Connect Your Favorite Text Editor to Google Docs Using GoogleCL

Productivity Sauce
You can put Google's command-line tools (GoogleCL) to all kinds of clever uses from publishing blog posts to accessing and editing Google Docs documents using your favorite text editor. The latter can come in handy if you want to quickly modify the existing document, bypassing Google Docs' interface and the browser altogether.
To make GoogleCL work its magic, you have to install it on your machine. First off, grab the latest version of Google Data from the project's Web site and install it using the following commands:
tar xvfz gdata-x-x-xx.tar.gz cd gdata-x-x-xx/ sudo python setup.py install
Download then GoogleCL, and install it as follows:
tar xvfz googlecl-x-x-xx.tar.gz cd googlecl-x-x-xx/ sudo python setup.py install
To open an existing document in Gedit, use the following command:
google docs edit --title "Document Title" --editor gedit
This opens the specified document, and you can edit it to your heart's content. But what if you don't remember the exact name of the document you want to open? No problem. Run the google docs list title command which lists all documents stored in Google Docs.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
GoogeCL document edit
Why the hell did they get rid of the original html based editor. It was plenty useful!
Google is going downhill fast...
Glitch -- newlines
I ended up looking at blank files when back on docs.google.com, and I suspect it has to do with dos vs unix endlines.
Does not save changes