{"id":1123,"date":"2026-08-07T23:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sandcomp.com\/blog\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T01:37:09","slug":"gdoc-vim-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sandcomp.com\/blog\/en\/2026\/08\/07\/gdoc-vim-en\/","title":{"rendered":"gdoc-vim: Editing Google Docs Directly in vim"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I like vim, and I like getting things done from the command line. Google Docs is also good at what it does \u2014 sharing, comments, revision history all come for free.<\/p>\n

Google Docs now supports Markdown import and export natively, which makes connecting the two a natural thing to do: the document stays in Docs, the editing happens in vim. So I wrote a small tool for it, gdoc-vim<\/code>.<\/p>\n

Installing<\/h2>\n
pipx install gdoc-vim\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Usage<\/h2>\n
To edit an existing document, paste the URL straight from your browser\u2019s address bar:<\/p>\n
gdoc-vim https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/FILE_ID\/edit\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
It exports the document as Markdown and opens it in vim (or whatever $EDITOR<\/code> points at). When you :wq<\/code>, the content is converted back and written to the same document<\/strong> \u2014 same link, same sharing settings, revision history intact.<\/p>\n
You can also start a new document and go straight to writing:<\/p>\n
gdoc-vim -n "Meeting notes"\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Using a different editor<\/h2>\n
The name says vim, but any editor works \u2014 it honors $EDITOR<\/code>:<\/p>\n
export EDITOR=emacs\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
For GUI editors, add whatever flag makes them block, e.g. export EDITOR="code --wait"<\/code>. Otherwise the command returns immediately and the tool sees an unchanged file.<\/p>\n
Google authorization<\/h2>\n
The first run needs Google authorization set up: you create your own OAuth client in the Google Cloud Console. It takes about three minutes, once. The tool prints step-by-step instructions in the terminal the first time you run it.<\/p>\n
One thing worth knowing: a new OAuth client starts in \u201cTesting\u201d status, and in that state the tokens Google issues expire after 7 days<\/strong>, so you\u2019d have to re-authorize every week. Setting the publishing status to \u201cIn production\u201d in the Console fixes it, and that step requires no verification.<\/p>\n
Links<\/h2>\n