Skip to content
Get packs

Guide · Agent skill

How to use the Google Slides Operator agent skill (gws-slides)

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The gws-slides skill teaches an AI agent how to work with Google Slides presentations through the gws command-line tool. Once it is installed and the gws tool is signed in to your Google account, the agent can create a blank presentation, fetch an existing one, and apply batches of edits to its contents. This guide covers what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for things in plain language, and the safety points to check before letting an agent change a live deck.

Google Slides Operatorgoogleworkspace/cli · Apache-2.0

Quick start

  1. 1Install the gws tool. Install the gws command-line tool and confirm it is available on your PATH. The skill cannot run without it.
  2. 2Set up authentication. Configure Google account sign-in through gws, following the shared guide at ../gws-shared/SKILL.md. Run gws generate-skills if that file is missing.
  3. 3Download the skill ZIP. Download the gws-slides ZIP from this page.
  4. 4Install the skill. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
  5. 5Ask for a Slides task in plain language. Describe the deck you want to create, read or change, naming the presentation where possible.
  6. 6Inspect commands before editing. Use gws slides --help and gws schema slides.<resource>.<method> to check required parameters, then review the planned change before it is applied.

What the gws-slides skill lets the agent do

Agent skills are instruction files that give an AI agent specific know-how for a tool. This one covers the Google Slides API, called through the gws command-line tool. The skill's SKILL.md file describes four operations on presentations: create, get, batchUpdate and pages.

Before running any command, the agent is told to look up the method's required parameters using gws schema, so it builds its --params and --json flags from the official definitions rather than guessing.

  • create: makes a blank presentation with the title you give. If you supply a presentationId, that becomes the new file's ID.
  • get: fetches the latest version of a specified presentation.
  • batchUpdate: applies one or more edits. If any request in the batch is invalid, the whole batch fails and nothing is applied.
  • pages: a resource for operations on individual pages (slides).

Install the gws-slides skill

You need the gws tool installed and on your PATH before the skill can do anything. The skill also depends on a shared guide, ../gws-shared/SKILL.md, which covers sign-in, global flags and security rules. If that file is missing, the skill's prerequisite note says to run gws generate-skills to create it.

Download the skill ZIP from this page and install it in one of two ways:

  • Claude Code, personal install: unzip the file into ~/.claude/skills/ so the gws-slides folder sits there.
  • Claude Code, project install: unzip the file into the .claude/skills/ folder of your project.
  • Claude apps: upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need to name the skill or type gws commands. Describe the result you want in ordinary language that mentions Google Slides or a presentation, and the agent should pick up the skill when it matches the request.

Be specific about what should change. Naming the deck, the slide, and the content you want makes it easier for the agent to choose between create, get and batchUpdate.

  • "Create a new blank Google Slides presentation titled Q3 Board Update."
  • "Open the presentation with this ID and tell me what slides it has."
  • "Update the title text in the deck I shared with you so it reads Launch Plan 2025."
  • "Make a deck from this CSV: one slide per row, with the name as the heading."

Example workflow: fetch, check, then edit

A safe pattern is to ask for a read first, review the result, and then request the change. Because batchUpdate changes live presentations, reading the deck before editing it lets you confirm the page and element details the agent will target.

The skill documents the command shape as gws slides <resource> <method> [flags]. Use gws slides --help to browse resources and methods, and gws schema slides.<resource>.<method> to inspect a method's parameters before running it.

gws slides --help gws schema slides.presentations.get

What you need before it works

The skill is only a set of instructions. It needs the following in place to make real calls to Google Slides.

  • The gws command-line tool, installed and available on your PATH.
  • Google account authentication configured through gws, as described in the shared guide at ../gws-shared/SKILL.md.
  • Access to the Google Slides API through that account.

Safety notes: scripts and network access

This skill runs scripts and uses the network. The commands it issues go to Google's API using the account you have authenticated with gws, so the agent can read and change any presentation that account can access.

batchUpdate changes presentations directly. The skill says an invalid request causes the whole batch to fail with nothing applied, but the skill file does not describe further safeguards. Review proposed edits before they run, especially on decks other people use, and keep copies of important presentations.

  • Use an account you are comfortable granting access to.
  • Ask the agent to show you the planned changes before it applies a batchUpdate on a shared deck.
  • Check the shared authentication guide for the security rules it sets out.

What people use it for

  • Creating a blank presentation with a set title for a recurring report.
  • Reading an existing deck to summarise its slides or check its contents.
  • Generating a deck from structured data such as a spreadsheet export, with one slide per record.
  • Applying a batch of text or layout edits to a presentation from a script or template.

Frequently asked questions

Is the gws-slides skill free to use?

The source material for this skill does not state pricing or licence terms beyond its listed licence, Apache-2.0. Check the licence in the project repository for the terms that apply to your use.

Do I need to install anything besides the skill?

Yes. The skill requires the gws command-line tool installed and on your PATH, plus Google account authentication configured through gws. Without these, the skill cannot make calls to Google Slides.

Where do I put the skill files after downloading?

Unzip the ZIP into ~/.claude/skills/ for a personal install, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

What if the shared guide ../gws-shared/SKILL.md is missing?

The skill's prerequisite note says to run gws generate-skills to create it. Then the agent can read the shared guide for auth, global flags and security rules.

Can the agent edit a presentation without asking me?

The skill itself does not require confirmation before a batchUpdate. Because that command changes live presentations, ask the agent to show planned changes first and keep backups of important decks.

How does this compare with other ways to automate Google Slides?

The source does not compare this skill with other tools. It is specifically a set of instructions for an agent to use the gws CLI against the Google Slides API, so it suits people already using gws and an agent-based workflow.

New agent skills, repos and AI tools — every week

The best new skills and open-source projects, the fastest-growing repos, and one free prompt. Five minutes to read. Unsubscribe anytime.

Our verdict

Choose gws-slides if you already use Google Slides, are comfortable installing and signing in to the gws command-line tool, and want an agent to create or update decks, including generating them from data. Skip it if you do not have gws set up or if you need every edit reviewed automatically, since the skill does not describe safeguards beyond all-or-nothing validation of batch requests.

Download the skill