Google Docs Skill

# Google Docs API Integration

Safety Notice

This listing is from the official public ClawHub registry. Review SKILL.md and referenced scripts before running.

Copy this and send it to your AI assistant to learn

Install skill "Google Docs Skill" with this command: npx skills add zagran/google-docs-skill

Google Docs API Integration

Direct access to the Google Docs API using OAuth 2.0. Create documents, insert and format text, and manage document content.

Prerequisites

  1. Google Cloud Project Setup

    • Go to Google Cloud Console
    • Create a new project or select existing one
    • Enable the Google Docs API
    • Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Desktop app or Web application)
    • Download the credentials JSON file

  2. Environment Setup

    export GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"
export GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN="your-refresh-token"

Authentication

Getting OAuth Tokens

Use the following Python script to obtain your refresh token (one-time setup):

import urllib.request
import urllib.parse
import json
import webbrowser
from http.server import HTTPServer, BaseHTTPRequestHandler
import os

# OAuth configuration
CLIENT_ID = os.environ.get('GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID')
CLIENT_SECRET = os.environ.get('GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET')
REDIRECT_URI = 'http://localhost:8080'
SCOPES = 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents'

# Step 1: Get authorization code
auth_url = (
    f"https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/v2/auth?"
    f"client_id={CLIENT_ID}&"
    f"redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}&"
    f"response_type=code&"
    f"scope={urllib.parse.quote(SCOPES)}&"
    f"access_type=offline&"
    f"prompt=consent"
)

print(f"Opening browser for authorization...")
webbrowser.open(auth_url)

# Step 2: Capture authorization code
auth_code = None

class OAuthHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
    def do_GET(self):
        global auth_code
        query = urllib.parse.urlparse(self.path).query
        params = urllib.parse.parse_qs(query)
        auth_code = params.get('code', [None])[0]
        
        self.send_response(200)
        self.send_header('Content-type', 'text/html')
        self.end_headers()
        self.wfile.write(b'<html><body><h1>Authorization successful!</h1><p>You can close this window.</p></body></html>')

server = HTTPServer(('localhost', 8080), OAuthHandler)
server.handle_request()

# Step 3: Exchange code for tokens
if auth_code:
    data = urllib.parse.urlencode({
        'code': auth_code,
        'client_id': CLIENT_ID,
        'client_secret': CLIENT_SECRET,
        'redirect_uri': REDIRECT_URI,
        'grant_type': 'authorization_code'
    }).encode()
    
    req = urllib.request.Request('https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token', data=data)
    response = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))
    
    print(f"\nRefresh Token: {response['refresh_token']}")
    print(f"Access Token: {response['access_token']}")
    print(f"\nSet your refresh token:")
    print(f"export GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN=\"{response['refresh_token']}\"")

Getting Access Token

Before making API calls, get a fresh access token:

import urllib.request
import urllib.parse
import json
import os

def get_access_token():
    """Get a fresh access token using refresh token"""
    data = urllib.parse.urlencode({
        'client_id': os.environ['GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID'],
        'client_secret': os.environ['GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET'],
        'refresh_token': os.environ['GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN'],
        'grant_type': 'refresh_token'
    }).encode()
    
    req = urllib.request.Request('https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token', data=data)
    response = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))
    return response['access_token']

# Store for reuse
access_token = get_access_token()
print(f"Access Token: {access_token}")

Base URL

https://docs.googleapis.com/v1

All requests require the access token in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

Quick Start

import urllib.request
import json
import os

# Get access token first (using function from above)
access_token = get_access_token()

# Get document
req = urllib.request.Request('https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{documentId}')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
doc = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))
print(json.dumps(doc, indent=2))

API Reference

Create Document

import urllib.request
import json

access_token = get_access_token()

data = json.dumps({'title': 'My New Document'}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request(
    'https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents',
    data=data,
    method='POST'
)
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')

response = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))
doc_id = response['documentId']
print(f"Created document: {doc_id}")
print(f"URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/{doc_id}/edit")

Get Document

req = urllib.request.Request(
    f'https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{doc_id}'
)
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
doc = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))

Batch Update Document

# Insert text at beginning
updates = {
    'requests': [
        {
            'insertText': {
                'location': {'index': 1},
                'text': 'Hello, World!\n\n'
            }
        }
    ]
}

data = json.dumps(updates).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request(
    f'https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{doc_id}:batchUpdate',
    data=data,
    method='POST'
)
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')

response = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))

Common Operations

Insert Text

{
    'requests': [
        {
            'insertText': {
                'location': {'index': 1},
                'text': 'Your text here'
            }
        }
    ]
}

Format Text (Bold, Italic, Font Size)

{
    'requests': [
        {
            'updateTextStyle': {
                'range': {
                    'startIndex': 1,
                    'endIndex': 10
                },
                'textStyle': {
                    'bold': True,
                    'italic': True,
                    'fontSize': {
                        'magnitude': 14,
                        'unit': 'PT'
                    }
                },
                'fields': 'bold,italic,fontSize'
            }
        }
    ]
}

Insert Table

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

Replace Text

{
    'requests': [
        {
            'replaceAllText': {
                'containsText': {
                    'text': '{{placeholder}}',
                    'matchCase': True
                },
                'replaceText': 'Actual value'
            }
        }
    ]
}

Delete Content

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

Insert Page Break

{
    'requests': [
        {
            'insertPageBreak': {
                'location': {'index': 1}
            }
        }
    ]
}

Update Paragraph Style

{
    'requests': [
        {
            'updateParagraphStyle': {
                'range': {
                    'startIndex': 1,
                    'endIndex': 50
                },
                'paragraphStyle': {
                    'namedStyleType': 'HEADING_1',
                    'alignment': 'CENTER'
                },
                'fields': 'namedStyleType,alignment'
            }
        }
    ]
}

Complete Example: Create and Format Document

import urllib.request
import urllib.parse
import json
import os

def get_access_token():
    """Get fresh access token"""
    data = urllib.parse.urlencode({
        'client_id': os.environ['GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID'],
        'client_secret': os.environ['GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET'],
        'refresh_token': os.environ['GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN'],
        'grant_type': 'refresh_token'
    }).encode()
    
    req = urllib.request.Request('https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token', data=data)
    response = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))
    return response['access_token']

def create_document(title, access_token):
    """Create a new document"""
    data = json.dumps({'title': title}).encode()
    req = urllib.request.Request(
        'https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents',
        data=data,
        method='POST'
    )
    req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
    req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
    
    response = json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))
    return response['documentId']

def batch_update(doc_id, requests, access_token):
    """Apply batch updates to document"""
    data = json.dumps({'requests': requests}).encode()
    req = urllib.request.Request(
        f'https://docs.googleapis.com/v1/documents/{doc_id}:batchUpdate',
        data=data,
        method='POST'
    )
    req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
    req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
    
    return json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req))

# Main workflow
access_token = get_access_token()

# Create document
doc_id = create_document('Project Report', access_token)
print(f"Created: https://docs.google.com/document/d/{doc_id}/edit")

# Add content with formatting
requests = [
    # Insert title
    {
        'insertText': {
            'location': {'index': 1},
            'text': 'Project Report\n\n'
        }
    },
    # Format title as heading
    {
        'updateParagraphStyle': {
            'range': {'startIndex': 1, 'endIndex': 15},
            'paragraphStyle': {'namedStyleType': 'HEADING_1'},
            'fields': 'namedStyleType'
        }
    },
    # Add body text
    {
        'insertText': {
            'location': {'index': 16},
            'text': 'Executive Summary\n\nThis report covers...\n\n'
        }
    },
    # Format section header
    {
        'updateParagraphStyle': {
            'range': {'startIndex': 16, 'endIndex': 34},
            'paragraphStyle': {'namedStyleType': 'HEADING_2'},
            'fields': 'namedStyleType'
        }
    }
]

batch_update(doc_id, requests, access_token)
print("Document updated successfully!")

Key Concepts

Document Indexing

  • Indices are 1-based (document starts at index 1)
  • Each character (including newlines) occupies one index
  • To append at the end, use endOfSegmentLocation

Batch Updates

  • Multiple requests are applied atomically
  • Requests are processed in order
  • Get the document first to determine correct indices

Field Masks

  • When updating styles, specify which fields to update
  • Use comma-separated field names: 'fields': 'bold,fontSize,foregroundColor'

Error Handling

Status CodeMeaning
400Bad Request - Invalid request format
401Unauthorized - Invalid or expired access token
403Forbidden - Insufficient permissions
404Not Found - Document doesn't exist
429Rate Limited - Too many requests

Token Refresh

Access tokens expire after 1 hour. If you get a 401 error, refresh the token:

try:
    # Make API call
    req = urllib.request.Request(url)
    req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
    response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)
except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
    if e.code == 401:
        # Refresh token and retry
        access_token = get_access_token()
        req = urllib.request.Request(url)
        req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {access_token}')
        response = urllib.request.urlopen(req)

Best Practices

  1. Token Management

    • Cache access tokens (valid for 1 hour)
    • Store refresh token securely
    • Implement automatic token refresh

  2. Batch Operations

    • Combine multiple updates into single batch call
    • Reduces API calls and improves performance

  3. Index Calculation

    • Always get current document state before updates
    • Account for newline characters (\n)
    • Use endOfSegmentLocation for appending

  4. Rate Limits

    • Google Docs API has quotas (check Cloud Console)
    • Implement exponential backoff for rate limit errors

Resources

Source Transparency

This detail page is rendered from real SKILL.md content. Trust labels are metadata-based hints, not a safety guarantee.

Open Registry RecordOpen in ClawHub

Related Skills

Related by shared tags or category signals.

General

Cclaw

Open-source comedy AI + video editing + poster generation. Create standup/sketch/manzai/scripts, edit videos via FFmpeg, and generate comedy posters via canv...

Registry SourceRecently Updated
3082kreator666
General

Dlazy Seedance 1.5 Pro

Convert images into dynamic dance videos using Doubao Seedance 1.5 Pro.

Registry SourceRecently Updated
6860dlazyai
General

Pod Template Pack

Use when user needs ready-to-use POD (Print on Demand) design keywords, title templates, and listing copy. Use when creating POD product listings for TikTok,...

Registry SourceRecently Updated
30wangm-a3
General

Dlazy Mj.Imagine

Generate artistic images using Midjourney (MJ) model. Supports text-to-image.

Registry SourceRecently Updated
6750dlazyai