Google just dropped a single CLI that gives you access to every Google Workspace service: Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, the lot.
A CLI (command-line interface) lets you use apps and services by typing commands into your computer's terminal. The terminal is basically a text-based way to talk to your computer instead of clicking around with a mouse.
This matters because AI agents like OpenClaw and Claude Code also live in your terminal. So when a tool has a CLI, your AI agent can use it too. And the google workspace CLI was designed for agents from day one.
But I think the bigger story here isn't the tool itself, it's what it tells us about where agent tools are going. Justin Poehnelt, one of the creators, wrote a blog post making the case that CLIs are a better way for AI agents to use tools than MCP servers. And it's hard to disagree.
If you're sitting here thinking, what the f*ck is an MCP? All you need to know is it's just a way for your AI agent to use your apps like Stripe, Gmail, Notion.
MCPs are context-heavy. every tool call eats into your agent's context window, meaning your chats fill up faster and your agent starts forgetting things sooner. They're also slower to execute. CLIs are lean, fast, and already everywhere.
I use Claude Code for pretty much all my work, most of it non-technical. And I'm already opting for CLIs over MCPs whenever I can. If I want to give Claude Code a new tool like Google Workspace or Notion, I'm always going