Google Docs MCP Server

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows you to connect to Google Docs through Claude. With this server, you can:

List all Google Docs in your Drive
Read the content of specific documents
Create new documents
Update existing documents
Search for documents
Delete documents

Prerequisites

Node.js v16.0.0 or later
Google Cloud project with the Google Docs API and Google Drive API enabled
OAuth 2.0 credentials for your Google Cloud project

Setup

Clone this repository and navigate to the project directory:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/MCP-Google-Doc.git
cd MCP-Google-Doc

Install dependencies:

npm install

Create an OAuth 2.0 client ID in the Google Cloud Console:
- Go to the Google Cloud Console
- Create a new project or select an existing one
- Enable the Google Docs API and Google Drive API
- Go to "APIs & Services" > "Credentials"
- Click "Create Credentials" > "OAuth client ID"
- Select "Desktop app" for the application type
- Download the JSON file and save it as credentials.json in your project directory
Important: The credentials.json and token.json files contain sensitive information and are excluded from version control via .gitignore. Never commit these files to your repository.
Build the project:

npm run build

Run the server:

npm start

The first time you run the server, it will prompt you to authenticate with Google. Follow the on-screen instructions to authorize the application. This will generate a token.json file that stores your access tokens.

Security Considerations

Credential Security: Both credentials.json and token.json contain sensitive information and should never be shared or committed to version control. They are already added to the .gitignore file.
Token Refresh: The application automatically refreshes the access token when it expires.
Revoking Access: If you need to revoke access, delete the token.json file and go to your Google Account Security settings to remove the app from your authorized applications.

Connecting to Claude for Desktop

To use this server with Claude for Desktop:

Edit your Claude Desktop configuration file:
- On macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- On Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add the following to your configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "googledocs": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/build/server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/build/server.js with the actual path to your built server.js file.

Restart Claude for Desktop.

User Interface

The Google Docs MCP server features a user-friendly, conversational interface that:

Presents document information in a clean, readable format
Uses natural language responses rather than raw API data
Formats dates in a human-readable way
Provides helpful follow-up questions after actions
Never exposes sensitive data like OAuth tokens

This interface styling is designed to match other Claude MCP integrations like Notion, providing a consistent and pleasant user experience.

Development

Project Structure

google-docs-integration/
├── build/                # Compiled JavaScript files
├── src/                  # TypeScript source code
│   └── server.ts         # Main server implementation
├── .gitignore            # Git ignore file
├── credentials.json      # OAuth 2.0 credentials (not in version control)
├── package.json          # Project dependencies and scripts
├── README.md             # Project documentation
├── token.json            # OAuth tokens (not in version control)
└── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration

Adding New Features

To add new features to the MCP server:

Modify the src/server.ts file to implement new functionality
Build the project with npm run build
Test your changes by running npm start

Available Resources

googledocs://list - Lists all Google Docs in your Drive
googledocs://{docId} - Gets the content of a specific document by ID

Available Tools

create-doc - Creates a new Google Doc with the specified title and optional content
update-doc - Updates an existing Google Doc with new content (append or replace)
insert-text - Directly inserts text into a document without Notion or other integrations
search-docs - Searches for Google Docs containing specific text
delete-doc - Deletes a Google Doc by ID

Available Prompts

create-doc-template - Helps create a new document based on a specified topic and writing style
analyze-doc - Analyzes the content of a document and provides a summary

Usage Examples

Here are some example prompts you can use with Claude once the server is connected:

"Show me a list of all my Google Docs"
"Create a new Google Doc titled 'Meeting Notes' with the content 'Topics to discuss: ...'"
"Update my document with ID '1abc123def456' to add this section at the end: ..."
"Search my Google Docs for any documents containing 'project proposal'"
"Delete the Google Doc with ID '1abc123def456'"
"Create a formal document about climate change"
"Analyze the content of document with ID '1abc123def456'"

Troubleshooting

If you encounter authentication issues:

Delete the token.json file in your project directory
Run the server again to trigger a new authentication flow

If you're having trouble with the Google Docs API:

Make sure the API is enabled in your Google Cloud Console
Check that your OAuth credentials have the correct scopes

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
Commit your changes: git commit -am 'Add some feature'
Push to the branch: git push origin feature/your-feature-name
Submit a pull request

License

MIT

Environment Variables

Create a .env file at the project root (or export the variables in your shell) with the following keys:

# OAuth 2.0 client credentials – **JSON string** of the credentials file
GOOGLE_DOCS_CREDENTIALS_JSON={...}

# OAuth token – **JSON string** returned by the OAuth consent flow
GOOGLE_DOCS_TOKEN_JSON={...}

If these variables are set, the server will not attempt to read credentials.json or token.json from disk.