Generic Gmail & Google Docs MCP Server

Standalone Model Context Protocol server that exposes reusable Gmail and Google Docs tools. It is an integration layer, not an AI agent: it does not generate content, contain prompts, or depend on Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any other host.

Compatible clients:

• Cursor — stdio

• Claude Desktop — stdio

• Custom agents — stdio or Streamable HTTP

• Remote orchestrators — Streamable HTTP

See docs/problemStatement.md and docs/architecture.md.

Architecture

MCP Layer (stdio / Streamable HTTP)
    ↓
Tool Layer (create_email_draft, send_email, append_to_google_doc)
    ↓
Service Layer (validate → call → map)
    ↓
Google API Layer (Gmail / Docs clients)
    ↓
Authentication Layer (OAuth refresh token)

Tool Handler → CredentialProvider → TokenStore
                    ↓                    ↓
         Google OAuth Client (refresh)   .env / Secret Manager

Related MCP server: Google Workspace MCP Server

Supported MCP tools

Each tool returns a structured envelope:

{ "success": true, "message": "...", "...": "..." }

or

{ "success": false, "error": { "code": "INVALID_EMAIL", "message": "..." } }

Error codes: VALIDATION_ERROR, INVALID_EMAIL, DOCUMENT_NOT_FOUND, AUTHENTICATION_FAILED, GOOGLE_API_ERROR, UNKNOWN_TOOL.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+

• A Google Cloud project with Gmail API and Google Docs API enabled

• An OAuth 2.0 client (Desktop or Web) whose redirect URI matches GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI

Google Cloud project setup

1. Open Google Cloud Console.

2. Create or select a project.

3. Enable Gmail API and Google Docs API.

4. Configure the OAuth consent screen. Add your Google account as a test user if the app is in testing.

5. Create OAuth credentials (Desktop app is simplest for local use).

6. Set the authorized redirect URI to http://localhost:3000/oauth2callback (or your chosen URI).

Required APIs

• Gmail API

• Google Docs API

OAuth scopes (least privilege)

• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.compose — draft and send

• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents — append to an existing Doc

The server does not request gmail.readonly, gmail.modify, or full Drive access.

Environment variables

Copy .env.example to .env (never commit .env):

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=
GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:3000/oauth2callback
GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN=
LOG_LEVEL=info

Optional HTTP settings: MCP_HTTP_HOST, MCP_HTTP_PORT, MCP_HTTP_PATH, MCP_HTTP_TOKEN.

Obtain a refresh token once:

npm install
npm run auth

The script opens a browser, requests consent, and prints GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN. Paste it into .env or your host secret store.

Install and build

npm install
npm test
npm run build

How to start the server

stdio (Cursor, Claude Desktop, local custom agents):

npx tsx src/index.ts
# or
npm run build && node dist/index.js

Logs go to stderr so they never mix with the MCP JSON-RPC stream on stdout.

Streamable HTTP (remote orchestrators, HTTP custom agents):

npx tsx src/index.ts --transport http --port 8787

The MCP endpoint is http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp by default. Bind stays on loopback unless you change --host. If MCP_HTTP_TOKEN is set, send Authorization: Bearer <token> or X-MCP-Token.

Railway (public Streamable HTTP — see docs/deployment-plan.md):

npm run build
npm run start:railway

Railway injects PORT. The process binds 0.0.0.0, serves GET /health, and requires MCP_HTTP_TOKEN (plus GOOGLE_* secrets). Do not upload token.json; set GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN as a Railway variable.

How to connect an MCP client

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json or Cursor MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-workspace": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID": "<secret>",
        "GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET": "<secret>",
        "GOOGLE_REDIRECT_URI": "http://localhost:3000/oauth2callback",
        "GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN": "<secret>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use an absolute path to dist/index.js if the workspace root is not the server directory.

Claude Desktop

Same JSON shape in claude_desktop_config.json (mcpServers.google-workspace).

Custom agents

Spawn the same command with StdioClientTransport, or connect a Streamable HTTP client to http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp.

Remote orchestrators

Start --transport http and point the orchestrator at the MCP URL. Do not expose that port on a public network without TLS and an access token.

Example tool calls

Create a draft

{
  "to": ["customer@example.com"],
  "subject": "Customer Feedback Summary",
  "body": "Draft email content..."
}

Send email

{
  "to": ["customer@example.com"],
  "cc": [],
  "bcc": [],
  "subject": "Customer Feedback Summary",
  "body": "Final email content..."
}

Append to a Google Doc

{
  "documentId": "google-document-id",
  "content": "## Customer Feedback Summary\n\nCustomers highlighted..."
}

The document id is the long id in the Doc URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/<documentId>/edit.

Testing

npm test

Unit tests mock Gmail and Docs clients. They do not need network access or real Google credentials.

Security considerations

• Never hardcode credentials or commit .env, credentials.json, or token.json.

• Access and refresh tokens are never returned in MCP responses.

• The logger redacts token-like fields and does not log email bodies or document content at info.

• Invalid input is rejected before any Google API call.

• HTTP transport defaults to loopback. Treat it as an internal capability endpoint, not a public Google proxy.

Troubleshooting

Future extensions

Add generic tools only (no workflow-specific names):

read_google_doc
search_google_drive
create_google_doc
update_google_doc
list_gmail_messages
search_gmail
get_gmail_thread
create_google_sheet
append_to_google_sheet

Register a new tool, add a service method, request extra OAuth scopes only if required, and mock the Google client in tests.