mvanhorn Google Photos — Printing Press CLI
Prerequisites: Install the CLI
This skill drives the google-photos-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:
- Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to
$HOME/.local/binon macOS/Linux and%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\binon Windows:npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install google-photos --cli-only - Verify:
google-photos-pp-cli --version - Ensure the reported install directory is on
$PATHfor the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.
If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer):
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/media-and-entertainment/google-photos/cmd/google-photos-pp-cli@latest
If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.
Command Reference
albums — Manage app-created Google Photos albums.
google-photos-pp-cli albums add-enrichment— Add text, location, or map enrichment to an app-created album.google-photos-pp-cli albums batch-add-media-items— Add app-created media items to an app-created album.google-photos-pp-cli albums batch-remove-media-items— Remove app-created media items from an app-created album.google-photos-pp-cli albums create— Create an album in the user's Google Photos library.google-photos-pp-cli albums get— Get an app-created album by ID.google-photos-pp-cli albums list— List albums created by this app.google-photos-pp-cli albums patch— Update title or cover photo on an app-created album.
media-items — Manage app-created Google Photos media items.
google-photos-pp-cli media-items batch-create— Create media items from upload tokens.google-photos-pp-cli media-items batch-get— Get multiple app-created media items by ID.google-photos-pp-cli media-items get— Get an app-created media item by ID.google-photos-pp-cli media-items list— List media items created by this app.google-photos-pp-cli media-items patch— Update the description on an app-created media item.google-photos-pp-cli media-items search— Search app-created media items by album or filters.
picker — Create, poll, clean up, and read Google Photos Picker sessions.
google-photos-pp-cli picker create-session— Create a Picker session and return the picker URI.google-photos-pp-cli picker delete-session— Delete a Picker session after selected media bytes have been retrieved.google-photos-pp-cli picker get-session— Get Picker session status.google-photos-pp-cli picker list-media-items— List media items picked by the user during a Picker session.
Hand-written commands
google-photos-pp-cli upload file <path>— Upload raw photo or video bytes and print the upload token for media-items batch-create.google-photos-pp-cli picker wait <session-id>— Poll a Picker session until selected media items are ready.google-photos-pp-cli schema --pretty— Emit machine-readable command, flag, auth, and safety-policy metadata.google-photos-pp-cli auth list— List stored OAuth accounts.google-photos-pp-cli auth use <account-email>— Set the default OAuth account.google-photos-pp-cli auth remove <account-email>— Remove a stored OAuth account.
Google Photos Scope Limits
Google Photos Library API read and edit scopes are limited to app-created albums and media. Use Library API commands here for app-created content, uploads, and album/media management. Use Picker commands when a user needs to select media from their broader Google Photos library.
Finding the right command
When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:
google-photos-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"
which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.
Auth Setup
Authenticate via the browser:
google-photos-pp-cli auth login --client-id "$GOOGLE_PHOTOS_CLIENT_ID"
Tokens are stored locally and refreshed automatically.
For multiple Google accounts, store tokens under account emails and select the account explicitly:
google-photos-pp-cli auth login you@example.com --client-id "$GOOGLE_PHOTOS_CLIENT_ID"
google-photos-pp-cli auth list --json
google-photos-pp-cli auth use you@example.com
google-photos-pp-cli --account you@example.com albums list --agent
Account selection order: --account, GOOGLE_PHOTOS_ACCOUNT, auth use default, then legacy single-token config.
Run google-photos-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.
Agent Mode
Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.
Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
Filterable —
--selectkeeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:google-photos-pp-cli albums list --agent --select id,name,statusPreviewable —
--dry-runshows the request without sendingOffline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag
Guarded — use
--enable-commands/--disable-commandswith dotted command paths:google-photos-pp-cli --enable-commands albums.list albums list --agent google-photos-pp-cli --disable-commands picker.delete-session picker delete-session SESSION_ID --agentIntrospectable — use
schema --prettyoragent-context --prettyfor the full JSON command contract.
Baked Safety Profiles
Build stronger local guardrails when exposing this CLI or MCP server to autonomous agents:
make build-readonly
make build-agent-safe
make build-mcp-readonly
make build-mcp-agent-safe
safety_readonly permits read/list/search/export/schema-style commands and blocks Google Photos mutations. safety_agent_safe permits reads and local archive/search workflows while blocking auth writes, uploads, creates, patches, deletes, and album/media mutations.
Response envelope
Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:
{
"meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
"results": <data>
}
Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal — piped/agent consumers get pure JSON on stdout.
Agent Feedback
When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:
google-photos-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
google-photos-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
google-photos-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10
Entries are stored locally at ~/.google-photos-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless GOOGLE_PHOTOS_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or GOOGLE_PHOTOS_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.
Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.
Output Delivery
Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:
| Sink | Effect |
|---|---|
stdout |
Default; write to stdout only |
file:<path> |
Atomically write output to <path> (tmp + rename) |
webhook:<url> |
POST the output body to the URL (application/json or application/x-ndjson when --compact) |
Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.
Named Profiles
A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.
google-photos-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
google-photos-pp-cli --profile briefing albums list
google-photos-pp-cli profile list --json
google-photos-pp-cli profile show briefing
google-photos-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes
Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.
Exit Codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 2 | Usage error (wrong arguments) |
| 3 | Resource not found |
| 4 | Authentication required |
| 5 | API error (upstream issue) |
| 7 | Rate limited (wait and retry) |
| 10 | Config error |
Argument Parsing
Parse $ARGUMENTS:
- Empty,
help, or--help→ showgoogle-photos-pp-cli --helpoutput - Starts with
install→ ends withmcp→ MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above - Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with
--agent)
MCP Server Installation
- Install the MCP server:
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/media-and-entertainment/google-photos/cmd/google-photos-pp-mcp@latest - Register with Claude Code:
claude mcp add google-photos-pp-mcp -- google-photos-pp-mcp - Verify:
claude mcp list
Direct Use
- Check if installed:
which google-photos-pp-cliIf not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill). - Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
- Execute with the
--agentflag:google-photos-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent - If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help:
google-photos-pp-cli <command> --help.