Bulk Download a Google Drive Folder with Claude Code (gws recipe)

Has your assistant list a Google Drive folder, download each file and export Google Docs as PDFs, using the gws command line.

Installs: 31K; on skills.sh
Stars: 32K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

This is a three-step recipe from the googleworkspace/cli repo. It tells the agent to list the files in a Drive folder, download each one, and export Google Docs as PDF.

It loads the gws-drive skill first and runs the gws program for every step, so you must install gws and sign in to Google before it can do anything. The folder ID in the recipe is a placeholder you replace with your own.

Step 2 downloads one file by its ID with alt=media, and step 3 exports a Google Doc as PDF, so a folder that mixes uploaded files and Google Docs needs both steps. The commands save to a bare file name such as filename.ext, so run it from an empty folder.

Good for

Anyone who needs a whole Drive folder saved to their computer
People whose AI assistant can already run terminal commands and who use the gws command line

Install recipe-bulk-download-folder

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the recipe-bulk-download-folder skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli --skill recipe-bulk-download-folder --skill gws-drive --skill gws-shared

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.

This installs 3 skills: the recipe, the gws skills it loads (gws-drive) and gws-shared, which those skills tell the agent to read for sign-in and safety rules. The skills only wrap the gws program, so install gws first and sign in once with gws auth login. The README says an unverified Google app limits consent to about 25 scopes, so choose only the services you need when you sign in.

From the vendor's docs. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

List and download all files from a Google Drive folder.

Sections in SKILL.md

Steps

Key facts

Author: googleworkspace (GitHub organization)
License: Apache-2.0
Installs on skills.sh: 31,045 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 32,038 for the whole repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Status: Not an officially supported Google product
What installs: 1 file (SKILL.md). It tells the agent to load gws-drive first.
Needs: The gws program on your PATH, plus a Google sign-in
Last commit: Oct 30, 2026 (repo)

What it includes

Lists every file whose parent is your folder ID
Runs a Drive files list query for the folder ID you give and returns JSON. Your assistant reads the file names and IDs from it.
Try: “Use recipe-bulk-download-folder to list everything in my Drive folder 1AbC and tell me how many files there are.”
Network · List files in folder
Saves one file to a local path from its file ID
Fetches one file's content with alt=media and writes it to the file name you choose. The agent repeats it for each file in the list.
Try: “Download every file in that folder to ./drive-backup.”
Files · Download each file
Exports a Google Doc to a local PDF
Google Docs have no raw file to download, so this step exports the doc as application/pdf to a file such as document.pdf.
Try: “Export the Google Docs in that folder as PDFs.”
Files · Export Google Docs as PDF

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

The assistant can read a Drive folder and write copies of its files to your disk. Point it at one folder and tell it where to save.

What it can do

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

Watch out for

It saves Drive files onto your computer
Step 2 and 3 write each file to a local path with the -o flag. Run it in a folder you chose and check how many files the folder holds first. github.com
File contents pass through your assistant's provider
Listing shows file names and IDs to the assistant. Use a folder that you are fine sharing with it. github.com
Needs the gws program and a Google sign-in first
The skill only wraps the gws command line. Install gws and run its sign-in before the first use, as the README describes. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	The skill has no read-only switch. gws-shared tells the agent to confirm write and delete commands with you and to prefer --dry-run for destructive operations. You can also sign in with only the services you need.
Talks to	Google Workspace APIs, through the gws program
Sign-in and keys	gws keeps your Google sign-in encrypted on your machine, with the key in your operating system keyring, per the README.

Questions

What does the recipe-bulk-download-folder skill do?

It tells your assistant how to list the files in a Google Drive folder, download each one and export Google Docs as PDF. All steps run through the gws command line.

How do I install it?

Use the install box above. It installs this recipe, the gws skills it loads and gws-shared. The gws program itself is a separate install, and you sign in to Google once before the first run.

Do I need an API key?

No key is named in the skill. You need the gws program and a Google account with access to Google Workspace. The README says gws needs a Google Cloud project for OAuth sign-in credentials. gws auth setup creates one but requires the gcloud CLI, so without gcloud you set up OAuth by hand in the Cloud Console.

Does it work in the Claude app or ChatGPT?

The repo documents no route for them. The skill's steps are gws shell commands, so you need an assistant that can run commands on your computer, such as a coding agent.

Can it download a folder with subfolders?

The recipe lists only files whose parent is the folder ID you give. It does not describe going into subfolders, so you would ask the assistant to repeat the steps for each one.

Is it safe?

It writes files to your computer and sends your Drive file list through your assistant. Run it in an empty folder, and name the one Drive folder you want. The skill bundles no scripts of its own.

Is this an official Google skill?

No. The README says gws is not an officially supported Google product, although the repo sits under the googleworkspace GitHub organization.

How is it different from the other Drive and Gmail recipes?

It is the folder-to-computer recipe. recipe-save-email-attachments goes the other way, saving Gmail attachments into a Drive folder with gws drive +upload. recipe-backup-sheet-as-csv exports a single Sheet as CSV. gws-drive documents one helper command, +upload, so downloads use the raw files get and files export methods that this recipe lists.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: googleworkspace/cli
Folder: skills/recipe-bulk-download-folder

googleworkspace/cli skills.sh

Sources

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

Show all 9

googleworkspace/cli README · github.com
recipe-bulk-download-folder SKILL.md · github.com
gws-drive SKILL.md · github.com
skills CLI commands · github.com
recipe-save-email-attachments SKILL.md · github.com
recipe-backup-sheet-as-csv SKILL.md · github.com
googleworkspace/cli LICENSE · github.com
recipe-bulk-download-folder on skills.sh · skills.sh
gws-shared SKILL.md · github.com