read state	gws chat thread-read-state <thread-name>
List unread messages	gws chat unread <space-id>
Attachments & Media
Get attachment info	gws chat attachment <attachment-name>
Upload a file	gws chat upload <space-id> --file ./report.pdf
Download media	gws chat download <resource-name> --output ./file.pdf
Events
List space events	gws chat events <space-id> --filter 'event_types:"google.workspace.chat.message.v1.created"'
Get event details	gws chat event <event-name>

Detailed Usage

list — List chat spaces

gws chat list [flags]

Lists all Chat spaces (rooms, DMs, group chats) you have access to. Supports filtering and pagination.

Flags:

• --filter string — Filter spaces (e.g. spaceType = "SPACE")
• --page-size int — Number of spaces per page (default 100)

messages — List messages in a space

gws chat messages <space-id> [flags]

Flags:

• --max int — Maximum number of messages to return (default 25)
• --after string — Show messages after this time (RFC3339, e.g. 2026-02-17T00:00:00Z)
• --before string — Show messages before this time (RFC3339, e.g. 2026-02-20T00:00:00Z)
• --filter string — Filter messages (e.g. createTime > "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z")
• --order-by string — Order messages (e.g. createTime DESC)
• --show-deleted — Include deleted messages in results
• --resolve-senders — Make extra API calls to fill missing sender_display_name (via space membership listing) and add a self boolean (via People API people/me). One extra Chat call per space plus one People call per invocation.

--after and --before are convenience shortcuts for --filter. They combine with --filter using AND.

recent — Recap recent messages across active spaces

gws chat recent --since <window> [flags]

Recaps Chat messages across every space active within --since, without iterating message history for inactive spaces. Uses spaces.list lastActiveTime as the cheap prefilter, then queries spaces.messages.list per active space with createTime > since and orderBy=createTime DESC. Results are flattened and sorted globally by newest first. Includes both sent and received messages by default.

Flags:

• --since string — Time window: a Go duration (2h, 12h, 7d) or RFC3339 timestamp (2026-04-30T09:00:00Z). Default 2h.
• --max int — Total message cap (default 500, 0 = all)
• --max-per-space int — Per-space cap (default 100, 0 = all)
• --max-spaces int — Active-space cap after sorting by lastActiveTime DESC (default 0 = all)
• --resolve-senders — Fill sender_display_name (one extra membership-list call per active space) and add self via People API
• --exclude-self — Omit messages sent by the authenticated user (best-effort self detection via People API)

Output:

{
  "since": "2026-04-30T09:00:00Z",
  "spaces_scanned": 123,
  "active_spaces": 8,
  "count": 42,
  "messages": [
    {
      "space": "spaces/AAAA",
      "space_display_name": "Team Chat",
      "space_type": "SPACE",
      "space_last_active_time": "2026-04-30T10:58:00Z",
      "name": "spaces/AAAA/messages/msg1",
      "text": "...",
      "create_time": "2026-04-30T10:57:00Z",
      "sender": "Alice",
      "sender_resource": "users/123"
    }
  ]
}

Examples:

gws chat recent --since 2h
gws chat recent --since 12h --resolve-senders --exclude-self
gws chat recent --since 7d --max 1000 --max-per-space 200
gws chat recent --since 2026-04-30T09:00:00Z

Sender attribution fields:

• sender — existing display-name-or-resource string. Always present when the message has a sender.
• sender_type, sender_resource, sender_display_name — additive fields populated from the Chat message payload itself. They appear in default output whenever the API returned them, with no extra calls.
• self — only populated when --resolve-senders is set and the People API self lookup succeeds. Omitted otherwise rather than guessed.
• --resolve-senders only adds work for the cases the payload alone can't satisfy: filling sender_display_name when the API didn't include one, and adding self. Failures degrade gracefully — messages stay usable.

members — List space members

gws chat members <space-id> [flags]

Lists all members of a Chat space with display names, emails, roles, and user types.

Display names and emails are auto-resolved via the People API and cached locally at ~/.config/gws/user-cache.json. The cache grows over time, avoiding repeat API calls.

Flags:

• --max int — Maximum number of members to return (default 100)
• --filter string — Filter members (e.g. member.type = "HUMAN")
• --show-groups — Include Google Group memberships
• --show-invited — Include invited memberships

send — Send a message

gws chat send --space <space-id> --text <message>

Flags:

• --space string — Space ID or name (required)
• --text string — Message text (required)
• --quote string — Message resource name or ID to quote; the CLI fetches the quoted message and sends its current create/update timestamp.
• --quote-type string — Quote type: reply or forward (default API behavior is reply).
• --notify string — Notification behavior: none, force, or silent (default none). force and silent are rejected until Chat app authentication is supported.

get — Get a single message

gws chat get <message-name>

Retrieves a single message by its resource name (e.g. spaces/AAAA/messages/msg1).

Flags:

• --resolve-senders — Same additive sender attribution as on chat messages.

update — Update a message

gws chat update <message-name> --text "New text"

Flags:

• --text string — New message text (required)

delete — Delete a message

gws chat delete <message-name> [flags]

Flags:

• --force — Force delete even if message has replies

reactions — List reactions on a message

gws chat reactions <message-name> [flags]

Flags:

• --filter string — Filter reactions (e.g. emoji.unicode = "😀")
• --page-size int — Number of reactions per page (default 25)

react — Add a reaction

gws chat react <message-name> --emoji "👍"

Flags:

• --emoji string — Emoji unicode character (required)

unreact — Remove a reaction

gws chat unreact <reaction-name>

Removes a reaction by its resource name (e.g. spaces/AAAA/messages/msg1/reactions/rxn1).

get-space — Get space details

gws chat get-space <space>

Retrieves details about a Chat space including name, type, description.

create-space — Create a space

gws chat create-space --display-name "Team Chat" [flags]

Flags:

• --display-name string — Space display name (required)
• --type string — Space type: SPACE or GROUP_CHAT (default SPACE)
• --description string — Space description

delete-space — Delete a space

gws chat delete-space <space>

update-space — Update a space

gws chat update-space <space> [flags]

Flags:

• --display-name string — New display name
• --description string — New description

search-spaces — Search for spaces (admin only)

Requires Workspace admin privileges and chat.admin.spaces scope. Not available with regular user OAuth.

gws chat search-spaces --query "Engineering" [flags]

Flags:

• --query string — Search query (required)
• --page-size int — Results per page (default 100)

find-dm — Find direct message space

gws chat find-dm --email [e-mail]
gws chat find-dm --user users/123

Flags:

• --user string — User resource name (e.g. users/123)
• --email string — User email address (e.g. [e-mail])

setup-space — Create space with members

# Named space with members
gws chat setup-space --display-name "Project Team" --members "users/111,users/222"

# Direct message (no display-name needed)
gws chat setup-space --type DIRECT_MESSAGE --members "users/111"

# Group chat (no display-name needed)
gws chat setup-space --type GROUP_CHAT --members "users/111,users/222"

Flags:

• --display-name string — Space display name (required for SPACE type, forbidden for DM/GROUP_CHAT)
• --type string — Space type: SPACE, GROUP_CHAT, or DIRECT_MESSAGE (default SPACE)
• --members string — Comma-separated user resource names (required for DM/GROUP_CHAT)

get-member — Get member details

gws chat get-member <member-name>

add-member — Add a member to a space

gws chat add-member <space> --user users/123 [flags]

Flags:

• --user string — User resource name (required)
• --role string — Member role: ROLE_MEMBER or ROLE_MANAGER (default ROLE_MEMBER)

remove-member — Remove a member

gws chat remove-member <member-name>

update-member — Update member role

gws chat update-member <member-name> --role ROLE_MANAGER

Flags:

• --role string — New role: ROLE_MEMBER or ROLE_MANAGER (required)

read-state — Get space read state

gws chat read-state <space>

Returns when you last read the space. Space ID is auto-expanded to the full read state resource name.

mark-read — Mark space as read

gws chat mark-read <space> [flags]

Flags:

• --time string — Read time in RFC-3339 format (defaults to now)

thread-read-state — Get thread read state

gws chat thread-read-state <thread-name>

Full resource name required (e.g. users/me/spaces/AAAA/threads/thread1/threadReadState).

unread — List unread messages

gws chat unread <space-id> [flags]

Lists messages received after the last read time. Combines read-state lookup and message filtering.

Flags:

• --max int — Maximum number of unread messages (default: 25)
• --mark-read — Mark space as read after listing
• --resolve-senders — Same additive sender attribution as on chat messages.

attachment — Get attachment metadata

gws chat attachment <attachment-name>

Returns metadata: name, content_name, content_type, source, download_uri, thumbnail_uri.

upload — Upload a file

gws chat upload <space> --file ./report.pdf

Flags:

• --file string — Path to file to upload (required)

download — Download media

gws chat download <resource-name> --output ./file.pdf

Flags:

• --output string — Output file path (required)

events — List space events

gws chat events <space> --filter 'event_types:"google.workspace.chat.message.v1.created"' [flags]

Flags:

• --filter string — Event type filter (required — API requires it)
• --page-size int — Events per page (default 100)

event — Get event details

gws chat event <event-name>

build-cache — Build space-members cache

gws chat build-cache                    # Cache GROUP_CHAT spaces (default)
gws chat build-cache --type all         # Cache all space types
gws chat build-cache --type SPACE       # Cache only SPACE type

Iterates spaces, fetches members, resolves emails via People API, and stores a local cache at ~/.config/gws/space-members-cache.json. Progress is shown on stderr.

Flags:

• --type string — Space type to cache: GROUP_CHAT (default), SPACE, DIRECT_MESSAGE, or all

find-group — Find group chats by members

gws chat find-group --members "[e-mail],[e-mail]"
gws chat find-group --members "[e-mail]" --refresh

Searches the local space-members cache for spaces where ALL specified emails are members. Requires build-cache to be run first (or use --refresh).

Flags:

• --members string — Comma-separated email addresses to search for (required)
• --refresh — Rebuild cache before searching

find-space — Find spaces by display name

gws chat find-space --name "sales-skills" --refresh
gws chat find-space --name "team" --type SPACE

Searches the local space cache for spaces whose display_name contains the given query (case-insensitive substring match). DMs without a display name are skipped.

Cache scope matters. Default gws chat build-cache only caches GROUP_CHAT. To find SPACE-type rooms (most named spaces) or all types, either:

• prebuild with gws chat build-cache --type SPACE (or --type all), or
• pass --refresh so this command rebuilds the cache before searching.

Flags:

• --name string — Display name substring to search for (case-insensitive, required)
• --type string — Filter by space type: SPACE, GROUP_CHAT, or DIRECT_MESSAGE
• --refresh — Rebuild cache before searching (scoped to --type if set, otherwise all types)

Output Modes

gws chat list --format json    # Structured JSON (default)
gws chat list --format yaml    # YAML format
gws chat list --format text    # Human-readable text

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correct Usage
--limit N on messages	Use --max N — --limit does not exist
find-dm --user [e-mail]	Use users/[e-mail] format — the --user flag requires a resource name prefix
setup-space --display-name "X" --type DIRECT_MESSAGE	Omit --display-name for DM/GROUP_CHAT — API rejects it
find-group without cache	Run gws chat build-cache first, or use --refresh

Recipe: Find a Group Chat by Member Names

Preferred method — use the member cache:

# 1. Build the cache (one-time, or periodically)
gws chat build-cache

# 2. Search by email
gws chat find-group --members "[e-mail],[e-mail]"

# 3. Get recent messages from the matched space
gws chat messages spaces/AAAApznBCFA --after "2026-02-20T00:00:00Z" --order-by "createTime DESC" --max 25

Alternative — manual search (no cache needed):

# 1. List all spaces, filter to group chats
gws chat list --format json | jq '.spaces | map(select(.type == "GROUP_CHAT")) | .[:10]'

# 2. Check members of candidate spaces
gws chat members spaces/AAAApznBCFA --format json

Key insight: DMs and group chats often have empty display_name — you must check members to identify participants.

Recipe: Create a DM via Contacts

# 1. Resolve email to user resource name
gws contacts resolve --email "[e-mail]"

# 2. Check if DM already exists
gws chat find-dm --user users/123456

# 3. If not found, create the DM
gws chat setup-space --type DIRECT_MESSAGE --members "users/123456"

# 4. Send a message
gws chat send --space spaces/DMXYZ --text "Hello!"

Tips for AI Agents

• Always use --format json (the default) for programmatic parsing
• Use gws chat list first to get space IDs
• Space IDs are in the format spaces/AAAA1234
• Message names are in the format spaces/AAAA/messages/msg1
• members auto-resolves display names via People API — first call may be slower, subsequent calls use cache
• Use --order-by "createTime DESC" with messages to get newest first
• Use --filter 'createTime > "YYYY-MM-DDT00:00:00Z"' to scope messages to a date range — more reliable than relying on default ordering
• read-state auto-expands bare space IDs (e.g. AAAA → users/me/spaces/AAAA/spaceReadState)
• events requires a --filter with event types — see API docs
• Chat API requires additional GCP setup beyond standard OAuth — see the gws-auth skill