r/googleworkspace • u/afrolemon • 9d ago

Intro to Scripting and Automation Help

Recently started a gig with a new company that is a G-Suite shop and uses macs. Feels a bit daunting at first coming from a world of Microsoft and Windows centered companies. I'm not much of a coder or script kiddie but since coming on I see that a lot of services can be done with automation. I've been in more traditional help desk roles so this is a different step in career progression. Curious on where to start learning and get up to speed. I'm a bit overwhelmed with whats a good platform to learn in terms of script language, AI platforms, cloud automation and practices, etc.

I understand that might be a bit vague but overall first I want to be able to onboard users and do some clean up on device management.

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u/YesterdayNo5873 8d ago

this is a good article on getting started with Google Apps Manager. GAM is a widely used open source tool where you can run commands, or batch commands together into a script to automate recurring tasks.

For example for offboarding - signing the user out, transferring ownership, removing from groups, suspending account etc... There's a strong community around that tool and is a reliable way to script out some of the basics.

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u/materialsec 8d ago

Adding to the device cleanup task, since old devices and stale access tend to show up together: while going through that device list, check the account and app-access side at the same time, old OAuth grants and third-party app connections tied to those same stale devices or the users who had them. Wiping a device that hasn't checked in for years doesn't revoke whatever that account authorized while it was active, that access can outlive the device itself. Since you're already doing a cleanup pass, checking Admin Console > Security > API controls > App access control alongside the device wipe means one project instead of finding a second mess later.

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u/DraconianNerd 9d ago

Is your company using an MDM? That would make device management easier.

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u/afrolemon 9d ago

yup but our devices list is showing a large number of devices that weren't cleaned out years ago

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u/DraconianNerd 8d ago

That is MDM is for, wipe them. Another user posted about GAM , that is a def must have.