Google Workspace

Overview

Interact with Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, and Docs using OAuth authentication. Supports file uploads, folder management, email search, calendar search, and document operations.

Quick Decision Tree

What do you need?
│
├── Google Drive
│   ├── Search files/folders → references/drive-search.md
│   │   └── Script: scripts/gdrive_search.py
│   │
│   ├── Upload files → references/drive-upload.md
│   │   └── Script: scripts/google_drive_upload.py
│   │
│   ├── Create folder structure → references/folder-structure.md
│   │   └── Script: scripts/gdrive_folder_structure.py
│   │
│   ├── Create client folder → references/create-folder.md
│   │   └── Script: scripts/create_client_folder.py
│   │
│   └── Search transcripts → references/transcript-search.md
│       └── Script: scripts/gdrive_transcript_search.py
│
├── Gmail
│   └── Search emails → references/gmail-search.md
│       └── Script: scripts/gmail_search.py
│
└── Calendar
    └── Search meetings → references/calendar-search.md
        └── Script: scripts/google_calendar_search.py

Environment Setup

OAuth credentials are stored locally after first authentication.

Required Files

• client_secrets.json - From Google Cloud Console
• settings.yaml - PyDrive2 configuration
• mycreds.txt - Auto-generated OAuth tokens

First-Time Setup

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Enable APIs: Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Docs
3. Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Desktop app)
4. Download as client_secrets.json
5. Run any script - browser opens for OAuth consent

Common Usage

Search Client Folder

python scripts/gdrive_search.py folder "Microsoft"

Upload Files

python scripts/google_drive_upload.py --files *.png --folder "Clients/Acme/Assets"

Search Emails

python scripts/gmail_search.py --domain "microsoft.com" --days 14

Search Calendar

python scripts/google_calendar_search.py "Microsoft" --days-back 30

OAuth Scopes

Scope	Purpose
drive	Full Drive access
spreadsheets	Sheets access
documents	Docs access
gmail.readonly	Read emails
calendar.readonly	Read calendar

Cost

Free - Google Workspace APIs have generous free quotas.

Security Notes

Credential Handling

• client_secrets.json - OAuth app credentials (never commit to git)
• mycreds.txt - User OAuth tokens (never commit to git, add to .gitignore)
• settings.yaml - PyDrive2 config (can be committed, no secrets)
• Tokens auto-refresh; revoke via Google Account settings if compromised
• Never share OAuth credentials between users/machines

Data Privacy

• Access to user's personal Google Drive, Gmail, and Calendar
• Files may contain confidential business information
• Email content is highly sensitive - minimize storage
• Calendar events may contain private meeting details
• Shared Drive access respects original permissions

Access Scopes

• Request minimum required scopes:
  • drive - Full Drive access (read/write)
  • drive.readonly - Read-only Drive access (preferred when possible)
  • spreadsheets - Google Sheets access
  • documents - Google Docs access
  • gmail.readonly - Read-only email access
  • calendar.readonly - Read-only calendar access
• Review/revoke access: https://myaccount.google.com/permissions

Compliance Considerations

• OAuth Consent: Users explicitly consent to access scopes
• GDPR: Google Workspace data contains EU user PII
• Data Residency: Google Workspace may have data residency requirements
• Shared Drives: Respect organizational sharing policies
• Audit Trail: Google Admin Console tracks API access
• Credential Security: Store client_secrets.json securely, not in repos

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: OAuth token expired

Symptoms: "Invalid credentials" or "Token has been expired or revoked" error Cause: OAuth refresh token expired or revoked Solution:

• Delete mycreds.txt file
• Re-run any script to trigger fresh OAuth flow
• Complete the browser authorization
• New mycreds.txt will be created automatically

Issue: File not found

Symptoms: "File not found" error with valid file ID Cause: No access to file, file deleted, or wrong file ID Solution:

• Verify file ID from the Google Drive URL
• Check file sharing permissions
• Ensure OAuth user has access to the file
• Try accessing file directly in browser first

Issue: Quota exceeded

Symptoms: "User rate limit exceeded" or "Quota exceeded" error Cause: Too many API requests in 24-hour period Solution:

• Wait 24 hours for quota reset
• Create a new Google Cloud project with fresh quota
• Implement exponential backoff in scripts
• Reduce frequency of API calls

Issue: settings.yaml missing

Symptoms: "settings.yaml not found" or PyDrive2 configuration error Cause: Missing PyDrive2 configuration file Solution:

• Copy from template: cp settings.yaml.example settings.yaml
• Ensure client_secrets.json path is correct in settings
• Verify save_credentials_backend is set to "file"
• Check settings.yaml is in the script's working directory

Issue: client_secrets.json invalid

Symptoms: "Invalid client secrets" or OAuth configuration error Cause: Malformed or incorrect OAuth credentials file Solution:

• Re-download from Google Cloud Console
• Ensure "Desktop app" type was selected when creating credentials
• Check JSON format is valid
• Verify redirect URIs are configured for local auth

Issue: Scope access denied

Symptoms: "Insufficient permission" error Cause: OAuth consent missing required scopes Solution:

• Delete mycreds.txt to reset OAuth session
• Re-authenticate and accept all requested scopes
• Verify scopes in settings.yaml match script requirements
• Check Google Cloud Console for scope restrictions

Resources

• references/drive-search.md - Search files and folders
• references/drive-upload.md - Upload files to Drive
• references/folder-structure.md - Create folder hierarchies
• references/create-folder.md - Create client folders
• references/transcript-search.md - Search transcript files
• references/gmail-search.md - Search Gmail
• references/calendar-search.md - Search calendar meetings

Integration Patterns

Drive to Video Production

Skills: google-workspace → video-production Use case: Assemble course videos from Drive folder Flow:

1. Search Drive for video folder with lesson files
2. Download videos via video-production scripts
3. Stitch videos with title slides and upload final output

Templates to Content

Skills: google-workspace → content-generation Use case: Generate documents from branded templates Flow:

1. Load template from Drive (proposal, report format)
2. Generate content via content-generation
3. Create new Google Doc with formatted content

Calendar to Transcripts

Skills: google-workspace → transcript-search Use case: Find meeting recordings from calendar events Flow:

1. Search calendar for meetings with specific client
2. Get meeting dates and titles
3. Search transcript-search for matching recordings