gws-drive-upload Skill for Claude: Upload Files to Google Drive

Lets Claude upload a file from your computer to Google Drive, using the gws command-line tool.

Installs: 49.9K; on skills.sh
Stars: 32K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

The skill teaches the agent one command, gws drive +upload <file>. You can put the file in a parent folder by ID and give it a different name. SKILL.md says the file type is detected automatically and the name comes from the local file unless you set one.

This is a write command, and SKILL.md says to confirm with you before running it. It needs the gws CLI signed in to your Google account, and SKILL.md tells the agent to read gws-shared first.

Good for

Anyone who wants Claude to save a report or export straight to Drive
Developers scripting Drive uploads with the gws CLI

Install gws-drive-upload

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the gws-drive-upload skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npm install -g @googleworkspace/cli
gws auth setup
npx skills add https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli/tree/main/skills/gws-shared
npx skills add https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli/tree/main/skills/gws-drive-upload

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js 18+, Google Cloud project, Google account.

This skill only works with the gws command-line tool on your PATH, and its SKILL.md tells the agent to read the gws-shared skill first, so install both. gws auth setup needs the gcloud CLI; without it, use the manual OAuth steps in the README. If Google limits the sign-in screen, pick only the service you need, for example gws auth login -s drive,gmail,sheets.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Google Drive: Upload a file with automatic metadata.

Sections in SKILL.md

Usage
Flags
Examples
Tips
See Also

Key facts

Author: googleworkspace
Repository: googleworkspace/cli
License: Apache-2.0
Installs on skills.sh: 49,915 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 32,038 (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
What installs: 1 file including SKILL.md (the folder holds SKILL.md only)
Needs: The gws CLI on your PATH, a Google sign-in, and the gws-shared skill (read first, per SKILL.md)
Official status: The README says gws is not an officially supported Google product

What it includes

Uploads a local file to Google Drive
The file path is required. SKILL.md marks it as a write command to confirm first.
Try: “Upload ./report.pdf to my Drive”
Runs code · gws drive +upload <file>
Puts the file in a Drive folder, by folder ID
Optional.
Write · --parent
Sets the file name in Drive
Optional. Without it, the name comes from the local file.
Write · --name
Detects the MIME type for you
SKILL.md lists this as a tip.
Automatic file type
The SKILL.md tells the agent to read gws-shared for sign-in, flags and security rules
Files · Read gws-shared first

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

It sends a file from your computer to your Google Drive, so the wrong path or folder puts the wrong file in the wrong place. Check the file path and folder before you approve.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It sends a local file to your Drive
SKILL.md marks it as a write command to confirm first. Read the file path and target folder before you approve.
Needs a Google sign-in on this machine
Choose only the Drive service when Google asks for access.

Technical details

Talks to	Google Workspace APIs, called by the gws CLI
Sign-in and keys	The gws CLI encrypts saved Google credentials (AES-256-GCM) with a key in your OS keyring, or in ~/.config/gws/.encryption_key when the file backend is set.
Scopes	Only the Google service this command touches, chosen when you run gws auth login

Questions

What does gws-drive-upload do?

It uploads a file from your computer to Google Drive. You can choose the parent folder by ID and set a different file name.

How do I install gws-drive-upload?

Use the install box above, which has tabs for Claude Code, Codex and the skills CLI. Each sets up the gws CLI, signs you in to Google, and installs this skill together with gws-shared, because SKILL.md tells the agent to read gws-shared first for sign-in, global flags and security rules. There is no Claude app upload tab: the skill runs a gws command, and the README documents installing gws as a binary, npm, cargo, Nix or Homebrew install on your own machine.

Does gws-drive-upload need an API key?

SKILL.md names no API key. The gws CLI signs in with your Google account through OAuth, and the README says it needs a Google Cloud project for the OAuth credentials. A service account is the documented alternative for servers.

Is gws-drive-upload safe to use?

SKILL.md marks it as a write command and says to confirm with you before it runs. It uploads the file path the agent passes, so check the path and folder first.

Is this an official Google skill?

It lives in the googleworkspace GitHub organization, but the README says gws is not an officially supported Google product and that the project is under active development with breaking changes expected before v1.0.

gws-drive-upload vs gws-drive?

gws-drive-upload is the one helper for uploading a file. The gws-drive skill is the full command set for files, folders and shared drives: its SKILL.md lists this helper plus the Drive API resources.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: googleworkspace/cli
Folder: skills/gws-drive-upload

googleworkspace/cli skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 7

googleworkspace/cli README · github.com
gws-shared SKILL.md · github.com
Codex skills docs · learn.chatgpt.com
skills CLI commands · github.com
gws-drive-upload SKILL.md · github.com
gws-drive-upload on skills.sh · skills.sh
gws-drive SKILL.md · github.com