Google Drive MCP Server

Connect Google Drive to Claude Code with a simple double-click setup. This MCP server allows Claude to read, create, update, and manage files in your Google Drive.

Prerequisites

Python 3.10 or higher
A Google Account (personal or Google Workspace)
Google Cloud Console access

Step 1: Create Google Cloud Credentials

1.1 Create a Google Cloud Project

Go to Google Cloud Console
Click the project dropdown at the top of the page
Click New Project
Enter a project name (e.g., "Google Drive MCP")
Click Create
Wait for the project to be created, then select it

1.2 Enable the Google Drive API

In the Google Cloud Console, go to APIs & Services > Library
Search for "Google Drive API"
Click on Google Drive API
Click Enable

1.3 Configure OAuth Consent Screen

Go to APIs & Services > OAuth consent screen
Select External (or Internal if using Google Workspace)
Click Create
Fill in the required fields:

App name: Google Drive MCP
User support email: Your email
Developer contact email: Your email

Click Save and Continue
On the Scopes page, click Add or Remove Scopes
Add these scopes:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive

Click Update, then Save and Continue
On the Test users page, click Add Users
Add your email address
Click Save and Continue

1.4 Create OAuth Client ID

Go to APIs & Services > Credentials
Click Create Credentials > OAuth client ID
Select Desktop app as the application type
Enter a name (e.g., "Google Drive MCP Desktop")
Click Create
Click Download JSON on the popup
Rename the downloaded file to credentials.json
Place credentials.json in the project root directory

Important: The credentials must be of type "Desktop app", not "Web application".

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Option A: Using Virtual Environment (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/david-valdivia/GoogleDriveMCP.git
cd GoogleDriveMCP

# Create virtual environment (Python 3.10+ required)
python3 -m venv .venv

# Activate virtual environment
# On macOS/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
.venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Option B: Global Installation

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 3: Run the Setup GUI

# With virtual environment activated
python -m src.main

This opens the setup window where you can:

Select your permission level (Read Only, Read + Create, or Full Access)
Click "Connect to Google" to authenticate
Complete the OAuth flow in your browser
Click "Configure MCP" to select a project directory for Claude Code

Step 4: Build the Executable (Optional)

Build a standalone executable that doesn't require Python:

# With virtual environment activated
python build/build.py

Build Output

| Platform | Output | |----------|--------| | macOS | build/dist/Google Drive MCP.app and build/dist/googledrive-mcp | | Windows | build/dist/googledrive-mcp.exe | | Linux | build/dist/googledrive-mcp |

macOS Additional Requirements

If building on macOS, you need Tcl/Tk for the GUI:

# Install Homebrew if not already installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install Python with Tcl/Tk support
brew install python-tk@3.12

Step 5: Configure Claude Code

After authentication, the app automatically creates a .mcp.json file in your selected project directory. Alternatively, create it manually:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "googledrive": {
      "command": "/path/to/googledrive-mcp",
      "args": ["--serve"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/googledrive-mcp with:

Built executable: Full path to googledrive-mcp or googledrive-mcp.exe
From source: Full path to Python and script, e.g.:

  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "googledrive": {
        "command": "/path/to/.venv/bin/python",
        "args": ["/path/to/GoogleDriveMCP/src/main.py", "--serve"]
      }
    }
  }

Permission Levels

| Level | Scopes | Capabilities | |-------|--------|--------------| | Read Only | drive.readonly | View and search files | | Read + Create | drive.file | Above + create new files | | Full Access | drive | Read, create, update, delete, share |

Available MCP Tools

| Tool | Description | Required Permission | |------|-------------|---------------------| | list_files | List files in a folder or root | Read Only | | read_file | Read file contents (exports Google Docs to text) | Read Only | | search_files | Full-text search across Drive | Read Only | | list_folders | List all folders for navigation | Read Only | | get_sharing_info | View who has access to a file | Read Only | | create_file | Create a new file or Google Doc | Read + Create | | create_folder | Create a new folder | Read + Create | | update_file | Update file contents | Full Access | | delete_file | Move file to trash | Full Access | | move_file | Move file to different folder | Full Access | | copy_file | Copy a file | Full Access | | share_file | Share file with email address | Full Access |

Development

Run Tests

# With virtual environment activated
pytest -v

Project Structure

GoogleDriveMCP/
├── src/
│   ├── main.py          # Entry point, mode detection
│   ├── gui.py           # Setup GUI with tkinter
│   ├── server.py        # MCP server implementation
│   ├── drive.py         # Google Drive API wrapper
│   ├── auth.py          # OAuth flow and token management
│   └── config.py        # Platform-specific config paths
├── tests/               # Test files
├── build/
│   ├── build.py         # Build script
│   └── googledrive-mcp.spec  # PyInstaller spec
├── credentials.json     # Your OAuth credentials (not committed)
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
└── README.md

Token Storage Location

Tokens are stored in platform-specific locations:

| Platform | Location | |----------|----------| | macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/GoogleDriveMCP/ | | Windows | %APPDATA%\GoogleDriveMCP\ | | Linux | ~/.config/GoogleDriveMCP/ |

Troubleshooting

"credentials.json not found"

Make sure credentials.json is in the project root directory (same folder as src/).

"Error 400: redirect_uri_mismatch"

Your OAuth credentials are configured as "Web application" instead of "Desktop app". Create new credentials with type "Desktop app".

"Access blocked: This app's request is invalid"

Make sure you added yourself as a test user in the OAuth consent screen
Verify the app is in "Testing" mode (not "In production")

"ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'tkinter'"

On macOS with Homebrew Python: ``bash brew install python-tk@3.12 ``

On Ubuntu/Debian: ``bash sudo apt-get install python3-tk ``

MCP server not connecting in Claude Code

Verify the path in .mcp.json is correct and absolute
Restart Claude Code after creating/modifying .mcp.json
Check that the executable has execute permissions: chmod +x googledrive-mcp

License

MIT

Google Drive MCP