Google Docs Management Skill

Purpose

Manage Google Docs documents with comprehensive operations:

• Read document content and structure
• Insert and append text
• Find and replace text
• Basic text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
• Insert page breaks
• Create new documents
• Delete content ranges
• Get document structure (headings)

Integration: Works seamlessly with google-drive skill for file creation and management

📚 Additional Resources:

• See references/integration-patterns.md for complete workflow examples
• See references/troubleshooting.md for error handling and debugging
• See references/cli-patterns.md for CLI interface design rationale

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• User requests to read or view a Google Doc
• User wants to create a new document
• User wants to edit document content
• User requests text formatting or modifications
• User asks about document structure or headings
• User wants to find and replace text
• Keywords: "Google Doc", "document", "edit doc", "format text", "insert text"

📋 Discovering Your Documents: To list or search for documents, use the google-drive skill:

# List recent documents
~/.claude/skills/google-drive/scripts/drive_manager.rb search \
  --query "mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.document'" \
  --max-results 50

# Search by name
~/.claude/skills/google-drive/scripts/drive_manager.rb search \
  --query "name contains 'Report' and mimeType='application/vnd.google-apps.document'"

Core Workflows

1. Read Document

Read full document content:

scripts/docs_manager.rb read <document_id>

Get document structure (headings):

scripts/docs_manager.rb structure <document_id>

Output:

• Full text content with paragraphs
• Document metadata (title, revision ID)
• Heading structure with levels and positions

2. Create Documents

Create new document:

echo '{
  "title": "Project Proposal",
  "content": "# Project Proposal\n\nIntroduction text here..."
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb create

Create empty document:

echo '{
  "title": "New Document"
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb create

Document ID:

• Returned in response for future operations
• Use with google-drive skill for sharing/organizing

3. Insert and Append Text

Insert text at specific position:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "text": "This text will be inserted at the beginning.\n\n",
  "index": 1
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb insert

Append text to end of document:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "text": "\n\nThis text will be appended to the end."
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb append

Index Positions:

• Document starts at index 1
• Use read command to see current content
• Use structure command to find heading positions
• End of document: use append instead of calculating index

4. Find and Replace

Simple find and replace:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "find": "old text",
  "replace": "new text"
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb replace

Case-sensitive replacement:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "find": "IMPORTANT",
  "replace": "CRITICAL",
  "match_case": true
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb replace

Replace all occurrences:

• Automatically replaces all matches
• Returns count of replacements made
• Use for bulk text updates

5. Text Formatting

Format text range (bold):

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "start_index": 1,
  "end_index": 20,
  "bold": true
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb format

Multiple formatting options:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "start_index": 50,
  "end_index": 100,
  "bold": true,
  "italic": true,
  "underline": true
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb format

Formatting Options:

• bold: true/false
• italic: true/false
• underline: true/false
• All options are independent and can be combined

6. Page Breaks

Insert page break:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "index": 500
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb page-break

Use Cases:

• Separate document sections
• Start new content on fresh page
• Organize long documents

7. Delete Content

Delete text range:

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "start_index": 100,
  "end_index": 200
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb delete

Clear entire document:

# Read document first to get end index
scripts/docs_manager.rb read abc123

# Then delete all content (start at 1, end at last index - 1)
echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "start_index": 1,
  "end_index": 500
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb delete

Natural Language Examples

User Says: "Read the content of this Google Doc: abc123"

scripts/docs_manager.rb read abc123

User Says: "Create a new document called 'Meeting Notes' with the text 'Attendees: John, Sarah'"

echo '{
  "title": "Meeting Notes",
  "content": "Attendees: John, Sarah"
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb create

User Says: "Add 'Next Steps' section to the end of document abc123"

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "text": "\n\n## Next Steps\n\n- Review proposals\n- Schedule follow-up"
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb append

User Says: "Replace all instances of 'Q3' with 'Q4' in document abc123"

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "find": "Q3",
  "replace": "Q4"
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb replace

User Says: "Make the first 50 characters of document abc123 bold"

echo '{
  "document_id": "abc123",
  "start_index": 1,
  "end_index": 50,
  "bold": true
}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb format

Understanding Document Index Positions

Index System:

• Documents use zero-based indexing with offset
• Index 1 = start of document (after title)
• Each character (including spaces and newlines) has an index
• Use read to see current content and plan insertions
• Use structure to find heading positions

Finding Positions:

1. Read document to see content
2. Count characters to desired position
3. Or use heading structure for section starts
4. Remember: index 1 = very beginning

Example:

"Hello World\n\nSecond paragraph"

Index 1: "H" (start)
Index 11: "\n" (first newline)
Index 13: "S" (start of "Second")
Index 29: end of document

Integration with Google Drive Skill

Create and Organize Workflow:

# Step 1: Create document (returns document_id)
echo '{"title":"Report"}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb create
# Returns: {"document_id": "abc123"}

# Step 2: Add content
echo '{"document_id":"abc123","text":"# Report\n\nContent here"}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb insert

# Step 3: Use google-drive to organize
~/.claude/skills/google-drive/scripts/drive_manager.rb --operation move \
  --file-id abc123 \
  --parent-id [folder_id]

# Step 4: Share with team
~/.claude/skills/google-drive/scripts/drive_manager.rb --operation share \
  --file-id abc123 \
  --email team@company.com \
  --role writer

Export to PDF:

# Use google-drive skill to export doc as PDF
~/.claude/skills/google-drive/scripts/drive_manager.rb --operation export \
  --file-id abc123 \
  --mime-type "application/pdf" \
  --output report.pdf

Authentication Setup

Shared with Other Google Skills:

• Uses same OAuth credentials and token
• Located at: ~/.claude/.google/client_secret.json and ~/.claude/.google/token.json
• Shares token with email, calendar, contacts, drive, and sheets skills
• Requires Documents, Drive, Sheets, Calendar, Contacts, and Gmail API scopes

First Time Setup:

1. Run any docs operation
2. Script will prompt for authorization URL
3. Visit URL and authorize all Google services
4. Enter authorization code when prompted
5. Token stored for all Google skills

Re-authorization:

• Token automatically refreshes when expired
• If refresh fails, re-run authorization flow
• All Google skills will work after single re-auth

Bundled Resources

Scripts

scripts/docs_manager.rb

• Comprehensive Google Docs API wrapper
• All document operations: read, create, insert, append, replace, format, delete
• Document structure analysis (headings)
• Automatic token refresh
• Shared OAuth with other Google skills

Operations:

• read: View document content
• structure: Get document headings and structure
• insert: Insert text at specific index
• append: Append text to end
• replace: Find and replace text
• format: Apply text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
• page-break: Insert page break
• create: Create new document
• delete: Delete content range

Output Format:

• JSON with status: 'success' or status: 'error'
• Document operations return document_id and revision_id
• See script help: scripts/docs_manager.rb --help

References

references/docs_operations.md

• Complete operation reference
• Parameter documentation
• Index position examples
• Common workflows

references/formatting_guide.md

• Text formatting options
• Style guidelines
• Document structure best practices
• Heading hierarchy

Examples

examples/sample_operations.md

• Common document operations
• Workflow examples
• Index calculation examples
• Integration with google-drive

Error Handling

Authentication Error:

{
  "status": "error",
  "code": "AUTH_ERROR",
  "message": "Token refresh failed: ..."
}

Action: Guide user through re-authorization

Document Not Found:

{
  "status": "error",
  "code": "API_ERROR",
  "message": "Document not found"
}

Action: Verify document ID, check permissions

Invalid Index:

{
  "status": "error",
  "code": "API_ERROR",
  "message": "Invalid index position"
}

Action: Read document to verify current length, adjust index

API Error:

{
  "status": "error",
  "code": "API_ERROR",
  "message": "Failed to update document: ..."
}

Action: Display error to user, suggest troubleshooting steps

Best Practices

Document Creation

1. Always provide meaningful title
2. Add initial content when creating for better context
3. Save returned document_id for future operations
4. Use google-drive skill to organize and share

Text Insertion

1. Read document first to understand current structure
2. Use structure command to find heading positions
3. Index 1 = start of document
4. Use append for adding to end (simpler than calculating index)
5. Include newlines (\n) for proper formatting

Find and Replace

1. Test pattern match first on small section
2. Use case-sensitive matching for precise replacements
3. Returns count of replacements made
4. Cannot undo - consider reading document first for backup

Text Formatting

1. Calculate index positions carefully
2. Read document to verify text location
3. Can combine bold, italic, underline
4. Formatting applies to exact character range

Document Structure

1. Use heading structure for navigation
2. Insert page breaks between major sections
3. Maintain consistent formatting throughout
4. Use structure command to validate hierarchy

Quick Reference

Read document:

scripts/docs_manager.rb read <document_id>

Create document:

echo '{"title":"My Doc","content":"Initial text"}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb create

Insert text at beginning:

echo '{"document_id":"abc123","text":"New text","index":1}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb insert

Append to end:

echo '{"document_id":"abc123","text":"Appended text"}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb append

Find and replace:

echo '{"document_id":"abc123","find":"old","replace":"new"}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb replace

Format text:

echo '{"document_id":"abc123","start_index":1,"end_index":50,"bold":true}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb format

Get document structure:

scripts/docs_manager.rb structure <document_id>

Example Workflow: Creating and Editing a Report

1. Create document:

   echo '{"title":"Q4 Report"}' | scripts/docs_manager.rb create
   # Returns: {"document_id": "abc123"}
   

2. Add initial content:

   echo '{
     "document_id": "abc123",
     "text": "# Q4 Report\n\n## Executive Summary\n\nPlaceholder for summary.\n\n## Details\n\nPlaceholder for details."
   }' | scripts/docs_manager.rb insert
   

3. Replace placeholders:

   echo '{
     "document_id": "abc123",
     "find": "Placeholder for summary.",
     "replace": "Revenue increased 25% over Q3 targets."
   }' | scripts/docs_manager.rb replace
   

4. Format heading:

   echo '{
     "document_id": "abc123",
     "start_index": 1,
     "end_index": 12,
     "bold": true
   }' | scripts/docs_manager.rb format
   

5. Share via google-drive:

   ~/.claude/skills/google-drive/scripts/drive_manager.rb --operation share \
     --file-id abc123 \
     --email team@company.com \
     --role writer
   

Version History

• 1.0.0 (2025-11-10) - Initial Google Docs skill with full document operations: read, create, insert, append, replace, format, page breaks, structure analysis. Shared OAuth token with email, calendar, contacts, drive, and sheets skills.

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Dependencies: Ruby with google-apis-docs_v1, google-apis-drive_v3, googleauth gems (shared with other Google skills)