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Google Docs Skill

Create and edit Google Documents using Python and the Google Docs API.

Status: Alpha

This skill is in alpha and under active development. APIs may change.

Overview

The Google Docs skill enables your AI agent to:

  • Create new documents
  • Read document content
  • Insert and modify text
  • Apply formatting
  • Work with tables, lists, and images

Current Capabilities

Feature Status
Read document content Available
Create new documents Available
Insert text Available
Basic formatting Beta
Tables Beta
Images Planned
Headers/Footers Planned
Styles Planned

Quick Start

from gdocs_utils import open_document, create_document

# Open existing document
doc = open_document("https://docs.google.com/document/d/.../edit")

# Get content
content = doc.get_content()
print(content.body)

# Create new document
new_doc = create_document("My New Document")
new_doc.insert_text("Hello, World!")

Basic Operations

Opening a Document

from gdocs_utils import open_document

doc = open_document("https://docs.google.com/document/d/DOCUMENT_ID/edit")

Reading Content

# Get full content
content = doc.get_content()

# Get plain text
text = doc.get_plain_text()

# Get structured content (paragraphs, lists, tables)
structure = doc.get_structure()

Creating Documents

from gdocs_utils import create_document

# Create empty document
doc = create_document("New Document")

# Create in specific folder
doc = create_document("New Document", folder_id="FOLDER_ID")

Inserting Text

# Insert at end
doc.insert_text("New paragraph")

# Insert at specific index
doc.insert_text("Inserted text", index=10)

# Insert with formatting
doc.insert_text("Bold text", bold=True)
doc.insert_text("Heading", style="HEADING_1")

Working with Text

Replacing Text

# Replace all occurrences
doc.replace_text("old text", "new text")

# Replace with regex
doc.replace_regex(r"\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}", "DATE_PLACEHOLDER")

Formatting Text

# Apply formatting to range
doc.format_range(
    start_index=0,
    end_index=100,
    bold=True,
    italic=False,
    font_size=12,
    font_family="Arial"
)

# Apply paragraph style
doc.apply_style(
    start_index=0,
    end_index=50,
    style="HEADING_2"
)

Working with Tables

# Insert table
doc.insert_table(rows=3, columns=4)

# Insert table with data
data = [
    ["Name", "Role", "Department"],
    ["Alice", "Engineer", "R&D"],
    ["Bob", "Manager", "Sales"]
]
doc.insert_table_with_data(data)

Working with Lists

# Create bullet list
items = ["First item", "Second item", "Third item"]
doc.insert_bullet_list(items)

# Create numbered list
doc.insert_numbered_list(items)

Error Handling

from gdocs_utils import open_document, DocumentNotFound, PermissionError

try:
    doc = open_document(url)
except DocumentNotFound:
    print("Document not found or not shared")
except PermissionError:
    print("No permission to access document")

Best Practices

1. Batch Updates

Group multiple changes into a single request:

# WRONG: Multiple API calls
doc.insert_text("Line 1")
doc.insert_text("Line 2")
doc.insert_text("Line 3")

# CORRECT: Single batch request
doc.batch_update([
    {"insert_text": {"text": "Line 1\n", "index": 1}},
    {"insert_text": {"text": "Line 2\n", "index": -1}},
    {"insert_text": {"text": "Line 3\n", "index": -1}}
])

2. Preserve Formatting

When replacing text, preserve existing formatting:

doc.replace_text("placeholder", "actual value", preserve_formatting=True)

3. Use Templates

For consistent documents, start with a template:

# Copy template
template_doc = open_document(template_url)
new_doc = template_doc.copy("New Document from Template")

# Replace placeholders
new_doc.replace_text("{{NAME}}", "John Smith")
new_doc.replace_text("{{DATE}}", "2024-01-15")

Limitations

Alpha Limitations

  • Complex formatting may not be fully preserved
  • Some edge cases in table handling
  • Limited image support

API Limitations

  • Maximum document size: 1,048,576 characters
  • Maximum image size: 50MB
  • Rate limits: 300 requests per minute per user

Roadmap

Planned Features

  1. Image handling - Insert, resize, and position images
  2. Headers/Footers - Add page headers and footers
  3. Styles - Apply and create custom styles
  4. Comments - Add and resolve comments
  5. Suggestions - Work with suggestion mode

Feedback

We're actively developing this skill. Share feedback or report issues through your internal support channels.

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