Desktop Liberation aims to help you use cloud based APIS and services without being constrained by your desktop software. There's a particular emphasis on Google Workspace and Cloud APIs and JavaScript, but there's also plenty of Microsoft and other stuff here too. All code here is unprotected and free to re-use

To support my site, and if you find the material useful, you can buy my Google Apps Script and VBA titles published by O'Reilly media and Manning publications.

Most Recent Articles

multi cloud

Yes – you can run native apps script code on Azure ACA as well!

In my other articles on this subject Yes – you can run native apps script code on AWS Lambda!, Yes – you can now run native Apps Script on Cloud Run!, Apps Script on Kubernetes and Cloud Run with gas-fakes I showed how to use Keyless Domain Wide Delegation., Workload Identity Federation and the gas-fakes run time to run native apps script code on various serverless platforms. Now I've added Azure Container Apps to the list of places you can choose to run apps script from. Apps Script Beyond the Browser: Choosing Your Runtime Environment In my previous explorations of this architecture—covering AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Run, and Kubernetes—I demonstrated how to liberate native Apps Script from its original browser-based sandbox. By leveraging Keyless DWD , Workload Identity Federation , and the gas-fakes runtime, we can now execute Google-native logic across nearly any serverless platform. Today, I’m adding Azure Container ...
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gas-fakes everywhere

Apps Script: A ‘Lingua Franca’ for the Multi-Cloud Era

As first explored in Apps Script – a ‘lingua franca’ for workspace platforms, the gas-fakes library has evolved. While Google Workspace remains the primary target, gas-fakes now supports multiple backends. This means you can write native Apps Script code to operate on assets far beyond the Google ecosystem. Why Decouple ...
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apps script everywhere

Apps Script – a ‘lingua franca’ for workspace platforms

Exactly one year ago, I began a proof-of-concept: bringing the Google Apps Script (GAS) environment to Node.js. The goal was simple but ambitious—could we persuade Apps Script to run outside its intended IDE and runtime? Today, the answer is a resounding yes. We have successfully implemented nearly 3,000 of the ...
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aws apps script

Yes – you can run native apps script code on AWS Lambda!

In Yes – you can now run native Apps Script on Cloud Run! and Apps Script on Kubernetes and Cloud Run with gas-fakes I showed how you could use gas-fakes to create an environment in which you can run native Apps Script. Now, if you really want to, you can ...
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Apps Script on Kubernetes and Cloud Run with gas-fakes

Apps Script on Kubernetes and Cloud Run with gas-fakes

I recently shared Yes – you can now run native Apps Script on Cloud Run!. In this latest article we'll now look at how to run Apps Script code on Kubernetes. I've also provided a complete set of shells for deploying to both environments, and one for bringing up a ...
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Yes - you can now run native Apps Script on Cloud Run!

Yes – you can now run native Apps Script on Cloud Run!

Version 2.0.2 of gas-fakes introduces a new managed option that uses workspace domain wide delegation and keyless api authentication. This means that you can containerize apps script code and run it on cloud platforms such as Cloud Run outside the context limitations of the Apps Script IDE. gas-fakes can execute ...
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beat 6 minute apps script limit

Defeating the Apps Script 6 minute limit with gas-fakes

How to execute Google Apps Script code locally using Node.js to bypass the standard Apps Script IDE runtime limit of 6 minutes. Overview Complex or data-intensive Apps Script projects often hit the 6-minute execution limit. This proof-of-concept shows how you can take your existing Apps Script logic and run it ...
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sandbox gmail

Securely Testing Gmail Automation with gas-fakes Sandboxing

The ability to automate Gmail is a powerful feature of Google Apps Script. However, running untested scripts—especially those generated by AI—directly on your live Gmail account is risky. A single mistake could lead to damaging consequences, like spamming all your contact, accidentally deleting critical messages or sending 1000 emails to ...
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Use Apps Script libraries directly from Node

Use Apps Script libraries directly from Node

Now you can write native Apps Script to run on Node and use existing Apps Script libraries directly. Gas-fakes can now read manifest files and pull in and execute Apps Script libraries right in your Node Apps. This allows you to use shared Apps Script as part of a Node ...
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anti gravity created routemap

Accessing Workspace resources with Google’s Antigravity and gas-fakes

Google's new agentic Antigravity development platform is a game changer in AI assisted software development. One of the tasks it often needs to be able to perform is to access workspace resources like Drive files, spreadsheets documents and so on. There are already a number of extensions and mcp servers ...
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GAS FAKES CLI MCP GEMINI

gas-fakes-cli now has built in mcp server and gemini extension

In other posts on gas-fakes I've covered how to write native Apps Script code, but run it on Node. How to use gas-fakes-cli to run Apps Script Code direct from your terminal, and how to use gas-fakes's sandbox to safely interact with Gemini Cli. Now gas-fakes-cli has a built in ...
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gas-fakes-cli

gas-fakes CLI: Run apps script code directly from your terminal

The gas-fakes library provides a secure local sandbox for executing Google Apps Script (GAS) code within a Node.js environment. This tool addresses the security risk of running scripts (especially AI-generated ones) that require broad permissions by emulating the Apps Script environment and translating high-level GAS calls (e.g., DriveApp) into granular, ...
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Pull, Test, and Push Apps Script projects with gas-fakes

Pull, Test, and Push Apps Script projects with gas-fakes

Developing for Google Apps Script (GAS) can sometimes feel disconnected from modern development practices. The online editor is convenient for quick changes, but for complex projects, developers often prefer a local environment with version control, robust testing, and powerful build tools. I've written extensively on how to use gas-fakes to ...
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upstash gas-flex-cache

Sharing cache and properties between gas-fakes and live apps script

How to integrate gas-fakes (Node-based Apps Script emulation) with the gas-flex-cache library, using a shared Upstash Redis backend to enable cross-platform sharing of Apps Script's Cache and Property stores between your local Node environment and live Apps Script projects ...
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How to allow access to sensitive scopes with Application Default Credentials

How to allow access to sensitive scopes with Application Default Credentials

Struggling to use Application Default Credentials (ADC) for Google APIs like Gmail or Drive during local development? If you've hit the 'Google blocked access', learn the critical steps in the Google Cloud Console to create a custom Desktop Client ID and properly authorize your local Node.js application, finally restricted access ...
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My YouTube Channel

My Publications

  • Going GAS Video

    Going GAS Video

    An accelerated video course over about 8 hours and 70 lessons taking you through JavaScript and Apps Script from start to finish. [...]
  • Going GAS Book

    Going GAS Book

    For those who prefer book and eBook formats, a 450+ page deep dive into Apps Script. Especially useful for those transitioning from another platform. [...]
  • Live Project

    Live Project

    Create, Implement and test a AI Powered Google Workspace Add-Ons. add functionality from a collection of Google Cloud APIs such as Cloud Storage, CardService, Drive and others [...]

Google developers expert program

The Google Developers Experts (GDE) Program is a community of outstanding professionals, developers, and thought leaders. Experts share their expertise and passion with other developers and tech communities.

My GDE profile - member since 2014

Support my research and site

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The most geeky things

  • Promises in VBA

    Using promises in JavaScript and other languages is the preferred way to orchestrate the completion of asynchronous activities. Here’s a (not perfect but fun) Promise implementation in VBA. Example includes getting data from Google Fusion [...]

  • React, Redux, Redis, Material-UI and Firebase

    A whole bunch of front end platform libraries that go together really well, but that are hard to grasp and get started with. Here’s a bunch of snippets to help show how all these things [...]

  • Color Fiesta

    The mathematics of color is a complex and interesting topic. Here you’ll find Google Apps Script, VBA and javascript examples of color manipulation including finding the closest match to a given color in a defined [...]

  • Automatic documentation

    Automating document ,creating Google Visualization and static tables of VBA projects, serialize instances of VBA classes and generating Google Apps Script skeleton of VBA projects. […] Share with your network
Book : Going Gas
Going Gas book

Whether you’re moving from Microsoft Office to Google Docs or simply want to learn how to automate Docs with Google Apps Script, this practical guide shows you by example how to work with each of the major Apps Script services. The book introduces JavaScript basics for experienced developers unfamiliar with the language, and demonstrates ways to build real-world apps using all of the Apps Script services previously covered.

Video: Apps Script for developers

In this Google Apps Script for Developers training course, expert author Bruce Mcpherson will teach you how to customize, enhance, and automate your Google Docs, Sheets, and Gmail with Google Apps Script. This course is designed for the absolute beginner, meaning no previous experience with Google Apps Script is required.

Once you have completed this computer based training course, you will have learned how to customize, enhance, and automate your Docs, Sheets, and Gmail with Google Apps Script.

Video: Apps Script for beginners

The key to using Google Apps Script is understanding its underlying language – JavaScript. The course teaches you enough of the concepts and syntax of JavaScript that you’ll come away with the ability to confidently code Google Apps Script tasks on your own.

Live Book
Manning liveproject create ai powered Google Workspace Add-ons

create, implement and test a Workspace Add-on

add functionality from a collection of Google Cloud APIs such as Cloud Storage, CardService, Drive and others

organize extracted data from a variety of documents using the Google AI Platform 

Manning LiveProject

bruce mcpherson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://www.mcpher.com. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at code use guidelines