Google Drive MCP Server - Read-Only Edition

🔒 Safe and Read-Only - No data modifications possible

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides secure, read-only integration with Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. It allows Claude Desktop and other MCP clients to safely access and search your files without any risk of modification.

✨ Features

• 🔍 Advanced Search: Search across your entire Google Drive
• 📁 Folder Navigation: List and browse folder hierarchies
• 📄 Read Google Docs: Access and display document content with text indices
• 📊 Read Google Sheets: Retrieve spreadsheet data from specific ranges
• 🎯 Read Google Slides: View presentation content and element structure
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: OAuth 2.0 with automatic token refresh
• ✅ Completely Read-Only: Zero risk of accidental data modification

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

npm install google-drive-mcp-readonly

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-drive-readonly": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["google-drive-mcp-readonly"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_DRIVE_OAUTH_CREDENTIALS": "/path/to/gcp-oauth.keys.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

CLI Commands

# Show version
npx google-drive-mcp-readonly --version

# Show help
npx google-drive-mcp-readonly help

# Run authentication
npx google-drive-mcp-readonly auth

# Start the MCP server
npx google-drive-mcp-readonly start

📋 Available Tools (5 Read-Only Tools)

1. search - Search Google Drive

Find files across your entire Google Drive using search queries.

Input: { query: "budget 2024" }
Output: List of matching files with names, IDs, and MIME types

2. listFolder - Browse Folder Contents

List all files and subfolders within a specific folder with pagination support.

Input: { folderId: "folder_id", pageSize: 50 }
Output: Files with details, folder structure information

3. getGoogleSheetContent - Read Spreadsheet Data

Retrieve content from specific ranges in Google Sheets.

Input: { spreadsheetId: "sheet_id", range: "Sheet1!A1:C10" }
Output: Cell values formatted by row

4. getGoogleDocContent - Read Google Docs

Get document content with character indices for reference.

Input: { documentId: "doc_id" }
Output: Full document text with position markers

5. getGoogleSlidesContent - Read Presentations

View presentation structure and content with element IDs.

Input: { presentationId: "presentation_id" }
Output: Slide content, text, shapes, and element structure

📖 Usage Examples

Example 1: Search for Budget Documents

User: "Search for all budget-related files in my Drive"

Tool Call:
search({ query: "budget" })

Result:
Found 5 files:
- budget_2024.xlsx (ID: abc123)
- Q1_budget_plan.docx (ID: def456)
- team_budget_notes.txt (ID: ghi789)
...

Example 2: List Files in a Folder

User: "Show me all files in my Projects folder"

Tool Call:
listFolder({ folderId: "projects_folder_id" })

Result:
📁 Q1 Planning
📁 Q2 Planning
📄 Project Timeline.docx
📊 Budget Analysis.xlsx

Example 3: Read Spreadsheet Data

User: "Get the sales data from my spreadsheet"

Tool Call:
getGoogleSheetContent({
  spreadsheetId: "sheet_id",
  range: "Sales!A1:D100"
})

Result:
Row 1: Date, Product, Quantity, Revenue
Row 2: 2024-01-01, Widget A, 100, $5000
...

🔐 Security & Permissions

This version is completely read-only and safe to use:

✅ Enabled Permissions:

• Read Google Drive files and folders
• Read Google Docs content
• Read Google Sheets data
• Read Google Slides presentations
• Search across your Drive

❌ Disabled Operations:

• ❌ No file creation
• ❌ No file modification
• ❌ No file deletion
• ❌ No folder creation
• ❌ No renaming or moving
• ❌ No document editing
• ❌ No spreadsheet updates
• ❌ No presentation changes

📋 Requirements

• Node.js: Version 18 or higher (LTS recommended)
• Google Cloud Project: With the following APIs enabled:
  • Google Drive API (read-only)
  • Google Docs API (read-only)
  • Google Sheets API (read-only)
  • Google Slides API (read-only)
• OAuth 2.0 Credentials: Desktop application type

🔧 Google Cloud Setup

1. Create a Google Cloud Project

• Go to the Google Cloud Console
• Click "Select a project" > "New Project"
• Name your project (e.g., "Google Drive MCP Read-Only")
• Note the Project ID

2. Enable Required APIs

In your project, go to "APIs & Services" > "Library" and enable:

• Google Drive API
• Google Docs API
• Google Sheets API
• Google Slides API

3. Configure OAuth Consent Screen

• Go to "APIs & Services" > "OAuth consent screen"
• Fill in app name, support email, and developer contact
• Choose "External" or "Internal" based on your needs
• Add your email as a test user
• Scopes to request (read-only):
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets.readonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/presentations.readonly

4. Create OAuth 2.0 Credentials

• Go to "APIs & Services" > "Credentials"
• Click "+ CREATE CREDENTIALS" > "OAuth client ID"
• Application type: Desktop app
• Download the JSON file and save as gcp-oauth.keys.json

📦 Installation Options

Option 1: NPX (Recommended - No Installation)

npx google-drive-mcp-readonly --version
npx google-drive-mcp-readonly help

Option 2: NPM Install

npm install google-drive-mcp-readonly

Then use:

npx google-drive-mcp-readonly start
google-drive-mcp --version  # if installed globally with -g

🔑 Configuration

Environment Variables

# Path to your OAuth credentials JSON file (required)
export GOOGLE_DRIVE_OAUTH_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/gcp-oauth.keys.json"

# Optional: Custom token storage location
export GOOGLE_DRIVE_MCP_TOKEN_PATH="/custom/path/tokens.json"

# Optional: Debug logging
export DEBUG="google-drive-mcp:*"

Token Storage

Authentication tokens are stored securely at:

• $GOOGLE_DRIVE_MCP_TOKEN_PATH (if set)
• $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/google-drive-mcp/tokens.json
• ~/.config/google-drive-mcp/tokens.json (default)

🎯 Use Cases

✅ Perfect For:

• Accessing Google Drive files programmatically
• Searching and discovering files
• Reading documents, sheets, and presentations
• Browsing folder structures
• Creating summaries from your files
• Safe information retrieval

❌ Not Suitable For:

• Modifying or creating files
• Deleting files
• Automating file creation workflows
• Data modification tasks

🐛 Troubleshooting

"OAuth credentials not found"

Ensure your gcp-oauth.keys.json exists or GOOGLE_DRIVE_OAUTH_CREDENTIALS env var is set.

"API not enabled"

Go to Google Cloud Console > APIs & Services > Library and enable the required APIs.

"Authentication failed"

Make sure:

1. OAuth credential type is "Desktop app"
2. Your email is added as a test user
3. You have Read-only scopes configured

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging:

export DEBUG=google-drive-mcp:*
npx google-drive-mcp-readonly start

📄 License

MIT - See LICENSE file for details

🙋 Support

• 📚 MCP Documentation
• 🐛 Report Issues
• 📖 Google APIs Documentation