GDocs

Open and embed Google Drive shortcut files in Obsidian. Particularly suited for those who store and sync their vault in Google Drive.

When Google Drive for Desktop (or similar sync) stores Docs, Sheets, and other Workspace files in your vault, they appear as small JSON files (.gdoc, .gsheet, etc.). GDocs registers those extensions, shows them in the file explorer with their extension, and displays the linked Google document when you:

• Click a shortcut in the file explorer (embedded browser in the editor tab).
• Embed a shortcut in a note with ![[My Sheet.gsheet]] (inline in reading mode and Live Preview).

Say Hi!

• If you are using it and are happy about it or find issues, please write to me. I would love to hear from you. o.rouiller@gmail.com

Requirements

• Obsidian 1.8+ (desktop for embedded browser)
• Google Drive shortcut files in your vault (from Drive for Desktop, rclone, Synology Drive, etc.)

Supported extensions

Extension	Google app
.gdoc	Docs
.gsheet	Sheets
.gslides	Slides
.gdraw	Drawings
.gform	Forms
.gtable	Tables
.gscript	Apps Script
.gjam	Jamboard

Usage

Click any .gdoc, .gsheet, or other supported shortcut in the file explorer. The plugin reads doc_id, url, or resource_id from the JSON shortcut and shows the document in the current tab.

• Normal click — opens in the active tab (like switching between notes).
• Cmd/Ctrl+click or middle-click — opens in a new tab (standard Obsidian behavior).

The document is rendered in an embedded browser inside the file tab. This is separate from the core Web Viewer plugin (no shared toolbar or login session).

Embeds in notes

Embed a shortcut in any markdown note with a wikilink:

![[My Sheet.gsheet]]
![[Projects/Report.gdoc]]

The embedded document appears inline in reading mode and Live Preview (desktop). Use the same ![[]] syntax as images or PDFs.

Mobile

Embedded browser is not available on mobile. GDocs shows the URL with Copy link and Open in browser buttons.

Shortcut file format

Shortcut files are JSON. Google Drive for Desktop typically uses:

{
  "doc_id": "1VxFROKm0zoJV2iH678wO94hZ0PY9fN_gAGOxhZacc8w",
  "email": "you@example.com"
}

GDocs builds the Docs/Sheets URL from doc_id and the file extension (.gdoc, .gsheet, etc.).

Older or third-party sync tools may use:

{
  "url": "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…/edit",
  "resource_id": "spreadsheet:…"
}

Settings

Open Settings → Community plugins → GDocs:

• Open behavior:
  • Embedded Webview (Default): Renders the document inline within Obsidian using an embedded Electron webview.
  • System default browser: Launches the Google document directly in your default browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc.) where your Google account is already logged in with full Google Workspace capabilities.
• Show toolbar above embedded view: Displays an action bar above the embedded webview with quick buttons to open in your default browser, reload the page, and copy the link.
• Persist webview session partition: Preserves cookies and cache across app restarts (using partition="persist:gdocs").

Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized or “The request is malformed”
  Google restricts account authentication inside embedded desktop webviews under RFC 8252 to prevent credential harvesting. In addition, Obsidian's internal header handling can trigger Google's malformed request error on private files or accounts requiring fresh sign-in.

  Fix: In GDocs settings, set Open behavior to “System default browser”. When you click any .gdoc or .gsheet, it will launch directly in your default browser where you are already signed in.

• Files not visible in the explorer
  Check Settings → Files & links → Detect all file extensions, and ensure .gdoc / .gsheet are not listed under Excluded files.

• Warning about moving shortcut files
  Do not move .gdoc / .gsheet files out of a syncing Google Drive folder; Google may delete the online document.

• “Could not read shortcut file from disk”
  Google Drive shortcut files (.gdoc, .gsheet, etc.) are tiny JSON pointers, not the document itself. When your vault lives in Google Drive, the OS may block reading them if they are cloud-only or not fully synced.

  Try:

  1. In Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows), right-click the shortcut → Available offline / download it, then reload Obsidian.
  2. Open the .gdoc in a text editor (Notepad, TextEdit). If you see JSON with doc_id or url, the file is readable and GDocs should work after a reload.
  3. On Windows, Google Drive sometimes exposes .gdoc files as placeholders that standard file reads cannot open; keeping the vault in Mirror files mode and ensuring shortcuts are offline usually helps.
  4. Confirm the shortcut was not moved outside its original Google Drive folder.

License

MIT