💡 New script: docs-template-merge (Google Docs document generation from Sheets data)

[github-actions[bot]]

Summary

A new catalog script that generates personalized Google Docs from a template Doc and a Google Sheets data source. Each row in the sheet produces one output document with {{placeholder}} tokens replaced by cell values. Optionally converts to PDF and emails the result. Deploys and configures via the existing browser deploy page with zero coding.

Market Signal

Google Docs has no built-in mail merge capability. AutoCrat is the only free Google Sheets add-on for document generation but has significant limitations (no data joins, grouping, or reliable scheduling) and hasn't had a major update in over a year. All other solutions — Document Studio, Merge Docs Pro, Zoho Writer — are paid. The mail merge software market (GMass, YAMM, Mailmeteor) focuses on emails rather than document generation. No packaged open-source GAS solution exists for template-based document generation. LibreOffice offers mail merge but requires local installation, not browser-based deployment.

User Signal

The existing idea backlog has zero Google Docs automation proposals beyond the calendar-to-briefing-doc already in the codebase. This is the largest uncovered Workspace service category. Small businesses, freelancers, and non-profits routinely need templated documents — invoices, contracts, certificates, offer letters, reports — generated from spreadsheet data. The project's target user (non-technical individuals) cannot code this themselves but would benefit enormously from scheduled, automatic document generation.

Technical Opportunity

DocumentApp is a mature GAS service already proven in this codebase — gmail-to-drive-by-labels manipulates Docs extensively via Body.insertParagraph() and document traversal. The template placeholder pattern ({{firstName}}, {{amount}}) is trivially implementable via Body.replaceText(). DriveApp handles PDF conversion natively via getAs('application/pdf'). MailApp can email results. The deploy page's Step 4 config UI can surface a template Doc picker + Sheets source picker using the existing Drive Picker component. The pattern mirrors calendar-to-sheets (Sheets destination picker) but in reverse (Sheets source picker).

Assessment

Dimension	Score	Rationale
Feasibility	high	DocumentApp.replaceText() is well-documented and proven in this codebase. PDF conversion and email delivery are standard GAS capabilities. Deploy page picker components are reusable.
Impact	high	Fills the largest uncovered Workspace service gap. Serves a massive market need (document generation from data) with no free open-source alternative. Directly aligns with the project's "eliminate repetitive tasks" mission.
Urgency	med	The market gap has existed for years and isn't growing — but AutoCrat's stagnation and increasing org-level add-on restrictions create a widening opportunity for a deploy-page-based alternative.

Adversarial Review

Strongest objection: AutoCrat already exists as a free add-on and is well-known. Why would users switch?

Rebuttal: AutoCrat requires Google Sheets add-on installation, which many organizations restrict via admin policies. This project deploys via a standalone browser page with user-level OAuth, bypassing add-on restrictions entirely. AutoCrat also lacks scheduling reliability and configurable triggers. Template creation is inherently a one-time manual step — the value is in repeated, scheduled execution. The deploy page can validate that template placeholders match Sheets column headers at config time, reducing errors before the first run.

Suggested Next Step

Create a PRD for docs-template-merge defining: config schema (template Doc ID, Sheets source ID, output folder ID, optional PDF conversion flag, optional email delivery with recipient column), placeholder syntax (double-curly-brace with exact Sheets column header matching), and deploy-page Step 4 config panel layout.