gws-slides

Overview of gws-slides skill

gws-slides is the Google Slides skill in googleworkspace/cli for reading and writing presentations through the gws CLI. It is best for agents that need to inspect a deck, create one, or apply structured changes without hand-editing Slides in the browser. If your job is “update this presentation safely from a prompt,” gws-slides is the right starting point.

The main value of the gws-slides skill is that it exposes the Slides API in a command-oriented workflow instead of assuming a generic prompt can guess the right request shape. That matters because presentation updates are often schema-sensitive: titles, IDs, page resources, and batch operations need valid parameters or the whole operation can fail. The skill also makes the prerequisite explicit: you must have the shared gws-shared setup in place for auth, global flags, and security rules.

What gws-slides is for

Use gws-slides for Slide Decks when you need API-backed actions such as creating a presentation, fetching the current state of one, or applying batched updates to pages and other presentation resources. It fits automation, repeatable editorial workflows, and agent-driven maintenance tasks better than one-off copywriting.

When it is a good fit

Choose the gws-slides skill if you already know you want to work inside the Google Workspace CLI ecosystem and you can provide a concrete deck ID, title, or editing goal. It is a strong fit when you need deterministic changes, not just suggestions about slide content.

Main limitation to know

This skill is not a “design your presentation from scratch” system by itself. You still need to translate your goal into valid Slides API requests, and for anything beyond basic discovery you should expect to inspect the method schema before acting. If you want visual layout strategy rather than API execution, a generic prompting approach may be easier.

How to Use gws-slides skill

Install gws-slides correctly

For gws-slides install, use the repository’s CLI package flow: npx skills add googleworkspace/cli --skill gws-slides. After installation, verify the prerequisite noted in SKILL.md: ../gws-shared/SKILL.md must exist for authentication and shared rules. If that file is missing, the repo instructs you to run gws generate-skills.

Read the right files first

Start with skills/gws-slides/SKILL.md, then read the shared skill file it references. The fastest path is:

1. SKILL.md for the command shape and resource list.
2. ../gws-shared/SKILL.md for auth and safety constraints.
3. gws slides --help to see available resources and methods.
4. gws schema slides.<resource>.<method> before building a real request.

That sequence prevents the most common failure mode: sending the wrong fields to a valid method.

Turn a rough goal into a usable prompt

A good gws-slides usage request is specific about the resource, method, and outcome. Instead of saying “fix my slides,” say something like: “Use gws-slides to inspect the presentations.get output for deck abc123, then propose a batchUpdate plan to rename the title and update the first page text.” Include the deck identifier, the exact change, and any constraints such as preserving existing layout or avoiding content deletions.

Work from schema to command

The skill’s workflow is schema-first. Use gws schema to discover required parameters, object shapes, and defaults, then map your intended change into CLI flags or request bodies. This is especially important for batchUpdate, where multiple operations are validated together and one bad request cancels the whole batch.

gws-slides skill FAQ

Is gws-slides only for advanced users?

No. It is usable for beginners if they can follow a read-schema-then-act workflow. The skill is more structured than a plain prompt, but that structure is what reduces mistakes.

How is gws-slides different from a normal prompt?

A normal prompt can describe what a presentation should look like. gws-slides can actually inspect presentation resources and execute API-backed changes through gws. That makes it better for real edits, but it also means you must provide valid identifiers and method-level details.

When should I not use gws-slides?

Do not use gws-slides if you only need creative slide ideas, rough copy, or a non-technical outline. It is also a poor fit if you do not have access to the Google Workspace CLI environment or the required shared auth setup.

What should I check before installing?

Confirm that your workflow depends on Google Slides API operations and that you can support the prerequisite gws-shared file. If your repository or environment cannot satisfy that dependency, gws-slides will be hard to use reliably.

How to Improve gws-slides skill

Give the agent the exact deck context

The strongest gws-slides prompts include the presentation ID, the target resource, and the intended action. If the deck is new, say so; if it already exists, say whether the change must preserve current slides, ordering, or speaker notes. This reduces guesswork and improves the chance that the first command is valid.

Ask for the API method, not just the outcome

The skill works best when you name the operation you expect, such as presentations.get or presentations.batchUpdate. If you only ask for “update the deck,” the agent has to infer the method and may choose an incomplete path. Method-aware requests produce better gws-slides usage.

Use iteration after the first read

A practical workflow is to inspect the deck first, then refine the request based on the returned structure. After the first output, tighten the prompt around the exact page, field, or batch operation you want changed. That is usually more effective than trying to specify every slide detail up front.

Watch for batchUpdate validation failures

The most common failure mode in gws-slides is an invalid request object inside a batch. To avoid that, build smaller batches, verify parameter names with gws schema, and only combine operations once each one is known to be valid.