swarm-zap/WIP.drive-docs-sheets.md

WIP.drive-docs-sheets.md

Status

Status: proposed Owner: zap Opened: 2026-03-12

Purpose

Evaluate whether the n8n Google Workspace action bus should expand beyond Gmail + Calendar into Drive / Docs / Sheets, or whether those surfaces should stay direct-tool-only for now.

Decision goal

Produce a clear go / no-go per surface:

• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets

Why this is a separate WIP

Gmail + Calendar are now implemented, deployed, and smoke-tested. Drive / Docs / Sheets are a different decision because they can easily sprawl into broad CRUD coverage without the same immediate operator value.

Constraints carried forward

• Keep openclaw-action as the narrow authenticated ingress.
• Keep approval/history/state in n8n.
• Use the host-side gog bridge for execution when appropriate.
• Preserve the compact operator contract:
  • pending_compact
  • history_compact
  • operator.summary_line
  • operator.execution_state
  • operator.result_refs
• Keep approval defaults explicit by family.
• Default to the smallest useful verb set.

Questions to answer

Drive

Possible useful verbs:

• search_drive_files
• list_drive_files
• get_drive_file_metadata
• move_drive_file
• trash_drive_file

Questions:

• Is Drive mainly a discovery/search surface here, or do we need mutating file-management actions?
• Would direct gog drive ... usage be simpler than queueing through n8n for most cases?

Docs

Possible useful verbs:

• create_doc
• append_doc_text
• replace_doc_text
• get_doc_text

Questions:

• Do we actually need approval-gated doc writes, or is docs work better done directly in a focused tool flow?
• Is append/replace enough, or would structured range operations be needed too soon?

Sheets

Possible useful verbs:

• read_sheet_range
• append_sheet_rows
• update_sheet_cells
• create_sheet_tab

Questions:

• Is Sheets the highest-leverage next action surface because it fits queueable structured writes?
• If yes, what is the minimum safe starter set?

Initial recommendation

• Drive: probably no for broad action-bus expansion right now; maybe yes for a tiny read/search surface later.
• Docs: probably no for now unless a very specific document-drafting workflow appears.
• Sheets: strongest maybe yes candidate because append/update flows map well to approval + audit history.

Success criteria

• One-page recommendation covering Drive / Docs / Sheets.
• Clear go / no-go per surface.
• If any surface is greenlit, define only the minimum starter verbs.
• If any surface is greenlit, specify approval defaults (low read-only vs high mutating) before implementation begins.

If implemented later

Use a fresh implementation session and promote the chosen scope into WIP.md before coding.