Google CLI (gog)

The gog CLI provides access to Google Workspace services from the terminal. Use this instead of MCP tools when you have Bash access (coding agents in Cursor/Claude Code).

Prerequisites

gog CLI installed (which gog should return /usr/local/bin/gog)
Authenticated via gog auth login

Quick Reference

bash

# Check authentication status
gog auth status

# List available accounts
gog auth list

Calendar Operations

List Upcoming Events

bash

# List events for the next 7 days (default)
gog calendar events

# List events for specific date range
gog calendar events --from="2026-01-15" --to="2026-01-20"

# List events from a specific calendar
gog calendar events primary

# Output as JSON (for parsing)
gog calendar events --json

# Search for events by keyword
gog calendar search "standup"

Create Events

bash

# Quick event creation
gog calendar create primary --title="Team Meeting" --start="2026-01-15T14:00:00" --end="2026-01-15T15:00:00"

# With location and description
gog calendar create primary \
  --title="Sprint Planning" \
  --start="2026-01-20T10:00:00" \
  --end="2026-01-20T11:30:00" \
  --location="Conference Room A" \
  --description="Q1 sprint planning meeting"

# Add attendees
gog calendar create primary \
  --title="1:1 Meeting" \
  --start="2026-01-16T09:00:00" \
  --end="2026-01-16T09:30:00" \
  --attendees="colleague@company.com"

Manage Events

bash

# Get event details
gog calendar event <calendarId> <eventId>

# Update an event
gog calendar update primary <eventId> --title="Updated Title"

# Delete an event
gog calendar delete primary <eventId>

# Respond to invitation
gog calendar respond primary <eventId> --response=accepted

Advanced Calendar

bash

# Check free/busy for scheduling
gog calendar freebusy "email1@company.com,email2@company.com" --from="2026-01-15" --to="2026-01-16"

# Find conflicts in your calendar
gog calendar conflicts --days=7

# Set focus time
gog calendar focus-time --from="2026-01-15T09:00:00" --to="2026-01-15T12:00:00"

# Set out of office
gog calendar out-of-office --from="2026-01-20" --to="2026-01-24"

Gmail Operations

Read Emails

bash

# Search emails (Gmail query syntax)
gog gmail search "is:unread"
gog gmail search "from:ceo@company.com"
gog gmail search "subject:urgent after:2026/01/01"
gog gmail search "has:attachment"

# Get recent emails with JSON output
gog gmail search "is:unread" --json

# Get specific message
gog gmail get <messageId>

# Get message metadata only
gog gmail get <messageId> --format=metadata

Send Emails

bash

# Send a simple email
gog gmail send \
  --to="recipient@company.com" \
  --subject="Meeting Follow-up" \
  --body="Thank you for the meeting today."

# Send with CC
gog gmail send \
  --to="main@company.com" \
  --cc="manager@company.com" \
  --subject="Project Update" \
  --body="Here's the weekly update..."

# Send with attachment
gog gmail send \
  --to="team@company.com" \
  --subject="Report" \
  --body="Please find attached." \
  --attach="/path/to/report.pdf"

Organize Emails

bash

# List labels
gog gmail labels list

# Modify thread labels
gog gmail thread modify <threadId> --add-labels="IMPORTANT" --remove-labels="INBOX"

Tasks Operations

List Tasks

bash

# List all task lists
gog tasks lists list

# List tasks in a specific list
gog tasks list <tasklistId>

# Show completed tasks too
gog tasks list <tasklistId> --show-completed

# Output as JSON
gog tasks list <tasklistId> --json

Manage Tasks

bash

# Add a new task
gog tasks add <tasklistId> --title="Review PR #123"

# Add with due date
gog tasks add <tasklistId> --title="Submit report" --due="2026-01-20"

# Add with notes
gog tasks add <tasklistId> --title="Prepare slides" --notes="For the Q1 review meeting"

# Mark task complete
gog tasks done <tasklistId> <taskId>

# Update task
gog tasks update <tasklistId> <taskId> --title="Updated title"

# Delete task
gog tasks delete <tasklistId> <taskId>

Drive Operations

bash

# List files in root
gog drive list

# List files in folder
gog drive list <folderId>

# Search files
gog drive search "name contains 'report'"

# Download file
gog drive download <fileId> --output="/path/to/save"

# Upload file
gog drive upload /path/to/file --parent=<folderId>

Docs/Slides/Sheets

bash

# Export Google Doc as PDF
gog docs export <docId> --format=pdf --output="document.pdf"

# Export as docx
gog docs export <docId> --format=docx --output="document.docx"

# Get slides presentation info
gog slides info <presentationId>

# Get sheet data
gog sheets get <spreadsheetId> <range>

Common Patterns for Agents

Check Today's Schedule

bash

# Get today's events in a parseable format
gog calendar events --from="$(date +%Y-%m-%d)" --to="$(date -v+1d +%Y-%m-%d)" --json

Check Unread Emails

bash

# Get unread count and subjects
gog gmail search "is:unread newer_than:1d" --json | jq '.threads | length'

Quick Task Creation from Issue

bash

# Create task linked to JIRA issue
gog tasks add "@default" --title="PROJ-123: Implement feature X" --due="2026-01-20"

Find Available Meeting Time

bash

# Check team availability
gog calendar freebusy "tom@company.com,alice@company.com" \
  --from="$(date +%Y-%m-%d)" \
  --to="$(date -v+5d +%Y-%m-%d)" \
  --json

Output Formats

Flag	Description	Use Case
`--json`	JSON output	Parsing in scripts
`--plain`	TSV output	Simple parsing
(default)	Colored human-readable	Interactive use

When to Use CLI vs MCP Tools

Task	Use CLI	Use MCP
Quick calendar check	`gog calendar events`	-
Send email	`gog gmail send`	-
Complex slides manipulation	-	`ai_first_slides_*`
Presentation updates	-	`ai_first_slides_*`
WhatsApp integration	-	`whatsapp_*`
Slack integration	-	`ai_first_slack_*`

Rule of thumb: Use CLI for simple read/write operations. Use MCP tools for complex operations that need the assistant's context or don't have CLI equivalents.

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SKILL.md

Google CLI (gog)

Prerequisites

Quick Reference

Calendar Operations

List Upcoming Events

Create Events

Manage Events

Advanced Calendar

Gmail Operations

Read Emails

Send Emails

Organize Emails

Tasks Operations

List Tasks

Manage Tasks

Drive Operations

Docs/Slides/Sheets

Common Patterns for Agents

Check Today's Schedule

Check Unread Emails

Quick Task Creation from Issue

Find Available Meeting Time

Output Formats

When to Use CLI vs MCP Tools