Drive File Browser MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, opencode, or any MCP client — browse, search, and read files from a Google Drive folder.

Runs in two modes:

Local (stdio) — for desktop MCP clients
Remote (HTTP, Streamable) — deployed on Vercel: https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp

Tools Provided

Tool	Description
`list_files`	List files and subfolders in a Drive folder
`search_files`	Search files by name (case-insensitive substring)
`get_file_info`	Get metadata for a specific file (name, type, size, timestamps)
`read_file`	Read file content — Google Docs export as markdown, Sheets as CSV, Slides as plain text; plain text files returned directly; binary files return a link

Remote Deployment (Vercel)

The server is live at:

https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp

It uses the stateless Streamable HTTP transport, so it works with any MCP client that supports remote HTTP servers. The endpoint is protected with a Bearer API key.

Connect a client

Claude Desktop / Claude Code (claude_desktop_config.json or .mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive-browser": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any HTTP client — send JSON-RPC over POST with headers Content-Type: application/json, Accept: application/json, text/event-stream, Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>:

curl -X POST https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"curl","version":"1.0"}}}'

Health check (no auth): GET https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/health

Deploy your own instance

Fork/clone this repo, then:

npm install
npm i -g vercel
vercel login
vercel link --yes
# env vars:
echo "<your-api-key>" | vercel env add MCP_API_KEY production
echo "<your-drive-folder-id>" | vercel env add DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID production
echo "<service-account-json-contents>" | vercel env add GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON production
vercel deploy --prod --yes

Get a Google service account JSON (see below) and share your Drive folder with its client_email.

Environment Variables (Vercel)

Variable	Description
`GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON`	The full service account JSON key (inline string) — required for Drive access
`DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID`	Default folder ID the server browses
`MCP_API_KEY`	Bearer token required on `/api/mcp` — leave unset to disable auth (not recommended)

Manage them in the Vercel dashboard: Project → Settings → Environment Variables.

Local Setup (stdio mode)

1. Create a Google service account

Go to the Google Cloud Console and create (or select) a project.
Enable the Google Drive API (APIs & Services → Library → search "Google Drive API" → Enable).
Go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create Credentials → Service account.
Open the service account → Keys tab → Add key → Create new key → JSON. A .json key file downloads.
Share the Drive folder with the service account's email (found in the JSON file as client_email, looks like xxx@xxx.iam.gserviceaccount.com) — right-click the folder in Drive → Share → enter that email → Viewer.

2. Install and build

git clone https://github.com/ashrafur02-sys/drive-file-browser-mcp.git
cd drive-file-browser-mcp
npm install
npm run build

3. Configure

Set environment variables (or copy .env.example to .env — note: .env files are NOT auto-loaded; set real env vars in your MCP client config, or point GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON at a file path):

Variable	Description
`GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON`	Inline service account JSON or a path to the JSON key file
`DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID`	Default folder ID (or full URL) the server browses

Usage with MCP Clients

Add to your client's MCP configuration:

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive-browser": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/drive-file-browser-mcp/dist/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON": "/absolute/path/to/service-account.json",
        "DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID": "1TG4ssc_z0FgG2snDapoR_SRu3y16Wxm5"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code / opencode:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive-browser": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/drive-file-browser-mcp/dist/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON": "/absolute/path/to/service-account.json",
        "DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID": "1TG4ssc_z0FgG2snDapoR_SRu3y16Wxm5"
      }
    }
  }
}

Once connected, ask your assistant things like:

"List the files in the Drive folder"
"Search for the press meet presentation"
"Read the corporate communication file"
"Get info about the file with ID ..."

Security Notes

The server uses read-only Drive scope (drive.readonly).
Never commit your service account key. It is gitignored by default.
Anyone you give the key file to gets read access to everything the service account can see — share the repo, not your key.

License

MIT