Google Docs
Arcade.dev LLM tools for Google Docs
Google Docs toolkit gives LLMs the ability to create, read, edit, search, and comment on Google Docs documents via the Google Docs and Drive APIs.
Capabilities
- Document creation — create blank documents, documents pre-populated with plain text, or fully formatted documents parsed from Markdown input (headings, bold, italic, lists).
- Reading & metadata — retrieve document content as DocMD (block IDs, character indices, text styles, tab structure), fetch metadata (title, ID, URL, character counts, tab hierarchy), and resolve user identity and permissions.
- Structured editing — read or apply batchUpdate requests against a document using DocMD indices; append text to the end of a document.
- Search & discovery — search Drive for documents by query (metadata only), or search and retrieve documents with inline body content; both modes exclude trashed files.
- Comments — add comments to a specific document and list all existing comments on it.
- Drive file picker — generate a first-party Google Drive picker URL so users can grant per-file access when a document is not found or access is denied, then retry the original operation.
OAuth
This toolkit authenticates via OAuth 2.0 with Google. See the Arcade Google auth provider docs for setup instructions, redirect URI configuration, and required scopes.
Secrets
ENABLE_GOOGLE_DRIVE_INLINE_PICKER_URL — a URL value that controls whether the inline Google Drive file picker feature is active. Set this secret to enable GoogleDocs.GenerateGoogleFilePickerUrl to return a functional picker URL, which directs users to Google's first-party Drive picker so they can grant the application access to specific files. Obtain the appropriate value by configuring your OAuth client in the Google Cloud Console and ensuring the Drive Picker API is enabled for your project under APIs & Services → Library; the value itself is typically the picker origin URL or an enable flag scoped to your deployment.
For details on how to store and reference secrets in Arcade, see the Arcade secrets guide. You can manage secrets at https://api.arcade.dev/dashboard/auth/secrets.
Available tools(13)
| Tool name | Description | Secrets | |
|---|---|---|---|
Comment on a specific document by its ID. | 1 | ||
Create a blank Google Docs document with the specified title. | |||
Create a Google Docs document with the specified title and text content.
When input_format is MARKDOWN, the text_content is parsed as Markdown and the resulting
document is formatted with headings, bold, italic, bullet lists, and numbered lists. | |||
Read or edit a Google Docs document using structured batchUpdate requests.
When called without requests, returns the document content in DocMD format (block IDs,
character indices, and text styles). When called with requests, applies the edits and
returns the updated DocMD. Use the DocMD indices from the response to construct
requests for subsequent calls. | 1 | ||
Generate a URL where the user can grant this app access to specific Drive files.
Opens Google's first-party Drive picker. The user selects which files to share
with this application — it is not a sign-in or credential prompt.
Use this when a prior tool reported that a file was not found or access was denied,
and the user expects the file to exist. After the user completes the picker flow,
retry the prior tool. | |||
Get the latest version of the specified Google Docs document as DocMD.
The DocMD output will include tags that can be used to annotate the document with location
information, the type of block, block IDs, and other metadata. If the document has tabs,
all tabs are included in sequential order unless a specific tab_id is provided. | 1 | ||
DEPRECATED DO NOT USE THIS TOOL
Get the latest version of the specified Google Docs document. | 1 | ||
Get metadata for a Google Docs document including hierarchical tab structure.
Returns document title, ID, URL, total character count, and nested tab information
with character counts for each tab. | 1 | ||
Updates an existing Google Docs document using the batchUpdate API endpoint. | 1 | ||
List all comments on the specified Google Docs document. | 1 | ||
Searches for documents in the user's Google Drive and returns documents with their main body
content and tab metadata. Excludes documents that are in the trash.
Returns main body content only with metadata about tabs. Use get_document_as_docmd() to retrieve
full tab content for specific documents. Use search_documents() for metadata-only searches. | 1 | ||
Searches for documents in the user's Google Drive. Excludes documents in trash.
Returns metadata only. Use get_document_metadata or get_document_as_docmd for content. | 1 | ||
Get comprehensive user profile and Google Docs environment information.
This tool provides detailed information about the authenticated user including
their name, email, profile picture, Google Docs access permissions, and other
important profile details from Google services. |