recipe-draft-email-from-doc skill: read a Google Doc and send it as an email

A three-step gws recipe: Claude reads a Google Doc and sends its text as the body of a Gmail message.

Installs: 31.9K; on skills.sh
Stars: 32K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

recipe-draft-email-from-doc is a short recipe. It has Claude fetch a Google Doc, copy the text from its body, and send an email with that text as the body.

Despite the name, the last step sends the email with gws gmail +send. It loads the gws-docs and gws-gmail skills and needs the gws tool installed and signed in.

Good for

People who write newsletters or updates in Google Docs and mail them out
Teams that keep announcements in a Doc and email them to a list
Developers who already script Google Workspace from the terminal

Install recipe-draft-email-from-doc

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the recipe-draft-email-from-doc skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli --skill recipe-draft-email-from-doc --skill gws-docs --skill gws-gmail --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, gws installed and signed in.

The skill only tells Claude how to call the gws tool, so gws must be installed and signed in on your machine first. gws-shared is installed too because every gws skill tells Claude to read it for sign-in, global flags and safety rules. gws-docs and gws-gmail are installed because the recipe lists them as required skills. The README says gws is not an officially supported Google product.

From the vendor's docs. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Read content from a Google Doc and use it as the body of a Gmail message.

Sections in SKILL.md

Steps

Key facts

Author: googleworkspace
Repo: googleworkspace/cli
Installs on skills.sh: 31,901 as of Nov 2, 2026
GitHub stars: 32,038 for the whole googleworkspace/cli repo, Nov 2, 2026
License: Apache-2.0
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
What is inside: 1 file: SKILL.md
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass
Needs: The gws command line tool, installed and signed in to a Google account, plus the gws-shared skill
Official?: The README says gws is not an officially supported Google product

What it includes

gws docs documents get with a document ID
Step 1. Returns the document content.
Try: “Read the Google Doc with ID DOC_ID.”
Network · Get the document
Take the text from the document body
Step 2. Done by Claude, no command.
Copy the body text
gws gmail +send with recipient, subject and body
Step 3. The example sends to recipient@example.com with the subject Newsletter Update.
Try: “Email the text of that doc to ana@example.com with the subject 'Team update'.”
Write · Send the email
The recipe says to load both skills first
Its frontmatter lists gws-docs and gws-gmail as required skills.
Read · gws-docs and gws-gmail prerequisites

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

Despite its name, the recipe sends a real email from your Gmail account. Check the recipient and text 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 real email, not a draft
Step 3 uses the send command. Read the recipient, subject and body before you approve. github.com
gws is an unofficial tool under active development
The README says gws is not an officially supported Google product and that breaking changes are expected before v1.0. Pin a release if you rely on it. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	SKILL.md defines no read-only switch. gws-shared lists a --dry-run flag that validates a command locally without calling the API.
Talks to	Google Workspace APIs, called by the gws tool
Sign-in and keys	Sign-in is handled by gws, not the skill. The README says interactive credentials are encrypted at rest, with the key in your OS keyring.
Scopes	Reads a Google Doc you name Sends an email from your Gmail account Runs the gws commands on your machine

Questions

How do I install recipe-draft-email-from-doc?

Use the install box at the top of this page. It installs this skill together with gws-shared and gws-docs, gws-gmail. You also need the gws tool installed and signed in, because the skill only tells Claude which gws commands to run.

Does recipe-draft-email-from-doc need an API key?

No API key is named in the skill. It needs a Google sign-in through gws (gws auth login) and, per the README, a Google Cloud project for the OAuth credentials. gws also supports service accounts and a pre-made access token.

Does recipe-draft-email-from-doc work in the Claude app or Codex?

It needs a terminal where the gws tool runs, so Claude Code is the direct fit. The install box has a Codex tab. The Claude app tab is left out because the skill runs a command on your own machine and the README documents no upload route.

Does it save a draft or send the email?

It sends. The skill is named draft, but step 3 is gws gmail +send, which sends the message. The separate gws-gmail-send skill documents a --draft flag on gws gmail +send that saves the message instead of sending it; this recipe does not use it. Ask Claude to show you the recipient, subject and body and wait for your yes before it runs.

Does it keep the document formatting?

SKILL.md only says to copy the text from the body content and pass it as the body. It says nothing about formatting.

Is recipe-draft-email-from-doc safe?

It can send a real email from your account, so check the recipient and text first. The gws README says gws is not an officially supported Google product.

Which skills does it need?

The recipe lists gws-docs and gws-gmail as required, and every gws skill tells Claude to read gws-shared. The install box installs all three.

How is it different from gws-gmail-send?

gws-gmail-send covers the +send command on its own, with flags for cc, bcc, attachments, HTML and a send-as address. This recipe adds the first two steps: fetch a Google Doc and copy its body text into the message.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: googleworkspace/cli
Folder: skills/recipe-draft-email-from-doc

googleworkspace/cli skills.sh

Sources

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

Show all 6

googleworkspace/cli README · github.com
skills CLI commands · github.com
gws-shared SKILL.md · github.com
recipe-draft-email-from-doc SKILL.md · github.com
skills.sh listing · skills.sh
gws-gmail-send SKILL.md · github.com