Google Apps Manager: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Google Apps Manager: A Complete Beginner’s GuideGoogle Apps Manager (GAM) is a free, open-source command-line tool that helps administrators automate, manage, and troubleshoot Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) domains. Instead of clicking through the Admin Console, GAM lets you perform bulk operations, configure users and groups, manage Drive and Calendar settings, and audit activity using scripts or simple commands. This guide explains what GAM is, why you might use it, how to install and configure it, basic and advanced examples, best practices, and troubleshooting tips.

What is GAM and who should use it?

GAM is a command-line utility maintained by the open-source community. It acts as a wrapper around Google’s REST APIs for Workspace administration, providing a straightforward way to run tasks that would otherwise be repetitive or time-consuming in the Admin Console.

• Target users: Workspace administrators, IT helpdesk staff, MSPs (managed service providers), and power users who manage many accounts or need to automate domain-wide tasks.
• Typical tasks: Bulk user creation/import/export, license assignment, Drive file ownership transfers, group membership management, calendar resource setup, domain-wide delegation, and audit/report generation.

Why choose GAM over the Admin Console?

• Speed: Perform bulk changes quickly (e.g., creating thousands of users from a CSV).
• Automation: Script repetitive tasks and integrate with cron, CI/CD, or other automation tools.
• Precision: Fine-grained controls via command flags not always exposed in the GUI.
• Auditing and reporting: Generate reports on users, Drive files, login activity, and more.
• Cost: GAM itself is free and open-source.

Prerequisites and considerations

Before using GAM, ensure you have:

• A Google Workspace admin account with appropriate privileges.
• Familiarity with the command line (Windows PowerShell, macOS Terminal, or Linux shell).
• Python installed (GAM depends on Python; current GAM releases may specify minimum versions).
• Consent and testing: Run commands in a test OU or sandbox first. Bulk operations can cause domain-wide changes.

Permissions and API access:

• GAM needs OAuth credentials and the appropriate API scopes for the services you plan to manage (Admin SDK, Drive API, Calendar API, People API, etc.).
• Domain-wide delegation may be required for certain admin actions. Configure a service account in Google Cloud Console when needed.

Installation overview

(Note: exact commands may change with new GAM releases; consult the GAM project for latest instructions.)

1. Install Python (3.8+ recommended).
2. Download the GAM package from the official project repository or releases page.
3. Extract and place GAM in a suitable folder.
4. Run the install/setup script (Windows installers are available; macOS/Linux use shell scripts).
5. Create and configure OAuth credentials or a service account for domain-wide delegation as instructed by GAM.
6. Authorize GAM to access your domain using the provided URL and the admin account.

Basic commands and examples

Important: replace placeholders like [email protected], [email protected], OU paths, or file paths with your actual data.

• Get help:

  gam help 

• View domain info:

  gam info domain 

• Create a user:

  gam create user [email protected] firstname Alice lastname Smith password P@ssw0rd 

• Create users from CSV:

  gam csv users.csv gam create user ~PrimaryEmail firstname ~FirstName lastname ~LastName password ~Password 

• Update a user’s primary email:

  gam update user [email protected] primaryemail [email protected] 

• Suspend/reactivate user:

  gam suspend user [email protected] gam update user [email protected] restore 

• Add a user to a group:

  gam update group [email protected] add member [email protected] 

• Assign a license:

  gam update user [email protected] license assign Google-Apps-For-Business 

• Transfer Drive file ownership:

  gam user [email protected] transfer drivefileowner [email protected] 

• Export all users to CSV:

  gam print users allfields > users.csv 

• Audit login events (example approach):

  gam report users suspended gam print users query "lastLoginTime>2025-01-01" 

Advanced usage and scripting

• Scripting loops and conditional logic: Combine gam with shell scripting, PowerShell, or Python to iterate over inputs, handle errors, and perform multi-step workflows.
• Scheduling jobs: Use cron (Linux/macOS) or Task Scheduler (Windows) to run regular reports or maintenance scripts.
• Delegated service accounts: For full automation without interactive OAuth, configure a Google Cloud service account with domain-wide delegation and use GAM’s service-account setup.
• API limits and batching: Respect Google API quotas. Use GAM’s batching features or rate-limiting to avoid quota exhaustion.
• Integrations: Incorporate GAM in onboarding/offboarding pipelines by connecting to HR systems, ticketing systems, or CI/CD tools.

Security and best practices

• Principle of least privilege: Use the minimum admin roles and scopes needed. Consider creating a custom admin role for automation.
• Test first: Use a test OU or staging domain for scripts and bulk operations.
• Backups: Export user lists, Drive file ownership, and group membership before major changes.
• Logging and error handling: Save GAM outputs to logs and check for errors. Implement retry logic for transient failures.
• Rotate credentials: If using service account keys, rotate them periodically and store securely (e.g., in a secrets manager).
• Use single-purpose service accounts: Separate accounts for different automation tasks to limit blast radius.

Common pitfalls and troubleshooting

• Authorization errors: Re-check OAuth scopes and domain-wide delegation settings.
• Rate limits: Slow down scripts, add sleeps, or batch operations to avoid hitting API quotas.
• CSV formatting: Ensure UTF-8 encoding and correct headers/placeholders for GAM CSV commands.
• Unexpected behavior after bulk changes: Double-check the targeted OU paths, filters, and test on small samples first.
• Version mismatches: Keep GAM updated; commands and flags can change between releases.

Example real-world workflows

• New-hire onboarding: From HR CSV, create accounts, set initial passwords, add to groups, assign licenses, provision Drive folders, and push Calendar resources — all in one scripted run.
• Offboarding: Suspend accounts, transfer Drive ownership, remove from groups, revoke third-party OAuth tokens, and archive user data.
• Periodic audits: Weekly reports on inactive accounts, shared Drive exposure, external sharing settings, and admin role changes.

Resources and further learning

• Official GAM documentation and release notes (check the project site for latest commands and installation steps).
• Google Workspace Admin SDK documentation for understanding underlying API capabilities.
• Community forums and GitHub issues for troubleshooting and examples.

If you’d like, I can:

• Provide step-by-step install commands for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
• Generate example CSV templates for bulk user creation.
• Write sample onboarding/offboarding scripts tailored to your environment.