gws-sheets-read Skill for Claude: Read Values from Google Sheets

Lets Claude read values from a Google Sheet by spreadsheet ID and range, using the gws command-line tool.

Installs: 51.3K; on skills.sh
Stars: 32K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

The skill teaches the agent one command, gws sheets +read, with two required flags: the spreadsheet ID and the range, such as Sheet1!A1:D10 or just Sheet1. SKILL.md says it is read-only and never modifies the spreadsheet.

It needs the gws CLI signed in to your Google account, and SKILL.md tells the agent to read gws-shared first. That shared skill also warns that in zsh a range with ! must use double quotes.

Good for

Anyone who wants Claude to pull numbers out of a Google Sheet
Developers reading sheet data in scripts with the gws CLI

Install gws-sheets-read

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the gws-sheets-read 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-sheets-read

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 Sheets: Read values from a spreadsheet.

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: 51,293 (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

Reads values from a spreadsheet range
Needs --spreadsheet with the ID and --range. SKILL.md says it is read-only and never modifies the spreadsheet.
Try: “Read Sheet1!A1:D10 from my budget spreadsheet”
Runs code · gws sheets +read
The ID of the Google Sheet to read
Required.
Read · --spreadsheet
The range to read, such as Sheet1!A1:B2 or Sheet1
Required. In zsh, gws-shared says to use double quotes around ranges that contain !.
Read · --range
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

Low risk

It only reads the cells you name, but whatever it returns becomes part of your conversation. Name a tight range if the sheet holds private data.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only modeHow to turn it on

Watch out for

Needs a Google sign-in on this machine
Choose only the Sheets service when Google asks for access.
Cell values enter your chat
The values it reads are seen by the model. Ask for a narrow range when the sheet holds private or financial data.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	The SKILL.md describes this command as read-only.
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-sheets-read do?

It reads values from a Google Sheet for the spreadsheet ID and range you give it, for example Sheet1!A1:D10.

How do I install gws-sheets-read?

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-sheets-read 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-sheets-read safe to use?

SKILL.md describes the command as read-only and says it never modifies the spreadsheet. The values it reads are printed and the model sees them, so use a narrow range for private data.

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-sheets-read vs gws-sheets?

gws-sheets-read only reads a range. The gws-sheets skill is the full command set: its SKILL.md lists +read and +append plus the spreadsheets API resource with batchUpdate, create and get.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: googleworkspace/cli
Folder: skills/gws-sheets-read

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-sheets-read SKILL.md · github.com
gws-sheets-read on skills.sh · skills.sh
gws-sheets SKILL.md · github.com