Google Docs MCP server for AI agents

This server connects Google Docs and Drive to Claude Desktop or other MCP clients, allowing AI assistants to interact with your documents programmatically. It provides powerful tools for reading, writing, formatting documents, and managing your Google Drive files through a simple interface.

Installation

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Node.js (version 18+) installed from nodejs.org
Git installed
A Google account
Basic command line knowledge

Step 1: Set Up Google Cloud Project

Go to the Google Cloud Console
Create a new project:
- Click the project dropdown near the top
- Select "NEW PROJECT"
- Name it (e.g., "My MCP Docs Server")
- Click "CREATE"
Enable required APIs:
- Search for "APIs & Services" > "Library"
- Enable "Google Docs API"
- Enable "Google Drive API"
Configure OAuth consent screen:
- Go to "APIs & Services" > "OAuth consent screen"
- Select "External" and click "CREATE"
- Fill in app information:
  - App name (e.g., "Claude Docs MCP Access")
  - User support email (your email)
  - Developer contact information (your email)
- Click "SAVE AND CONTINUE"
- Add scopes:
  - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
  - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file
- Add your email as a test user
- Complete the setup
Create OAuth credentials:
- Go to "APIs & Services" > "Credentials"
- Click "+ CREATE CREDENTIALS" > "OAuth client ID"
- Select "Desktop app" as application type
- Name it (e.g., "MCP Docs Desktop Client")
- Click "CREATE"
- Download the JSON file and rename it to credentials.json

Step 2: Get the Server Code

git clone https://github.com/a-bonus/google-docs-mcp.git mcp-googledocs-server
cd mcp-googledocs-server

Move your credentials.json file into this directory.

Step 3: Install Dependencies

npm install

Step 4: Build the Server

npm run build

Step 5: First Run & Authorization

Start the server:
```
node ./dist/server.js
```
The terminal will display a URL. Copy it and open in your browser.
Log in with the same Google account you added as a test user.
Grant the requested permissions.
After authorization, your browser will attempt to redirect to localhost and show an error. This is normal.
Copy the code from the URL (between code= and &scope).
Paste this code back in your terminal and press Enter.
The server will create a token.json file and complete the setup.

Step 6: Configure Claude Desktop (Optional)

Find the absolute path to your server directory:
```
pwd  # On macOS/Linux
cd   # On Windows
```
Locate or create Claude's configuration file:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/mcp_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\mcp_config.json
- Linux: ~/.config/Claude/mcp_config.json

Add this configuration (replace /PATH/TO/YOUR/CLONED/REPO with your actual path):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-docs-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/PATH/TO/YOUR/CLONED/REPO/mcp-googledocs-server/dist/server.js"
      ],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Usage

Basic Document Operations

To use the server with Claude, you can give instructions like:

"Use the google-docs-mcp server to read the document with ID YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."
"Append 'This was added by Claude!' to document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."
"Insert text at position 500 in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."

Formatting and Styling

"Apply bold and red (#FF0000) styling to 'Important Section' in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."
"Center-align the paragraph containing 'Title Here' in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."
"Insert a 3×4 table at index 500 in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."

Comment Management

"List all comments in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."
"Add a comment to the text 'Needs revision' in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."
"Reply to comment ID 'abc123' in document YOUR_GOOGLE_DOC_ID."

Google Drive Management

"List recent Google Docs in my Drive."
"Search for documents containing 'project proposal'."
"Create a new folder named 'Claude Projects'."
"Move file FILE_ID to folder FOLDER_ID."

Troubleshooting

If Claude shows "Failed" or "Could not attach":

Verify the path in mcp_config.json is correct
Ensure the dist folder exists after running npm run build
Try running the server manually from terminal
Check Claude Desktop logs

For Google authorization errors:

Confirm you enabled the correct APIs
Verify you added your email as a test user
Check that credentials.json is in the correct location

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "google-docs-mcp" '{"command":"node","args":["/PATH/TO/YOUR/CLONED/REPO/mcp-googledocs-server/dist/server.js"],"env":[]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "google-docs-mcp": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/PATH/TO/YOUR/CLONED/REPO/mcp-googledocs-server/dist/server.js"
            ],
            "env": []
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "google-docs-mcp": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/PATH/TO/YOUR/CLONED/REPO/mcp-googledocs-server/dist/server.js"
            ],
            "env": []
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect