Update Contacts From JSON

gog contacts update supports JSON input via --from-file, so you can update People API fields without adding new CLI flags.

#Usage

Update from a file:

gog contacts get people/c123456 --json > contact.json

# Edit contact.json (see notes below)
gog contacts update people/c123456 --from-file contact.json

Update from stdin:

gog contacts get people/c123456 --json | \
  jq '(.contact.urls //= []) | (.contact.urls += [{"value":"https://example.com","type":"profile"}])' | \
  gog contacts update people/c123456 --from-file -

#Input Formats

The command accepts:

• Wrapped (from gog contacts get --json): {"contact": { ...person... }}
• Direct Person object: { ...person... }

#What Can Be Updated

--from-file updates only fields that the People API allows via people.updateContact updatePersonFields.

Practical rule: include only fields you want to change, at the top level of the JSON object (for example urls, biographies, names, emailAddresses, phoneNumbers, addresses, organizations, ...).

If the JSON contains unsupported fields (for updateContact), gog errors instead of silently ignoring them.

Notes:

• Some fields are “singleton” for contact sources. Don’t include more than one value for biographies, birthdays, genders, or names.
• If you update memberships, the Person must include contact group memberships or the API will error.

#Clearing Fields

Clearing list fields is supported by including the key with an empty value:

• Use [] to clear a list field (example: "urls": [])
• Use null to clear a list field (example: "biographies": null)

#Concurrency (ETags)

To avoid overwriting concurrent contact edits, gog compares the JSON etag with the current contact etag:

• If they mismatch, update fails with an etag error.
• Use --ignore-etag to apply your JSON changes to the latest version anyway.