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skill Claude Code CX Codex Cursor GitHub Copilot official · Google

gws-gmail-read — Claude skill: read Gmail messages

This skill pulls the body or headers of a Gmail message by its ID. Useful when your agent needs one specific email, not the whole inbox.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓ 
npx skills add googleworkspace/cli --skill gws-gmail-read -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What gws-gmail-read does

The skill wraps gws gmail +read --id and returns the message text. Output is plain text by default; --format json switches to JSON, --html gives you the HTML body instead. Add --headers to include From, To, Subject and Date in the output.

The annoying parts of the Gmail API are already handled: HTML-only messages get converted to plain text, multipart/alternative is parsed, base64 is decoded. There is also --dry-run, which prints the request it would send and stops there.

You need the gws binary and auth set up through gws-shared; if that file is missing, gws generate-skills creates it. Worth installing if your agent reads individual messages by ID on a regular basis. For searching a mailbox or bulk-processing it, look elsewhere.

What it helps with

  • read a Gmail message body by ID
  • extract From, To, Subject and Date from a message
  • get a message as JSON and pipe it into jq
  • convert an HTML-only email to plain text
  • preview the request sent to Gmail without running it

Example prompts for the agent

  • read message gws gmail +read --id 18f1a2b3c4d
  • show the headers: gws gmail +read --id 18f1a2b3c4d --headers
  • grab the body as json: gws gmail +read --id 18f1a2b3c4d --format json | jq '.body'

How to install gws-gmail-read

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add googleworkspace/cli --skill gws-gmail-read -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/gws-gmail-read/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/gws-gmail-read/

From the same set95

The whole set →
gws-gmail official googleworkspace This skill hands your agent Gmail: send mail, read the inbox, reply in a thread. Useful when email work already runs through the gws CLI. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 81,900installs gws-gmail-send official googleworkspace A skill that teaches your agent to send Gmail from the terminal: recipients, subject, body, attachments and drafts. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 74,700installs gws-drive official googleworkspace This skill hands your agent Google Drive through the gws CLI: files, folders, shared drives, comments and access requests. Useful when docs move through code. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 74,500installs gws-shared official googleworkspace This skill gives agents shared rules for gws CLI authentication, flags, and output formats. Use it when working with gws commands. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 66,000installs gws-calendar official googleworkspace Manage Google Calendar events, access rules, and schedules through the gws CLI tool. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 61,100installs gws-sheets official googleworkspace This skill lets an agent read and edit Google Sheets through the CLI. Use it when a coding workflow needs spreadsheet data or table updates. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 58,800installs gws-docs official googleworkspace This skill lets an agent read and update Google Docs through gws. Use it when document changes should happen from an agent chat. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 58,300installs gws-sheets-read official googleworkspace Reads cell values and sheets from Google Spreadsheets via CLI. Useful when an agent needs spreadsheet data without risk of altering it. Claude Code CX Codex Cursor +1 50,600installs

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Questions about gws-gmail-read

How do I install gws-gmail-read in Claude?

Run npx skills add googleworkspace/cli --skill gws-gmail-read -a claude-code. The skill lands in ~/.claude/skills/gws-gmail-read/SKILL.md.

What does gws-gmail-read do?

It reads a Gmail message by ID and returns its body or headers. HTML-only messages are converted to plain text automatically.

What do I need before using it?

The gws binary and auth from gws-shared. If that file is missing, run gws generate-skills.

Source text

SKILL.md · Apache-2.0 
---
name: gws-gmail-read
description: "Gmail: Read a message and extract its body or headers."
metadata:
  version: 0.22.5
  openclaw:
    category: "productivity"
    requires:
      bins:
        - gws
    cliHelp: "gws gmail +read --help"
---

# gmail +read

> **PREREQUISITE:** Read `../gws-shared/SKILL.md` for auth, global flags, and security rules. If missing, run `gws generate-skills` to create it.

Read a message and extract its body or headers

## Usage

```bash
gws gmail +read --id <ID>
```

## Flags

| Flag | Required | Default | Description |
|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `--id` | ✓ | — | The Gmail message ID to read |
| `--headers` | — | — | Include headers (From, To, Subject, Date) in the output |
| `--format` | — | text | Output format (text, json) |
| `--html` | — | — | Return HTML body instead of plain text |
| `--dry-run` | — | — | Show the request that would be sent without executing it |

## Examples

```bash
gws gmail +read --id 18f1a2b3c4d
gws gmail +read --id 18f1a2b3c4d --headers
gws gmail +read --id 18f1a2b3c4d --format json | jq '.body'
```

## Tips

- Converts HTML-only messages to plain text automatically.
- Handles multipart/alternative and base64 decoding.

## See Also

- [gws-shared](../gws-shared/SKILL.md) — Global flags and auth
- [gws-gmail](../gws-gmail/SKILL.md) — All send, read, and manage email commands

© googleworkspace · Apache-2.0 · googleworkspace/cli

See also

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