Google Spreadsheets MCP server

The Spreadsheet MCP Server is a tool that enables Language Learning Models (LLMs) to directly access and utilize Google Spreadsheet data through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows AI assistants to retrieve and format spreadsheet information for use in conversations.

Installation

To install the Spreadsheet MCP Server, follow these steps:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/spreadsheet-mcp-server.git
cd spreadsheet-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Set up environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Edit the .env file to set GAS_WEB_APP_URL and GAS_API_KEY

# Build the project
npm run build

Configuration

The server requires the following environment variables:

• GAS_WEB_APP_URL: URL of your Google Apps Script Web App
• GAS_API_KEY: API key for accessing the Google Apps Script Web App

You can set these in the .env file:

GAS_WEB_APP_URL=https://script.google.com/macros/s/your-deployment-id/exec
GAS_API_KEY=your-api-key

If these environment variables are not set, the server will run in mock mode and won't access actual Google Spreadsheets.

Usage

Running as a Standalone Server

To start the server independently:

npm start

Integration with Claude for Desktop

To integrate with Claude for Desktop, add the following to the Claude Desktop configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spreadsheet": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<absolute-path-to-project>/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

To include environment variables in the configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spreadsheet": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<absolute-path-to-project>/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GAS_WEB_APP_URL": "https://script.google.com/macros/s/your-deployment-id/exec",
        "GAS_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The configuration file is located at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %AppData%\\Claude\\claude_desktop_config.json

Testing with MCP Inspector

To test the server using the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node build/index.js

Available Tools

getSpreadsheet

This tool retrieves basic information about a spreadsheet and lists all sheets it contains.

Input Parameters:

• url: The URL of the Google Spreadsheet

Output:

• Spreadsheet name, ID, and a list of sheets (including row and column counts)

getSheetData

This tool retrieves data from a specific sheet in a spreadsheet.

Input Parameters:

• url: The URL of the Google Spreadsheet
• sheetName: The name of the sheet to retrieve

Output:

• Sheet data formatted as a markdown table

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 "spreadsheet" '{"command":"node","args":["<absolute-path-to-project>/build/index.js"],"env":{"GAS_WEB_APP_URL":"https://script.google.com/macros/s/your-deployment-id/exec","GAS_API_KEY":"your-api-key"}}'

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": {
        "spreadsheet": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "<absolute-path-to-project>/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "GAS_WEB_APP_URL": "https://script.google.com/macros/s/your-deployment-id/exec",
                "GAS_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
            }
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "spreadsheet": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "<absolute-path-to-project>/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "GAS_WEB_APP_URL": "https://script.google.com/macros/s/your-deployment-id/exec",
                "GAS_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect