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skill Claude Code CX Codex Cursor GitHub Copilot official · Google

gws-gmail-reply — Claude Code skill: what it does, how to install

Replies to a Gmail message while preserving the conversation thread. Useful for sending quick email responses or drafting them directly from the terminal.

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

What gws-gmail-reply does

The skill runs gws gmail +reply to respond to an email using its --message-id. It sets In-Reply-To, References, and threadId headers automatically so your reply stays in the existing thread, quoting the original message text.

You can format the message with --html, attach files using -a, and add recipients to --cc or --bcc. Passing --draft saves the reply to your Gmail drafts folder instead of sending it, while --dry-run previews the API request without sending anything.

Running this requires the gws binary and auth rules defined in gws-shared. This skill replies only to the original sender; if you need to message everyone on the thread, use +reply-all instead.

What it helps with

  • reply to a Gmail message while keeping thread headers intact
  • save an email reply as a draft using --draft
  • attach local files to a reply using the -a flag
  • add extra recipients to CC or BCC when responding

Example prompts for the agent

  • Reply to message 18f1a2b3c4d with 'Thanks, got it!'
  • Create a draft reply to email 18f1a2b3c4d attaching updated.docx
  • Send a reply to message 18f1a2b3c4d and loop in [email protected] on CC

How to install gws-gmail-reply

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

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

2Manually: put the files in place

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

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

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-reply

How to install gws-gmail-reply in Claude Code?

Run npx skills add googleworkspace/cli --skill gws-gmail-reply -a claude-code. The file will be saved to ~/.claude/skills/gws-gmail-reply/SKILL.md.

What does gws-gmail-reply do?

It sends an email reply to a specified Gmail message ID via the gws CLI. Thread headers like In-Reply-To and References are managed automatically.

Can gws-gmail-reply reply to all recipients?

No, it targets only the sender. To reply to everyone on the thread, use the +reply-all command instead.

Source text

SKILL.md · Apache-2.0 
---
name: gws-gmail-reply
description: "Gmail: Reply to a message (handles threading automatically)."
metadata:
  version: 0.22.5
  openclaw:
    category: "productivity"
    requires:
      bins:
        - gws
    cliHelp: "gws gmail +reply --help"
---

# gmail +reply

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

Reply to a message (handles threading automatically)

## Usage

```bash
gws gmail +reply --message-id <ID> --body <TEXT>
```

## Flags

| Flag | Required | Default | Description |
|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `--message-id` | ✓ | — | Gmail message ID to reply to |
| `--body` | ✓ | — | Reply body (plain text, or HTML with --html) |
| `--from` | — | — | Sender address (for send-as/alias; omit to use account default) |
| `--to` | — | — | Additional To email address(es), comma-separated |
| `--attach` | — | — | Attach a file (can be specified multiple times) |
| `--cc` | — | — | CC email address(es), comma-separated |
| `--bcc` | — | — | BCC email address(es), comma-separated |
| `--html` | — | — | Treat --body as HTML content (default is plain text) |
| `--dry-run` | — | — | Show the request that would be sent without executing it |
| `--draft` | — | — | Save as draft instead of sending |

## Examples

```bash
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Thanks, got it!'
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Looping in Carol' --cc [email protected]
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Adding Dave' --to [email protected]
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body '<b>Bold reply</b>' --html
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Updated version' -a updated.docx
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Draft reply' --draft
```

## Tips

- Automatically sets In-Reply-To, References, and threadId headers.
- Quotes the original message in the reply body.
- --to adds extra recipients to the To field.
- Use -a/--attach to add file attachments. Can be specified multiple times.
- With --html, the quoted block uses Gmail's gmail_quote CSS classes and preserves HTML formatting. Use fragment tags (<p>, <b>, <a>, etc.) — no <html>/<body> wrapper needed.
- With --html, inline images in the quoted message are preserved via cid: references.
- Use --draft to save the reply as a draft instead of sending it immediately.
- For reply-all, use +reply-all instead.

## 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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