Google docs writer underlying logic

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1

Hi there! I’ve been using the Google Docs Writer node quite a bit lately, and I’m really curious about the technical implementation, especially when it comes to the Markdown option. I’ve noticed the markdown conversion can be a bit brittle at times (which makes sense, I’ve struggled trying to do this myself in the past).

From what I can tell, there are a few potential approaches this could be using:

  • Generating docs directly via the Google Drive API with some intermediate conversion
  • Using the Google Docs REST API to build the document structure programmatically
  • Some custom markdown-to-Docs conversion engine that maps markdown elements to Docs formatting

For those who’ve dug into this or maybe the Gumloop team if you’re able to share - what’s actually happening behind the scenes? Are you parsing the markdown into an AST and then mapping that to Docs API calls? Using an existing library? Rolling your own conversion logic?

I’m asking partly out of technical curiosity, but also because understanding this might help me structure the markdown better to work with whatever conversion process is being used.

Thanks!

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Hey @ben4! If you’re reporting an issue with a flow or an error in a run, please include the run link and make sure it’s shareable so we can take a look.

  1. Find your run link on the history page. Format: https://www.gumloop.com/pipeline?run_id={{your_run_id}}&workbook_id={{workbook_id}}

  2. Make it shareable by clicking “Share” → ‘Anyone with the link can view’ in the top-left corner of the flow screen.
    GIF guide

  3. Provide details about the issue—more context helps us troubleshoot faster.

You can find your run history here: https://www.gumloop.com/history

3

Hey @ben4! Good question — the node basically does Markdown → HTML → Google Docs. The HTML gets mapped into Docs API calls, which handles things like headings, lists, bold/italic, links, and blockquotes.

Tips for better Markdown results:

  • Stick to standard Markdown/CommonMark syntax (e.g. **bold**, *italic*, # Heading).

  • Keep nesting simple — super-deep nested lists or mixing bullets/numbers can confuse the conversion.

  • Use clear heading levels (#, ##, ###) instead of skipping around.

  • Add blank lines between paragraphs for cleaner spacing.

  • Avoid throwing raw HTML inside Markdown — it usually won’t translate well.

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