Generate a Google Docs Report from a Sheet with Claude Code (gws recipe)

Has your assistant read data from a Google Sheet, write a formatted report in Google Docs and share it with stakeholders.

Installs: 30.9K; on skills.sh
Stars: 32K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

This is a four-step recipe from the googleworkspace/cli repo. It reads a range from a Google Sheet, creates a Google Doc, writes the report text into it and shares it with a reader.

It loads gws-sheets, gws-docs and gws-drive first and runs the gws program for every step. The report title, the sales figures and the email address in the recipe are examples, not output you will get.

Step 3 uses gws docs +write, which gws-docs-write describes as appending plain text and sends you to the raw batchUpdate API for rich formatting. The repo describes the result as a formatted report, but the ## marks in the example would not become headings. The recipe also writes --document-id where gws-docs-write documents --document.

Good for

Analysts and managers who turn sheet data into a written report
People whose AI assistant can already run terminal commands and who use the gws command line

Install recipe-generate-report-from-sheet

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the recipe-generate-report-from-sheet skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli --skill recipe-generate-report-from-sheet --skill gws-sheets --skill gws-docs --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 5 skills: the recipe, the gws skills it loads (gws-sheets, gws-docs, 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

Read data from a Google Sheet and create a formatted Google Docs report.

Sections in SKILL.md

Steps
Summary
Top Deals

Key facts

Author: googleworkspace (GitHub organization)
License: Apache-2.0
Installs on skills.sh: 30,859 (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-sheets, gws-docs, gws-drive first.
Needs: The gws program on your PATH, plus a Google sign-in
Last commit: Oct 30, 2026 (repo)

What it includes

Reads a range such as Sales!A1:D from a sheet
Runs gws sheets +read with the spreadsheet ID and range. The recipe uses double quotes around the range.
Try: “Read Sales!A1:D from my sales sheet.”
Network · Read the data
Creates a new Google Doc with a title
Runs a Docs documents create with the title you give, for example Sales Report - January 2025.
Try: “Create a Google Doc called Sales Report - January.”
Write · Create the report doc
Appends the report text to the doc
Appends the report text to the new doc as plain text. The recipe's example has a summary and a numbered list of top deals; the agent fills it from your data. gws-docs-write says rich formatting needs the raw batchUpdate API.
Try: “Write a summary and top deals into the report.”
Write · Write the report
Gives a person reader access to the doc
Creates a Drive permission with role reader for the address you give.
Try: “Share the report with cfo@company.com as a viewer.”
Write · Share with stakeholders

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

The assistant can read a spreadsheet range, write a new Google Doc from it and share that doc. Check the range and the recipient first.

What it can do

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

Watch out for

It shares the finished report with a person
Step 4 gives a named person reader access to the new doc. Check the address and what the doc contains before you approve. github.com
Sheet data passes through your assistant's provider
The assistant reads the sheet range to write the report. Choose a range that holds nothing you cannot share 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-generate-report-from-sheet skill do?

It tells your assistant how to turn a Google Sheet range into a Google Docs report and share it. 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.

Does it produce a formatted report?

Not with the recipe's commands. The repo describes the skill as creating a formatted Google Docs report, but step 3 uses gws docs +write, which gws-docs-write describes as appending plain text. The ## marks in the example would not become headings.

Will the commands run as written?

Check the flag names. The recipe writes gws docs +write --document-id DOC_ID, while gws-docs-write documents the flag as --document. If the command errors, use the documented one. The report title, figures and email address are examples to replace.

Is it safe?

It reads your sheet, creates a doc and shares it with the address you give. Check the recipient before approving the last step. The skill bundles no scripts of its own.

Are the sales numbers in the recipe real?

No. They are example text in step 3. The assistant should write the report from the range it reads from your sheet.

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 doc and Sheets recipes?

It goes from a Sheet range to a new Doc. recipe-create-doc-from-template copies an existing template instead of creating a blank doc. recipe-backup-sheet-as-csv exports a sheet to CSV, and recipe-create-events-from-sheet reads rows into calendar events. It loads gws-sheets, gws-docs and gws-drive, and ends by sharing the doc.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: googleworkspace/cli
Folder: skills/recipe-generate-report-from-sheet

googleworkspace/cli skills.sh

Sources

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

Show all 11

googleworkspace/cli README · github.com
recipe-generate-report-from-sheet SKILL.md · github.com
gws-drive SKILL.md · github.com
skills CLI commands · github.com
gws-docs-write SKILL.md · github.com
recipe-create-doc-from-template SKILL.md · github.com
recipe-backup-sheet-as-csv SKILL.md · github.com
recipe-create-events-from-sheet SKILL.md · github.com
googleworkspace/cli LICENSE · github.com
recipe-generate-report-from-sheet on skills.sh · skills.sh
gws-shared SKILL.md · github.com