Agent skill

google-docs

Google Docs API for document editing. Use when user mentions "Google Doc", "docs.google.com", shares a Doc link, "create document", or asks about document creation.

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npx add-skill https://github.com/vm0-ai/vm0-skills/tree/main/google-docs

SKILL.md

Google Docs API

Use the Google Docs API via direct curl calls to create, read, update, and format Google Docs documents.

Official docs: https://developers.google.com/docs/api

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

  • Create new documents from scratch
  • Read document content and metadata
  • Insert or replace text in documents
  • Format text (bold, italic, font size, color)
  • Manage paragraphs (alignment, spacing, bullets)
  • Insert tables, images, and page breaks
  • Get document structure and element information

Placeholders: Values in {curly-braces} like {document-id} are placeholders. Replace them with actual values when executing.

How to Use

Base URL: https://docs.googleapis.com/v1

Finding your Document ID: The document ID is in the URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/{DOCUMENT_ID}/edit

1. Create New Document

Create a blank document with a title:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "title": "My New Document"
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '{documentId, title, documentUrl: ("https://docs.google.com/document/d/" + .documentId + "/edit")}'

2. Get Document Content

Read the entire document structure and content:

bash
curl -s "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" | jq '{title: .title, body: .body.content}'

3. Get Document Metadata Only

Get just the title and basic properties:

bash
curl -s "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" | jq '{documentId, title, revisionId, suggestionsViewMode}'

4. Insert Text at Beginning

Insert text at the start of the document (index 1):

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "insertText": {
        "location": {
          "index": 1
        },
        "text": "Hello, this is my first paragraph.\n"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

5. Insert Text at Specific Location

Insert text at a specific index (get indexes from document content):

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "insertText": {
        "location": {
          "index": 25
        },
        "text": "This is inserted text.\n"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

6. Delete Content Range

Delete text from a specific range:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "deleteContentRange": {
        "range": {
          "startIndex": 1,
          "endIndex": 50
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

7. Find and Replace Text

Replace all occurrences of text throughout the document:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "replaceAllText": {
        "containsText": {
          "text": "old text",
          "matchCase": true
        },
        "replaceText": "new text"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies[0].replaceAllText'

8. Format Text as Bold

Make text bold in a specific range:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "updateTextStyle": {
        "range": {
          "startIndex": 1,
          "endIndex": 20
        },
        "textStyle": {
          "bold": true
        },
        "fields": "bold"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

9. Format Text with Multiple Styles

Apply multiple text styles (bold, italic, font size, color):

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "updateTextStyle": {
        "range": {
          "startIndex": 1,
          "endIndex": 30
        },
        "textStyle": {
          "bold": true,
          "italic": true,
          "fontSize": {
            "magnitude": 14,
            "unit": "PT"
          },
          "foregroundColor": {
            "color": {
              "rgbColor": {
                "red": 0.2,
                "green": 0.4,
                "blue": 0.8
              }
            }
          }
        },
        "fields": "bold,italic,fontSize,foregroundColor"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

10. Set Paragraph Alignment

Change paragraph alignment (LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT, JUSTIFIED):

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "updateParagraphStyle": {
        "range": {
          "startIndex": 1,
          "endIndex": 50
        },
        "paragraphStyle": {
          "alignment": "CENTER"
        },
        "fields": "alignment"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

11. Create Bulleted List

Convert paragraphs to a bulleted list:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "createParagraphBullets": {
        "range": {
          "startIndex": 1,
          "endIndex": 100
        },
        "bulletPreset": "BULLET_DISC_CIRCLE_SQUARE"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

Available bullet presets:

  • BULLET_DISC_CIRCLE_SQUARE
  • BULLET_DIAMONDX_ARROW3D_SQUARE
  • BULLET_CHECKBOX
  • NUMBERED_DECIMAL_ALPHA_ROMAN
  • NUMBERED_DECIMAL_NESTED

12. Insert Table

Insert a table with specified rows and columns:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "insertTable": {
        "rows": 3,
        "columns": 4,
        "location": {
          "index": 1
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

13. Insert Page Break

Insert a page break at a specific location:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "insertPageBreak": {
        "location": {
          "index": 50
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

14. Insert Inline Image

Insert an image from a URL:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "insertInlineImage": {
        "uri": "https://example.com/image.png",
        "location": {
          "index": 1
        },
        "objectSize": {
          "height": {
            "magnitude": 200,
            "unit": "PT"
          },
          "width": {
            "magnitude": 300,
            "unit": "PT"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // .replies // "done"'

15. Batch Operations (Multiple Updates)

Combine multiple operations in a single request:

Write to /tmp/gdocs_request.json:

json
{
  "requests": [
    {
      "insertText": {
        "location": {
          "index": 1
        },
        "text": "Title: Important Document\n\n"
      }
    },
    {
      "updateTextStyle": {
        "range": {
          "startIndex": 1,
          "endIndex": 26
        },
        "textStyle": {
          "bold": true,
          "fontSize": {
            "magnitude": 18,
            "unit": "PT"
          }
        },
        "fields": "bold,fontSize"
      }
    },
    {
      "insertText": {
        "location": {
          "index": 28
        },
        "text": "This is the body text of the document.\n"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}:batchUpdate" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/gdocs_request.json | jq '.error // (.replies | length)'

16. Extract Plain Text

Get just the text content from a document:

bash
curl -s "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" | jq -r '.body.content[]?.paragraph?.elements[]?.textRun?.content' | tr -d '\0'

17. Get Document Structure

View document structure with element types and indexes:

bash
curl -s "https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{document-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN)" | jq '.body.content[] | {startIndex, endIndex, paragraph: .paragraph.elements[0].textRun.content}'

Common Scopes

Scope Permission
documents.readonly Read-only access
documents Full read/write access
drive.readonly Read files in Drive
drive.file Access files created by app
drive Full Drive access

Use full URL: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

Index Reference

Understanding indexes is critical for the Google Docs API:

  • Index 1: Start of document body
  • Index N: Each character, newline, and structural element increments the index
  • End index: Use "endIndex": startIndex + textLength for ranges
  • Tip: Get document content first to see current indexes

Text Style Fields

When using updateTextStyle, specify which fields to update in the fields parameter:

Field Description
bold Bold text
italic Italic text
underline Underline text
strikethrough Strikethrough text
fontSize Font size (PT or PX)
foregroundColor Text color (RGB)
backgroundColor Background color (RGB)
fontFamily Font name (e.g., "Arial")
baselineOffset Superscript/subscript
link Hyperlink URL

Use comma-separated for multiple: "fields": "bold,italic,fontSize"

Paragraph Style Fields

When using updateParagraphStyle:

Field Description
alignment LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT, JUSTIFIED
lineSpacing Line spacing percentage (100 = single)
direction LEFT_TO_RIGHT or RIGHT_TO_LEFT
spaceAbove Space before paragraph
spaceBelow Space after paragraph
indentFirstLine First line indentation
indentStart Left indentation
indentEnd Right indentation
namedStyleType HEADING_1, HEADING_2, NORMAL_TEXT, etc.

Guidelines

  1. Batch operations: Combine multiple requests in a single batchUpdate call to improve performance
  2. Index calculation: Always get current document content to determine correct indexes
  3. Request order: Requests are processed in order; later requests see effects of earlier ones
  4. Fields parameter: Always specify which fields to update to avoid overwriting other properties
  5. RGB colors: Color values range from 0.0 to 1.0 (not 0-255)
  6. Share permissions: Ensure the authenticated user has edit access to the document
  7. batchUpdate responses: Some operations (updateParagraphStyle, insertTable, insertPageBreak, insertInlineImage) return empty or absent .replies; output of "done" means success with no reply data. An .error key indicates failure.

API Reference

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