---
name: google-contacts
description: |
  Google Contacts API integration with managed OAuth. Manage contacts, contact groups, and search your address book.
  Use this skill when users want to create, read, update, or delete contacts, manage contact groups, or search for people in their Google account.
  For other third party apps, use the api-gateway skill (https://clawhub.ai/byungkyu/api-gateway).
compatibility: Requires network access and valid Maton API key
metadata:
  author: maton
  version: "1.0"
  clawdbot:
    emoji: 🧠
    requires:
      env:
        - MATON_API_KEY
---

# Google Contacts

Access the Google People API with managed OAuth authentication. Manage contacts, contact groups, and search your address book.

## Quick Start

```bash
# List contacts
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://gateway.maton.ai/google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections?personFields=names,emailAddresses,phoneNumbers&pageSize=10')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

## Base URL

```
https://gateway.maton.ai/google-contacts/{native-api-path}
```

Replace `{native-api-path}` with the actual Google People API endpoint path. The gateway proxies requests to `people.googleapis.com` and automatically injects your OAuth token.

## Authentication

All requests require the Maton API key in the Authorization header:

```
Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY
```

**Environment Variable:** Set your API key as `MATON_API_KEY`:

```bash
export MATON_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
```

### Getting Your API Key

1. Sign in or create an account at [maton.ai](https://maton.ai)
2. Go to [maton.ai/settings](https://maton.ai/settings)
3. Copy your API key

## Connection Management

Manage your Google Contacts OAuth connections at `https://ctrl.maton.ai`.

### List Connections

```bash
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections?app=google-contacts&status=ACTIVE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

### Create Connection

```bash
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({'app': 'google-contacts'}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

### Get Connection

```bash
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

**Response:**
```json
{
  "connection": {
    "connection_id": "21fd90f9-5935-43cd-b6c8-bde9d915ca80",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "creation_time": "2025-12-08T07:20:53.488460Z",
    "last_updated_time": "2026-01-31T20:03:32.593153Z",
    "url": "https://connect.maton.ai/?session_token=...",
    "app": "google-contacts",
    "metadata": {}
  }
}
```

Open the returned `url` in a browser to complete OAuth authorization.

### Delete Connection

```bash
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}', method='DELETE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

### Specifying Connection

If you have multiple Google Contacts connections, specify which one to use with the `Maton-Connection` header:

```bash
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://gateway.maton.ai/google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections?personFields=names&pageSize=10')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Maton-Connection', '21fd90f9-5935-43cd-b6c8-bde9d915ca80')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

If omitted, the gateway uses the default (oldest) active connection.

## API Reference

### Contact Operations

#### List Contacts

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections?personFields=names,emailAddresses,phoneNumbers&pageSize=100
```

**Query Parameters:**
- `personFields` (required): Comma-separated list of fields to return (see Person Fields section)
- `pageSize`: Number of contacts to return (max 1000, default 100)
- `pageToken`: Token for pagination
- `sortOrder`: `LAST_MODIFIED_ASCENDING`, `LAST_MODIFIED_DESCENDING`, `FIRST_NAME_ASCENDING`, or `LAST_NAME_ASCENDING`

**Response:**
```json
{
  "connections": [
    {
      "resourceName": "people/c1234567890",
      "names": [{"displayName": "John Doe", "givenName": "John", "familyName": "Doe"}],
      "emailAddresses": [{"value": "john@example.com"}],
      "phoneNumbers": [{"value": "+1-555-0123"}]
    }
  ],
  "totalPeople": 1,
  "totalItems": 1,
  "nextPageToken": "..."
}
```

#### Get Contact

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/people/{resourceName}?personFields=names,emailAddresses,phoneNumbers
```

Use the resource name from list or create operations (e.g., `people/c1234567890`).

#### Create Contact

```bash
POST /google-contacts/v1/people:createContact
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "names": [{"givenName": "John", "familyName": "Doe"}],
  "emailAddresses": [{"value": "john@example.com"}],
  "phoneNumbers": [{"value": "+1-555-0123"}],
  "organizations": [{"name": "Acme Corp", "title": "Engineer"}]
}
```

#### Update Contact

```bash
PATCH /google-contacts/v1/people/{resourceName}:updateContact?updatePersonFields=names,emailAddresses
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "etag": "%EgcBAgkLLjc9...",
  "names": [{"givenName": "John", "familyName": "Smith"}],
  "emailAddresses": [{"value": "john.smith@example.com"}]
}
```

**Note:** Include the `etag` from the get/list response to ensure you're updating the latest version.

#### Delete Contact

```bash
DELETE /google-contacts/v1/people/{resourceName}:deleteContact
```

#### Batch Get Contacts

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/people:batchGet?resourceNames=people/c123&resourceNames=people/c456&personFields=names,emailAddresses
```

#### Batch Create Contacts

```bash
POST /google-contacts/v1/people:batchCreateContacts
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "contacts": [
    {
      "contactPerson": {
        "names": [{"givenName": "Alice", "familyName": "Smith"}],
        "emailAddresses": [{"value": "alice@example.com"}]
      }
    },
    {
      "contactPerson": {
        "names": [{"givenName": "Bob", "familyName": "Jones"}],
        "emailAddresses": [{"value": "bob@example.com"}]
      }
    }
  ],
  "readMask": "names,emailAddresses"
}
```

#### Batch Delete Contacts

```bash
POST /google-contacts/v1/people:batchDeleteContacts
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "resourceNames": ["people/c123", "people/c456"]
}
```

#### Search Contacts

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/people:searchContacts?query=John&readMask=names,emailAddresses
```

**Note:** Search results may have a slight delay for newly created contacts due to indexing.

### Contact Group Operations

#### List Contact Groups

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/contactGroups?pageSize=100
```

**Response:**
```json
{
  "contactGroups": [
    {
      "resourceName": "contactGroups/starred",
      "groupType": "SYSTEM_CONTACT_GROUP",
      "name": "starred",
      "formattedName": "Starred"
    },
    {
      "resourceName": "contactGroups/abc123",
      "groupType": "USER_CONTACT_GROUP",
      "name": "Work",
      "formattedName": "Work",
      "memberCount": 5
    }
  ],
  "totalItems": 2
}
```

#### Get Contact Group

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/contactGroups/{resourceName}?maxMembers=100
```

Use `contactGroups/starred`, `contactGroups/family`, etc. for system groups, or the resource name for user groups.

#### Create Contact Group

```bash
POST /google-contacts/v1/contactGroups
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "contactGroup": {
    "name": "Work Contacts"
  }
}
```

#### Delete Contact Group

```bash
DELETE /google-contacts/v1/contactGroups/{resourceName}?deleteContacts=false
```

Set `deleteContacts=true` to also delete the contacts in the group.

#### Batch Get Contact Groups

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/contactGroups:batchGet?resourceNames=contactGroups/starred&resourceNames=contactGroups/family
```

#### Modify Group Members

Add or remove contacts from a group:

```bash
POST /google-contacts/v1/contactGroups/{resourceName}/members:modify
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "resourceNamesToAdd": ["people/c123", "people/c456"],
  "resourceNamesToRemove": ["people/c789"]
}
```

### Other Contacts

Other contacts are people you've interacted with (e.g., via email) but haven't explicitly added to your contacts.

#### List Other Contacts

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/otherContacts?readMask=names,emailAddresses&pageSize=100
```

#### Copy Other Contact to My Contacts

```bash
POST /google-contacts/v1/{resourceName}:copyOtherContactToMyContactsGroup
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "copyMask": "names,emailAddresses,phoneNumbers"
}
```

## Person Fields

Use these fields with `personFields` or `readMask` parameters:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `names` | Display name, given name, family name |
| `emailAddresses` | Email addresses with type |
| `phoneNumbers` | Phone numbers with type |
| `addresses` | Postal addresses |
| `organizations` | Company, title, department |
| `biographies` | Bio/notes about the person |
| `birthdays` | Birthday information |
| `urls` | Website URLs |
| `photos` | Profile photos |
| `memberships` | Contact group memberships |
| `metadata` | Source and update information |

Multiple fields: `personFields=names,emailAddresses,phoneNumbers,organizations`

## Pagination

Use `pageSize` and `pageToken` for pagination:

```bash
GET /google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections?personFields=names&pageSize=100&pageToken=NEXT_PAGE_TOKEN
```

Response includes pagination info:

```json
{
  "connections": [...],
  "totalPeople": 500,
  "nextPageToken": "...",
  "nextSyncToken": "..."
}
```

Continue fetching with `pageToken` until `nextPageToken` is not returned.

## Code Examples

### JavaScript

```javascript
const response = await fetch(
  'https://gateway.maton.ai/google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections?personFields=names,emailAddresses&pageSize=50',
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.MATON_API_KEY}`
    }
  }
);
const data = await response.json();
```

### Python

```python
import os
import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}'},
    params={
        'personFields': 'names,emailAddresses,phoneNumbers',
        'pageSize': 50
    }
)
data = response.json()
```

## Notes

- Resource names for contacts follow the pattern `people/c{id}` (e.g., `people/c1234567890`)
- Resource names for contact groups follow the pattern `contactGroups/{id}` (e.g., `contactGroups/abc123`)
- System contact groups include: `starred`, `friends`, `family`, `coworkers`, `myContacts`, `all`, `blocked`
- The `personFields` parameter is required for most read operations
- When updating contacts, include the `etag` to prevent overwriting concurrent changes
- Mutate requests for the same user should be sent sequentially to avoid increased latency and failures
- IMPORTANT: When using curl commands, use `curl -g` when URLs contain brackets to disable glob parsing
- IMPORTANT: When piping curl output to `jq` or other commands, environment variables like `$MATON_API_KEY` may not expand correctly in some shell environments

## Error Handling

| Status | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| 400 | Missing Google Contacts connection or invalid request |
| 401 | Invalid or missing Maton API key |
| 403 | Permission denied (check OAuth scopes) |
| 404 | Contact or group not found |
| 429 | Rate limited |
| 4xx/5xx | Passthrough error from Google People API |

### Troubleshooting: API Key Issues

1. Check that the `MATON_API_KEY` environment variable is set:

```bash
echo $MATON_API_KEY
```

2. Verify the API key is valid by listing connections:

```bash
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF
```

### Troubleshooting: Invalid App Name

1. Ensure your URL path starts with `google-contacts`. For example:

- Correct: `https://gateway.maton.ai/google-contacts/v1/people/me/connections`
- Incorrect: `https://gateway.maton.ai/v1/people/me/connections`

## Resources

- [Google People API Overview](https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest)
- [People Resource](https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/people)
- [Contact Groups Resource](https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/contactGroups)
- [Person Fields Reference](https://developers.google.com/people/api/rest/v1/people#Person)
- [Maton Community](https://discord.com/invite/dBfFAcefs2)
- [Maton Support](mailto:support@maton.ai)