Google Sheets MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives Claude (and other MCP clients) read/write access to any Google Sheet via OAuth.

Tools

All tools accept a full Google Sheets URL or a bare spreadsheet ID.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• A Google account
• A Google Cloud project (free)

Setup

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/generalist-club/google-sheets-mcp.git
cd google-sheets-mcp
npm install

2. Create a Google Cloud project & OAuth credentials

1. Go to Google Cloud Console

2. Create a new project (or select an existing one)

3. Enable the Google Sheets API and Google Drive API:

4. Create OAuth credentials:

5. Rename the downloaded file to `credentials.json` and place it in the project root

3. Authenticate

Run the auth script to generate your token:

node auth.js

It will print a URL. Open it in your browser, authorize the app, then paste the code back into the terminal. This creates a `token.json` file locally — keep it secret.

> Token refresh: The server automatically refreshes the access token when it expires. You should only need to run `auth.js` once.

4. Configure Claude Desktop (or any MCP client)

Add this server to your Claude Desktop config at `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-sheets": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/google-sheets-mcp/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace `/absolute/path/to/google-sheets-mcp` with the actual path on your machine.

Restart Claude Desktop. The five Google Sheets tools will now be available.

Usage examples

Once connected, you can ask Claude things like:

• "Read the data from this spreadsheet: `https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/...`"
• "Append a new row with today's date and 42 to Sheet1"
• "What sheets are in this workbook and how many rows does each have?"
• "Clear the range B2:D10 in my spreadsheet"

Security notes

• `credentials.json` and `token.json` are excluded from git via `.gitignore` — never commit them
• The OAuth token is stored locally and only grants access to your own Google account
• Scopes requested: `spreadsheets` (read/write) and `drive.readonly` (to resolve sheet metadata)

License

MIT