Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Email a Google Drive File Link agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
This guide explains the Email a Google Drive File Link skill, a ready-made recipe that lets an AI agent find a file in Google Drive, share it with one person and email them the link. It is written for readers who have not used agent skills before. By the end you will know how to install the skill, what it needs before it can run, how to phrase a request, and which risks to check before letting it share a file.
Email a Google Drive File Linkgoogleworkspace/cli · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Set up gws. Install the gws command-line tool and authenticate it with your Google account, following the googleworkspace/cli documentation.
- 2Add the companion skills. Make sure the gws-drive and gws-gmail skills are available alongside this recipe.
- 3Install the recipe. Download the ZIP from this page, unzip it, and place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 4Make a request. Ask the agent to share a named file with a specific email address and send them the link.
- 5Check the match. Confirm the file name matches exactly one file and the recipient address is correct before the agent acts.
- 6Review the result. Check the Gmail sent message and the Drive sharing settings to confirm the access was read-only for one person.
What is an agent skill and what does this one do?
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that gives an AI agent instructions for a specific task. This skill, recipe-email-drive-link, is a three-step recipe. The agent searches Google Drive for a file by name, grants a specified email address read-only access, then sends that person a Gmail message containing the link.
The recipe is part of the googleworkspace/cli project and is licensed under Apache-2.0. It relies on the gws command-line tool and on two companion skills, gws-drive and gws-gmail, which it loads before running.
- Step 1: find the file by name in Drive.
- Step 2: create a reader permission for one email address.
- Step 3: send the Gmail message with the link.
Install the Email a Google Drive File Link skill
Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. To make the skill available to Claude Code for all your projects, place the unzipped recipe-email-drive-link folder in ~/.claude/skills/. To limit it to one project, place it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder instead.
If you use the Claude apps rather than Claude Code, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal use across projects: ~/.claude/skills/
- Single project: the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Install and authenticate the requirements
The recipe cannot run on its own. You need the gws command-line tool (Google Workspace CLI) installed and authenticated with a Google account. You also need the gws-drive and gws-gmail skills available, and the authenticated account must have Google Drive and Gmail access permissions.
The source does not give installation commands for gws, so follow the googleworkspace/cli project documentation for that step.
- gws command-line tool installed and authenticated with a Google account
- gws-drive skill available
- gws-gmail skill available
- Google Drive and Gmail permissions for the authenticated account
How to trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need to type the commands yourself. Ask the agent in plain language to share a named file and email the link. Name the file as exactly as it appears in Drive and give the full email address of the recipient, because the recipe matches on those details.
A clear request names the file, the recipient and, optionally, the message you want sent.
- "Share the Quarterly Report in Drive with client@example.com and email them the link."
- "Find my Quarterly Report file, give read-only access to client@example.com and send them a message with the link."
What the agent runs behind the scenes
The skill's steps use three gws commands. The agent fills in the file ID and recipient details from your request. Knowing the underlying commands helps you check what is happening.
gws drive files list --params '{"q": "name = '\''Quarterly Report'\''"}'
gws drive permissions create --params '{"fileId": "FILE_ID"}' --json '{"role": "reader", "type": "user", "emailAddress": "client@example.com"}'
gws gmail +send --to client@example.com --subject 'Quarterly Report' --body 'Hi, please find the report here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/FILE_ID'Safety notes: scripts and network access
This skill runs scripts and uses the network. It changes sharing settings on a real Drive file and sends email from your Google account, so treat each request as an action with real effects.
The recipe grants access to one email address only. It does not show a disambiguation step before sharing, so if the file name matches more than one file, the agent could share the wrong one. Check the file name and recipient before confirming. Do not use it for public or many-recipient sharing, and be careful with sensitive files.
- Confirm the file name matches exactly one file before sharing.
- Confirm the recipient email address is correct.
- Do not use it for sharing with many people or publicly.
- Review the commands in SKILL.md before first use.
Tips for reliable results
Use the exact file name and full email address. Keep file names in Drive distinctive so searches return one match. If you send reports regularly, a consistent naming pattern makes the skill more dependable.
- Use distinctive file names to avoid multiple matches.
- Give the full recipient address rather than a nickname.
- Start with a test file and your own address before using it with clients.
What people use it for
- Sending a quarterly report to a client after you finish it.
- Sharing a signed document with one colleague who needs to read it.
- Repeating the same share-and-email workflow for a regular update to one recipient.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the Email a Google Drive File Link skill?
Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. Place the recipe-email-drive-link folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project. In the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
What do I need before this skill works?
You need the gws command-line tool installed and authenticated with a Google account, the gws-drive and gws-gmail skills, and Google Drive and Gmail permissions for that account. The recipe cannot run without the gws tool.
Is this skill free to use?
The source is licensed under Apache-2.0. The source does not state pricing for the gws tool or any Google service, so check those separately.
Can the skill share a file with many people or make it public?
No, not as written. The recipe grants read-only access to one email address. It is not designed for public or many-recipient sharing.
What happens if two files have the same name?
The recipe does not include a disambiguation step, so it may match more than one file. Use distinctive file names and check the match before sharing.
How does this compare to sharing from Drive manually?
The skill automates three actions: finding the file, setting read-only access and sending the email. Doing it by hand gives you a chance to pick the right file and check the recipient at each step, which the recipe does not do.
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Our verdict
This skill suits staff and operations people who regularly send one-off documents to a single client or colleague and already use the gws tool. Skip it if you share with many people, need public links, or work with files whose names are not unique. Anyone without gws installed and authenticated should set that up first.
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