Google Docs CLI

porteden docs

Use porteden docs for Google Docs content operations and file management. Use -jc flags for AI-optimized output.

If porteden is not installed: brew install porteden/tap/porteden (or go install github.com/porteden/cli/cmd/porteden@latest).

Setup (once)

• Browser login (recommended): porteden auth login — opens browser, credentials stored in a local credentials file (~/.config/porteden/credentials.json, 0600)
• Direct token: porteden auth login --token <key> — stored in a local credentials file (~/.config/porteden/credentials.json, 0600)
• Verify: porteden auth status
• If PE_API_KEY is set in the environment, the CLI uses it automatically (no login needed).
• Drive access requires a token with driveAccessEnabled: true and a connected Google account with Drive scopes.

Docs commands (porteden docs)

Content

• Create new doc (blank): porteden docs create --name "Meeting Notes"
• Create in folder: porteden docs create --name "Brief" --folder google:0B7_FOLDER
• Create with inline content: porteden docs create --name "Draft" --content "Initial paragraph."
• Create from markdown file: porteden docs create --name "Sprint Plan" --content-file ./plan.md --content-mime-type text/markdown
• Read content (plain text): porteden docs read google:DOCID
• Read structured (full Google Docs API JSON): porteden docs read google:DOCID --format structured -j
• Append text: porteden docs edit google:DOCID --append "New paragraph."
• Insert at start: porteden docs edit google:DOCID --insert "Header text" --at 1
• Find and replace: porteden docs edit google:DOCID --find "old text" --replace "new text"
• Multiple replacements: porteden docs edit google:DOCID --find "foo" --replace "bar" --find "baz" --replace "qux"
• Bulk ops from file: porteden docs edit google:DOCID --ops-file ./ops.json

File management

• Get export links (pdf, docx, txt): porteden docs download google:DOCID -jc
• Share: porteden docs share google:DOCID --type user --role writer --email user@example.com
• Share publicly: porteden docs share google:DOCID --type anyone --role reader
• List permissions: porteden docs permissions google:DOCID -jc
• Rename: porteden docs rename google:DOCID --name "New Title"
• Copy (duplicate): porteden docs copy google:DOCID --name "Working copy" (optional --folder google:0B7_FOLDER)
• Delete (trash): porteden docs delete google:DOCID -y

Ops file format

--ops-file accepts a JSON array of operations:

[
  {"type": "appendText", "text": "New paragraph at end."},
  {"type": "insertText", "text": "Header", "index": 1},
  {"type": "replaceText", "find": "old phrase", "replace": "new phrase", "matchCase": true}
]

Notes

• Credentials persist in a local credentials file (~/.config/porteden/credentials.json, 0600 permissions) after login. No repeated auth needed.
• Set PE_PROFILE=work to avoid repeating --profile.
• -jc is shorthand for --json --compact: strips noise, limits fields, reduces tokens for AI agents.
• File IDs are always provider-prefixed (e.g., google:1BxiMVs0XRA5...). Pass them as-is.
• porteden docs read returns plain text by default; use --format structured for full API JSON with headings and formatting.
• porteden docs create accepts optional --content/--content-file to seed the body in one round-trip. Default --content-mime-type is text/plain; pass text/markdown to import markdown headings/lists as Doc structure. Without content flags, a blank doc is created.
• --content and --content-file are mutually exclusive on docs create.
• --find and --replace are repeatable and must be used in matched pairs. --ops-file is mutually exclusive with inline edit flags.
• porteden docs download returns URLs only — no binary content is streamed.
• accessInfo in responses describes active token restrictions.
• delete moves to trash (reversible). Files can be restored from Google Drive trash.
• Confirm before sharing or deleting.
• Environment variables: PE_API_KEY, PE_PROFILE, PE_FORMAT, PE_COLOR, PE_VERBOSE.