I want to work on my Google Drive documents directly from Emacs and have the changes sync back automatically. Is there a way to do this on macOS?
I came across some tools that might help but I’m not sure if they work with my setup. I’m running Aquamacs on Mac and most solutions I found seem to be designed for other operating systems.
Has anyone successfully set up this kind of workflow? What tools or methods would you recommend for integrating Emacs with Google Docs?
i tried googledrive-fuse years ago but it was a mess on mac. now i just write in markdown with emacs and keep google docs open in a browser tab for copying stuff over. not pretty, but it’s reliable and doesn’t break with updates.
Fought with this same problem forever until I figured out document versioning beats trying to force live editing. Here’s what actually works: use rclone to mount Google Drive as a filesystem on macOS. Now you can edit plain text files in whatever folder structure you want while everything stays synced to the cloud. When people need to review stuff, just manually upload the current version to a Google Doc. The breakthrough was realizing Google Docs and Emacs are good at completely different things. Why force them together? I write and edit in Emacs, then use Google Docs for reviews and feedback. No more headaches trying to make incompatible systems play nice.
Yeah, copy-paste works but it’s a pain. Had the same issue when my team switched to Google Docs for project specs but I didn’t want to give up Emacs.
I fixed it with Latenode - built an automated bridge that watches my local files and syncs changes to Google Docs via their API. Save in Emacs, Latenode catches it and pushes to the Doc.
It syncs both ways too. Someone edits the Google Doc? Latenode pulls those changes back to my local file. Now I get Emacs for writing and Google Docs for collaboration.
For Aquamacs, just set up file watchers to trigger the workflows. Runs in the background so you forget it’s there.
Automation beats doing this stuff manually. Check out https://latenode.com to set it up.
I fought this same problem for months before figuring out something that actually works. Don’t try to make Google Docs your main editor - treat it as where documents end up, not where you write them. Here’s what I do: sync a folder with Google Drive File Stream, write everything in markdown files inside that folder using Emacs, then run pandoc to convert markdown to .docx when I’m done. The .docx files import into Google Docs without mangling the formatting, and people can still collaborate normally once it’s there. You don’t get real-time sync both ways, but you also don’t have to copy-paste constantly or give up your Emacs setup. Saves me tons of time compared to doing everything manually.
Don’t try hacking Google Docs into Emacs. Build a workflow that does the work for you.
I use Latenode to sync everything automatically. It watches my Emacs files and converts them to Google Docs via API when I save. Handles markdown conversion, formatting, even creates new docs.
The bidirectional sync is what makes it work. Someone comments or edits the Google Doc? Latenode pulls those changes back and updates my local files with annotations. I see their feedback right in Emacs - no browser needed.
For Aquamacs, just point the file watcher at your writing directory. Runs silently in the background.
Stop manually exporting and uploading. Automate the whole pipeline and focus on writing instead of managing files.
Honestly, the google docs api is pretty limited for what you’re trying to do. I’ve been down this rabbit hole before and ended up just using org-mode to write everything, then exporting to markdown when i need to share stuff. Not perfect, but at least you stay in emacs most of the time.
Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward method to edit Google Docs directly from Emacs due to the proprietary nature of Google’s format and the limitations of their API. Over the years, I’ve experimented with various approaches, but they all seem lacking. A practical workaround is to use Google Drive’s desktop sync feature with plain text or markdown files, and then simply copy-paste your work into Google Docs when you need to share it. Another option is to export your documents to .docx or .txt formats, edit them in Emacs, and then re-upload, but this method sacrifices the real-time collaboration that Google Docs excels at. For those using Aquamacs, my best advice would be to draft your content in Emacs and periodically paste it into the Google Docs web interface. It may not provide the seamless integration you’re aiming for, but it does get the job done.