- name
- google-photos
- description
- Enables Claude to browse, organize, and manage photos and videos in Google Photos via Playwright MCP
- category
Google Photos Skill
Overview
Claude can manage your Google Photos library to browse images, create albums, search photos, and organize your memories. This includes using AI-powered search, creating collages, and managing storage.
Quick Install
curl -sSL https://canifi.com/skills/google-photos/install.sh | bashOr manually:
cp -r skills/google-photos ~/.canifi/skills/Setup
Configure via canifi-env:
# First, ensure canifi-env is installed:
# curl -sSL https://canifi.com/install.sh | bash
canifi-env set GOOGLE_EMAIL " [email protected] "Privacy & Authentication
Your credentials, your choice. Canifi LifeOS respects your privacy.
Option 1: Manual Browser Login (Recommended)
If you prefer not to share credentials with Claude Code:
- Complete the Browser Automation Setup using CDP mode
- Login to the service manually in the Playwright-controlled Chrome window
- Claude will use your authenticated session without ever seeing your password
Option 2: Environment Variables
If you're comfortable sharing credentials, you can store them locally:
canifi-env set SERVICE_EMAIL "your-email"
canifi-env set SERVICE_PASSWORD "your-password"Note: Credentials stored in canifi-env are only accessible locally on your machine and are never transmitted.
Capabilities
- Browse and view photos and videos
- Search photos by content, people, places, or dates
- Create and manage albums
- Share albums and photos
- Edit photos with built-in tools
- Create collages, animations, and movies
- Organize by people and faces
- Archive and delete photos
- View storage usage
- Download photos and albums
- Add photos to favorites
- View photo metadata and location
Usage Examples
Example 1: Find Photos
User: "Find photos from my trip to Hawaii"
Claude: Searches for "Hawaii" and/or date range of trip.
Reports: "Found 156 photos from Hawaii. Showing beach, sunset,
and hiking categories..."Example 2: Create Album
User: "Create an album called 'Best of 2024' with my favorite photos"
Claude: Creates album "Best of 2024", adds starred/favorited photos.
Returns: "Created album with 43 photos: [link]"Example 3: Share Album
User: "Share the vacation album with my family"
Claude: Opens album, creates share link or adds specific people.
Confirms: "Album shared. Link: [shareable link]"Example 4: Search by Content
User: "Find all photos with dogs"
Claude: Uses AI search for "dog", shows results.
Reports: "Found 28 photos containing dogs across 12 dates"Authentication Flow
- Claude navigates to photos.google.com via Playwright MCP
- Authenticates with GOOGLE_EMAIL if needed
- Handles 2FA if prompted (notifies user via iMessage)
- Maintains session for subsequent Photos operations
Selectors Reference
// Search box
'input[aria-label="Search your photos"]'
// Photo grid
'.p137Zd' // Photo thumbnails
// Individual photo
'[data-latest-bg]'
// Create button
'[aria-label="Create"]'
// Album option
'[aria-label="Album"]'
// Share button
'[aria-label="Share"]'
// Favorite button
'[aria-label="Add to favorites"]'
// Delete button
'[aria-label="Delete"]'
// Download button
'[aria-label="Download"]'
// Edit button
'[aria-label="Edit"]'
// Albums navigation
'[aria-label="Albums"]'
// Upload button
'[aria-label="Upload"]'Search Operators
dog // Content search
beach sunset // Multiple terms
"vacation 2024" // Exact phrase
selfie // Photo type
screenshot // Photo type
food // Content category
wedding // Event type
Tokyo // Location
2024-06 // Date (June 2024)
last week // Relative date
videos // Media typeError Handling
- Login Failed: Retry 3 times, notify user via iMessage
- Session Expired: Re-authenticate automatically
- Photo Not Found: Broaden search, check archive and trash
- Album Creation Failed: Retry, verify photo selection
- Share Failed: Check sharing settings, verify recipients
- Storage Full: Notify user, suggest storage management
- Download Failed: Retry, try individual photos vs batch
Self-Improvement Instructions
When you learn a better way to accomplish a task with Google Photos:
- Document the improvement in your response
- Suggest updating this skill file with the new approach
- Include specific search terms that work well
- Note any face recognition or AI search improvements
Notes
- Free storage ended June 2021; now counts against Google One quota
- AI search can find objects, scenes, text in photos
- Face grouping requires enabling in settings
- Partner sharing allows automatic sharing with one person
- Location data from EXIF or estimated from content
- Original quality vs storage saver affects file size
- Live Photos from iPhone preserved as motion photos
- Trash items deleted after 60 days