Skill Google Gmail Tool

When to use

• Access Gmail messages, send emails, export to Obsidian
• Manage Google Calendar events and export schedules
• Work with Google Tasks and to-do lists
• Search, upload, download Google Drive files

Google Gmail Tool Skill

Purpose

The google-gmail-tool is a professional CLI that provides comprehensive access to Google services including Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, and Drive. It enables agent-friendly JSON output, human-readable text formats, multi-level verbosity logging, and seamless Obsidian integration.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Reading or sending Gmail messages programmatically
• Managing calendar events and schedules
• Working with Google Tasks and to-do lists
• Searching, uploading, or downloading files from Google Drive
• Exporting Google data to Obsidian markdown notes
• Automating Google service workflows

Do NOT use this skill for:

• Direct Google API programming (this is a CLI wrapper)
• Google Workspace admin tasks (requires different APIs)
• Real-time synchronization (uses polling-based access)

CLI Tool: google-gmail-tool

A CLI that provides access to Google services with OAuth2 authentication, supporting Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, and Drive operations.

Installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/dnvriend/google-gmail-tool.git
cd google-gmail-tool

# Install globally with uv
uv tool install .

# Verify installation
google-gmail-tool --version

Prerequisites

• Python: 3.14 or higher
• OAuth Credentials: Google Cloud Console OAuth 2.0 Client ID (Desktop application)
• Environment Variables:
  • GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS: Path to credentials JSON file
  • GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS_JSON: Full OAuth2 credentials as JSON string
  • OBSIDIAN_ROOT: Path to Obsidian vault (for export commands)

Quick Start

# 1. Get OAuth credentials from Google Cloud Console
# Visit: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials

# 2. Set credentials environment variable
export GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS=~/.config/google-gmail-tool/credentials.json

# 3. Verify authentication
google-gmail-tool auth check

# 4. List Gmail threads
google-gmail-tool mail list --today

# 5. List calendar events
google-gmail-tool calendar list --this-week

Progressive Disclosure

mail list - List Gmail messages or threads

List Gmail messages or threads with optional filtering, supporting full Gmail search syntax.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool mail list [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --query "TEXT": Gmail search query (supports full Gmail search syntax)
• --today: Filter emails from today only
• --max-results N / -n N: Maximum results (default: 50, max: 500)
• --format FORMAT / -f FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• --text: Shorthand for --format text
• --message-mode: List individual messages instead of threads
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Gmail Search Operators:

• is:unread, is:read, is:starred - Message status
• has:attachment, filename:pdf - Attachments
• from:email@example.com - Sender
• to:email@example.com - Recipient
• subject:keyword - Subject line
• after:YYYY/MM/DD, before:YYYY/MM/DD - Date range
• older_than:2d, newer_than:1m - Relative dates
• label:important, in:inbox - Labels

Examples:

# List 50 most recent threads
google-gmail-tool mail list

# Find unread emails from today
google-gmail-tool mail list --today --query "is:unread"

# Search for specific sender
google-gmail-tool mail list --query "from:team@company.com" -n 10

# Find emails with attachments
google-gmail-tool mail list --query "has:attachment" --text

# Complex query
google-gmail-tool mail list \
    --query "from:john@example.com subject:report after:2025/01/01" \
    --message-mode

Output (JSON):

[
  {
    "id": "19a90f13e3c7af52",
    "threadId": "19a90f13e3c7af52",
    "snippet": "Meeting notes from...",
    "from": "sender@example.com",
    "to": "recipient@example.com",
    "subject": "Meeting Notes",
    "date": "2025-11-20T10:30:00Z"
  }
]

mail send - Send email via Gmail

Send emails via Gmail API with support for HTML, CC, BCC, and attachments.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool mail send [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --to EMAIL: Recipient email (required)
• --subject TEXT: Email subject (required)
• --body TEXT: Email body (required)
• --from EMAIL: Sender email (optional, uses default)
• --cc EMAIL: CC recipients (comma-separated)
• --bcc EMAIL: BCC recipients (comma-separated)
• --html: Send as HTML instead of plain text
• --dry-run: Preview email without sending
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Send plain text email
google-gmail-tool mail send \
    --to "user@example.com" \
    --subject "Meeting Notes" \
    --body "Here are the notes from today's meeting..."

# Send HTML email with CC
google-gmail-tool mail send \
    --to "user@example.com" \
    --cc "team@example.com" \
    --subject "Weekly Report" \
    --body "<h1>Report</h1><p>Details...</p>" \
    --html

# Preview without sending
google-gmail-tool mail send \
    --to "user@example.com" \
    --subject "Test" \
    --body "Test email" \
    --dry-run

mail get - Get email message details

Retrieve detailed information about a specific Gmail message.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool mail get MESSAGE_ID [OPTIONS]

Options:

• MESSAGE_ID: Gmail message ID (required)
• --format FORMAT / -f FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• --include-body: Include full message body
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Get message metadata
google-gmail-tool mail get 19a90f13e3c7af52

# Get message with full body
google-gmail-tool mail get 19a90f13e3c7af52 --include-body

# Text format output
google-gmail-tool mail get 19a90f13e3c7af52 --include-body --format text

mail export-obsidian - Export Gmail to Obsidian

Export Gmail threads to Obsidian markdown notes with attachments.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool mail export-obsidian [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --query "TEXT": Gmail search query
• --today: Export emails from today only
• --max-results N / -n N: Maximum threads to export
• --obsidian-root PATH: Obsidian vault root path (or use OBSIDIAN_ROOT env var)
• --download-attachments: Download email attachments (default)
• --no-download-attachments: Skip downloading attachments
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Obsidian Structure:

$OBSIDIAN_ROOT/emails/<timestamp>-<sender>-<subject>/
├── thread.md                 # Thread with all messages
└── attachments/              # Downloaded attachments
    ├── document.pdf
    └── image.png

Examples:

# Export today's emails
google-gmail-tool mail export-obsidian --today

# Export specific threads
google-gmail-tool mail export-obsidian --query "from:important@example.com"

# Export without attachments
google-gmail-tool mail export-obsidian \
    --query "subject:report" \
    --no-download-attachments

calendar list - List calendar events

List calendar events with time range and query filtering.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool calendar list [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --today: Events for today
• --tomorrow: Events for tomorrow
• --this-week: Events this week (Monday-Sunday, default)
• --next-week: Events next week
• --days N: Events for next N days
• --date YYYY-MM-DD: Events for specific date
• --range-start YYYY-MM-DD: Start of custom range
• --range-end YYYY-MM-DD: End of custom range
• --query "TEXT": Free-text search (title, description, location)
• --max-results N / -n N: Maximum results (default: 100)
• --format FORMAT / -f FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• --text: Shorthand for --format text
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# List this week's events (default)
google-gmail-tool calendar list

# Today's events
google-gmail-tool calendar list --today

# Next 7 days
google-gmail-tool calendar list --days 7

# Search for meetings
google-gmail-tool calendar list --query "team meeting"

# Custom date range
google-gmail-tool calendar list \
    --range-start 2025-11-20 \
    --range-end 2025-11-27

Output (JSON):

[
  {
    "id": "event123",
    "summary": "Team Meeting",
    "start": "2025-11-20T10:00:00Z",
    "end": "2025-11-20T11:00:00Z",
    "location": "Conference Room A",
    "attendees": ["user1@example.com", "user2@example.com"]
  }
]

calendar create - Create calendar event

Create a new calendar event with optional attendees and Google Meet.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool calendar create [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --title TEXT / -t TEXT: Event title (required)
• --start DATETIME: Start datetime (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM)
• --end DATETIME: End datetime (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM)
• --date YYYY-MM-DD: Date for all-day event
• --all-day: Create all-day event (requires --date)
• --location TEXT / -l TEXT: Event location
• --description TEXT / -d TEXT: Event description
• --attendees EMAILS / -a EMAILS: Comma-separated attendee emails
• --add-meet: Add Google Meet video conferencing
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Create simple event
google-gmail-tool calendar create \
    --title "Team Meeting" \
    --start "2025-11-20 10:00" \
    --end "2025-11-20 11:00"

# Create event with Google Meet
google-gmail-tool calendar create \
    --title "Remote Standup" \
    --start "2025-11-21 09:00" \
    --end "2025-11-21 09:30" \
    --add-meet

# Create all-day event
google-gmail-tool calendar create \
    --title "Conference" \
    --date "2025-11-25" \
    --all-day

# Create event with attendees
google-gmail-tool calendar create \
    --title "Project Review" \
    --start "2025-11-22 14:00" \
    --end "2025-11-22 15:00" \
    --location "Room 301" \
    --attendees "user1@example.com,user2@example.com"

calendar export-obsidian - Export calendar to Obsidian

Export calendar events to Obsidian daily notes as checklist items.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool calendar export-obsidian [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --today: Export today's events
• --this-week: Export this week's events (default)
• --date YYYY-MM-DD: Export specific date
• --range-start YYYY-MM-DD: Start of custom range
• --range-end YYYY-MM-DD: End of custom range
• --query "TEXT": Filter events by search query
• --obsidian-root PATH: Obsidian vault root path
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Smart Merge Logic:

• Preserves checked-off items
• Updates event times if changed
• Removes cancelled events
• Adds new events

Examples:

# Export today's schedule
google-gmail-tool calendar export-obsidian --today

# Export this week to daily notes
google-gmail-tool calendar export-obsidian --this-week

# Export filtered events
google-gmail-tool calendar export-obsidian --query "meeting"

task list - List Google Tasks

List Google Tasks with status and date filtering.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool task list [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --completed: Show only completed tasks
• --incomplete: Show only incomplete tasks (default)
• --show-all: Show both completed and incomplete
• --today: Tasks due today
• --overdue: Tasks past due date
• --max-results N / -n N: Maximum results (default: 100)
• --format FORMAT / -f FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• --text: Shorthand for --format text
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# List incomplete tasks (default)
google-gmail-tool task list

# Show all tasks including completed
google-gmail-tool task list --show-all

# Tasks due today
google-gmail-tool task list --today

# Overdue tasks
google-gmail-tool task list --overdue

# First 10 incomplete tasks
google-gmail-tool task list --incomplete -n 10

Output (JSON):

[
  {
    "id": "task123",
    "title": "Review PR #456",
    "notes": "Check code quality and tests",
    "due": "2025-11-20",
    "status": "needsAction",
    "updated": "2025-11-19T15:30:00Z"
  }
]

task create - Create new task

Create a new Google Task with optional notes and due date.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool task create [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --title TEXT / -t TEXT: Task title (required)
• --notes TEXT / -n TEXT: Task notes/description
• --due YYYY-MM-DD / -d YYYY-MM-DD: Due date
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Create minimal task
google-gmail-tool task create --title "Review PR #123"

# Create task with due date
google-gmail-tool task create \
    --title "Submit report" \
    --due "2025-11-25"

# Create task with notes
google-gmail-tool task create \
    --title "Team meeting prep" \
    --notes "Prepare slides and agenda" \
    --due "2025-11-20"

task complete - Mark tasks as completed

Mark one or more tasks as completed.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool task complete TASK_ID [TASK_ID...] [OPTIONS]

Options:

• TASK_ID: One or more task IDs (space-separated)
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Complete single task
google-gmail-tool task complete abc123xyz

# Complete multiple tasks
google-gmail-tool task complete abc123 def456 ghi789

# Pipeline with jq
TASK_ID=$(google-gmail-tool task list -n 1 | jq -r '.[0].id')
google-gmail-tool task complete "$TASK_ID"

task export-obsidian - Export tasks to Obsidian

Export Google Tasks to Obsidian daily notes as checklist items.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool task export-obsidian [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --today: Export tasks due today
• --this-week: Export tasks due this week
• --date YYYY-MM-DD: Export tasks for specific date
• --range-start YYYY-MM-DD: Start of custom range
• --range-end YYYY-MM-DD: End of custom range
• --obsidian-root PATH: Obsidian vault root path
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Smart Merge Logic:

• Preserves checked-off items
• Updates task details if changed
• Removes completed tasks (optional)
• Adds new tasks

Examples:

# Export today's tasks
google-gmail-tool task export-obsidian --today

# Export this week's tasks
google-gmail-tool task export-obsidian --this-week

# Export custom date range
google-gmail-tool task export-obsidian \
    --range-start 2025-11-20 \
    --range-end 2025-11-27

drive list - List Drive files

List files in Google Drive with filtering and sorting.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool drive list [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --query "TEXT": Drive query string
• --max-results N / -n N: Maximum results (default: 50)
• --folder FOLDER_ID: List files in specific folder
• --order-by FIELD: Sort by field (name, createdTime, modifiedTime desc)
• --format FORMAT / -f FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• --text: Shorthand for --format text
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# List 50 most recent files
google-gmail-tool drive list

# List files in folder
google-gmail-tool drive list --folder 0ALlMmd1yT2TNUk9PVA

# Sort by name
google-gmail-tool drive list --order-by name -n 20

Output (JSON):

[
  {
    "id": "1abc...xyz",
    "name": "document.pdf",
    "mimeType": "application/pdf",
    "size": "1048576",
    "modifiedTime": "2025-11-20T10:30:00Z",
    "webViewLink": "https://drive.google.com/..."
  }
]

drive search - Search Drive files

Search for files and folders with common filters.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool drive search [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --name "TEXT": Search by file/folder name
• --type TYPE: Filter by type (document, spreadsheet, presentation, folder, pdf, image)
• --owner OWNER: Filter by owner (me, others, anyone)
• --shared: Show only shared files
• --max-results N / -n N: Maximum results (default: 50)
• --format FORMAT / -f FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Search by name
google-gmail-tool drive search --name "report"

# Find PDFs I own
google-gmail-tool drive search --type pdf --owner me

# Find shared spreadsheets
google-gmail-tool drive search --type spreadsheet --shared

# Complex search
google-gmail-tool drive search \
    --name "2025" \
    --type document \
    --owner me \
    -n 100

drive upload-file - Upload file to Drive

Upload a local file to Google Drive.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool drive upload-file LOCAL_PATH [PARENT_ID] [OPTIONS]

Options:

• LOCAL_PATH: Local file path (required)
• PARENT_ID: Parent folder ID (optional, defaults to My Drive root)
• --name NAME: Drive file name (defaults to local filename)
• --description TEXT: File description
• --mime-type TYPE: Override MIME type
• --force / -f: Skip duplicate check
• --format FORMAT: Output format (json, text)
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Upload to My Drive root
google-gmail-tool drive upload-file document.pdf

# Upload to specific folder
google-gmail-tool drive upload-file report.pdf 0ALlMmd1yT2TNUk9PVA

# Upload with custom name
google-gmail-tool drive upload-file data.csv \
    --name "Sales Report 2025.csv"

drive download - Download file from Drive

Download a file from Google Drive to local filesystem.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool drive download FILE_ID OUTPUT_PATH [OPTIONS]

Options:

• FILE_ID: Drive file ID (required)
• OUTPUT_PATH: Local output path (required)
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Download file
google-gmail-tool drive download 1abc...xyz document.pdf

# Download to specific directory
google-gmail-tool drive download 1abc...xyz ~/Downloads/report.pdf

auth check - Verify credentials

Verify Google OAuth credentials and API access.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool auth check [-v|-vv|-vvv]

Environment Variables:

• GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS_JSON: Full OAuth2 credentials as JSON string
• GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS: Path to OAuth2 credentials JSON file

Validates:

• OAuth credential format and validity
• Access token refresh capability
• Gmail API access
• Calendar API access
• Tasks API access
• Drive API access

Examples:

# Check authentication
google-gmail-tool auth check

# Check with debug output
google-gmail-tool auth check -vv

Output:

🔐 Checking Google OAuth credentials...
✓ Credentials loaded successfully
✓ Gmail API access granted
✓ Calendar API access granted
✓ Tasks API access granted
✓ Drive API access granted

auth login - Complete OAuth flow

Complete OAuth flow to generate authorized credentials.

Usage:

google-gmail-tool auth login [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --client-id ID: OAuth Client ID
• --client-secret SECRET: OAuth Client Secret
• --json-file PATH: Path to client secret JSON (alternative)
• --output PATH / -o PATH: Output file for credentials (default: ~/.config/google-gmail-tool/credentials.json)
• -v/-vv/-vvv: Verbosity (INFO/DEBUG/TRACE)

Examples:

# Login with client ID and secret
google-gmail-tool auth login \
    --client-id "123...apps.googleusercontent.com" \
    --client-secret "GOCSPX-..."

# Login with JSON file
google-gmail-tool auth login \
    --json-file ~/Downloads/client_secret.json

# Custom output location
google-gmail-tool auth login \
    --json-file ~/Downloads/client_secret.json \
    --output ~/.credentials/google.json

Multi-Level Verbosity

Control logging detail with -v/-vv/-vvv flags:

• No flag (WARNING): Only critical issues
• -v (INFO): High-level operations, important events
• -vv (DEBUG): Detailed operations, API calls, validation steps
• -vvv (TRACE): Full request/response, library internals

Examples:

# Normal mode (warnings only)
google-gmail-tool mail list

# Info level
google-gmail-tool mail list -v

# Debug level
google-gmail-tool mail list -vv

# Trace level (includes Google API internals)
google-gmail-tool mail list -vvv

Shell Completion

Install tab completion for bash, zsh, or fish:

Bash:

eval "$(google-gmail-tool completion bash)"
# Or add to ~/.bashrc

Zsh:

eval "$(google-gmail-tool completion zsh)"
# Or add to ~/.zshrc

Fish:

google-gmail-tool completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/google-gmail-tool.fish

Output Formats

All commands support JSON and text output:

JSON (default):

google-gmail-tool mail list | jq '.[] | .subject'

Text (human-readable):

google-gmail-tool mail list --text

Pipeline Integration

Designed for Unix pipeline integration:

Examples:

# Extract email subjects
google-gmail-tool mail list | jq -r '.[] | .subject'

# Count unread messages
google-gmail-tool mail list --query "is:unread" | jq 'length'

# Complete first incomplete task
TASK_ID=$(google-gmail-tool task list -n 1 | jq -r '.[0].id')
google-gmail-tool task complete "$TASK_ID"

# Search and download Drive file
FILE_ID=$(google-gmail-tool drive search --name "report" | jq -r '.[0].id')
google-gmail-tool drive download "$FILE_ID" report.pdf

Common Issues

Issue: "Credentials not found"

# Error
[ERROR] Credentials not found

Solution:

1. Set credentials environment variable:

   export GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS=~/.config/google-gmail-tool/credentials.json
   

2. Or use auth login to generate credentials:

   google-gmail-tool auth login --json-file ~/Downloads/client_secret.json
   

Issue: "API access denied"

Solution:

1. Check API is enabled in Google Cloud Console
2. Verify OAuth scopes include required permissions
3. Re-run auth check:

   google-gmail-tool auth check -vv
   

Issue: "Token expired"

Solution: Credentials include refresh token, should auto-refresh. If not:

# Re-authenticate
google-gmail-tool auth login --json-file ~/Downloads/client_secret.json

Issue: "Obsidian export fails"

Solution:

1. Set OBSIDIAN_ROOT environment variable:

   export OBSIDIAN_ROOT=~/Documents/ObsidianVault
   

2. Or use --obsidian-root flag:

   google-gmail-tool mail export-obsidian --obsidian-root ~/Documents/ObsidianVault
   

Getting Help

# Main help
google-gmail-tool --help

# Command group help
google-gmail-tool mail --help
google-gmail-tool calendar --help

# Specific command help
google-gmail-tool mail list --help
google-gmail-tool task create --help

Exit Codes

• 0: Success
• 1: General error (authentication, API error, validation failure)
• 2: Not found (message/event/task/file not found)

Output Formats

JSON (default):

• Agent-friendly structured data
• Suitable for parsing with jq
• Consistent schema across commands

Text (--text flag):

• Human-readable format
• Tabular or list output
• Good for terminal viewing

Best Practices

1. Use Environment Variables: Set GOOGLE_GMAIL_TOOL_CREDENTIALS and OBSIDIAN_ROOT for convenience
2. Enable Verbosity for Debugging: Use -vv or -vvv when troubleshooting
3. JSON Output for Scripts: Default JSON output is ideal for automation
4. Obsidian Integration: Use export commands to maintain synchronized notes
5. Pipeline with jq: Combine with jq for powerful data processing
6. Shell Completion: Install completion for better CLI experience

Resources

• GitHub: https://github.com/dnvriend/google-gmail-tool
• Google Cloud Console: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials
• Gmail Search Syntax: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190
• Obsidian: https://obsidian.md