Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Share a Google Drive Folder agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Share a Google Drive Folder skill (recipe-share-folder-with-team) gives an AI agent a fixed, step-by-step procedure for sharing a Google Drive folder and its contents with colleagues. It is aimed at team leads, project managers, operations staff and developers who already use the gws command-line tool. After reading this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to phrase a request so the agent uses it, and what to check before and after it runs.
Share a Google Drive Foldergoogleworkspace/cli · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Install gws and gws-drive. Make sure the gws command-line tool and the gws-drive skill are available. The recipe cannot run without them.
- 2Authorise your Google account. Confirm your Google account is authorised for Google Drive through gws.
- 3Download and unzip the skill. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or your project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 4Or upload it in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill under Skills.
- 5Make a natural request. Ask the agent to share a folder by name, naming the editor and the viewer by email address.
- 6Confirm the folder. Check that the folder name matches the one you intended, since the recipe does not ask you to confirm the folder ID.
- 7Review the permissions. Read the permissions list the agent returns to confirm both collaborators have the right role.
What an agent skill is and what this one does
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file and any supporting files. It gives an AI agent instructions for a specific task. This skill, from the googleworkspace/cli project, is a recipe: it tells the agent to share a Google Drive folder with one editor and one viewer.
The recipe runs four steps. It searches Drive for the folder by name, grants edit access to a collaborator, grants view access to a second person, and then lists the folder's permissions so you can confirm the result. It issues these commands through the gws command-line tool and relies on the gws-drive skill for the underlying Drive operations.
Install the skill
Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. For a personal setup, place the unzipped folder inside ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, place it inside that project's .claude/skills/ folder.
If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill under Skills.
The skill also needs the gws command-line tool and the gws-drive skill installed, and your Google account must be authorised for Google Drive through gws.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Trigger the skill with a natural request
You do not need to name the skill. Ask the agent in plain language to share a folder, and include the folder name, the collaborator who should edit, and the person who should only view. The skill's description covers sharing a Google Drive folder and all its contents with a list of collaborators.
Use the folder's exact name where you can. The recipe searches Drive by name, so a vague name increases the chance of matching the wrong folder.
- Share the Project X folder with anna@company.com as editor and ben@company.com as viewer.
- Give maria@company.com edit access to the Q3 Planning folder and show me who has access afterwards.
What the agent runs under the hood
The source recipe uses these gws commands. The agent fills in the folder ID and email addresses from your request.
Find the folder by name and folder MIME type, then list permissions to verify. Grant writer (editor) and reader (viewer) roles to individual users by email address.
- Search: gws drive files list with a q parameter matching the folder name
- Editor: gws drive permissions create with role writer and type user
- Viewer: gws drive permissions create with role reader and type user
- Verify: gws drive permissions list formatted as a table
gws drive permissions create --params '{"fileId": "FOLDER_ID"}' --json '{"role": "writer", "type": "user", "emailAddress": "colleague@company.com"}'Safety notes before you run it
This skill runs scripts and uses the network. It changes sharing permissions on your real Google Drive, so treat each run as an action with consequences.
The recipe matches folders by name and does not ask you to confirm the folder ID before sharing. If two folders share a name, the wrong one could be shared. Check the folder before you approve the request. The recipe covers only single-user editor and viewer grants. It does not cover public or link sharing, or bulk changes to many people.
- Use the skill only on folders whose contents you are comfortable sharing.
- Avoid it for sensitive folders where a name search could match the wrong one.
- Check the permissions list the agent returns against what you asked for.
Tips for reliable results
Keep folder names unique in your Drive, or give the agent a more specific name. Because the recipe does not confirm the folder ID, a unique name is your main protection against sharing the wrong folder.
Read the verification output at the end. It shows the permissions list so you can confirm that the editor and viewer are both present with the intended roles.
- Make folder names distinctive before sharing.
- Always review the final permissions list.
- Install gws and gws-drive first so the prerequisites are in place.
What people use it for
- Giving a new team member edit access to a project folder and read-only access to a stakeholder.
- Routine sharing of a standard project folder with colleagues by email address.
- Operations staff asking an agent to share a folder and report back the resulting permissions.
- Developers using gws who want a repeatable sharing workflow they can run from an agent.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the recipe-share-folder-with-team skill?
Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload it in the Claude apps under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
What do I need before the skill works?
You need the gws command-line tool, the gws-drive skill, and a Google account authorised for Google Drive through gws. The skill cannot run without these.
Is this skill free to use?
The source is licensed under Apache-2.0. This guide does not state pricing for any related service, so check the licence and the gws project for its terms.
Can it share a folder with the public or create a shareable link?
No. The recipe only shows single-user editor and viewer grants, using a user email address. It does not cover link sharing or public access.
Why did the skill share the wrong folder?
The recipe finds folders by name and does not ask you to confirm the folder ID before sharing. Use distinctive folder names and check the folder before approving the share.
How does this compare with sharing manually in Google Drive?
The skill lets an agent perform the same sharing steps from a plain-language request and then list the permissions. Doing it by hand in the Drive interface gives you direct control over each step, including confirming the exact folder.
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Our verdict
This skill suits team leads, project managers and developers who already use gws and share Drive folders with colleagues regularly. It is not a good fit if you do not use Google Drive or gws, need link or public sharing, or handle sensitive folders where a name search could match the wrong one.
Download the skill