Google Sheets MCP

An MCP server that lets Claude (including Claude Cowork and Claude Desktop) work with your Google Sheets in place — no more "here's a new spreadsheet" every time.

Read data, edit cells inline with natural language, append rows, insert/delete rows and columns, fill formulas, format cells, and find & replace — all against the sheet you already have open.

Built on the MCP TypeScript SDK v2 (2026-07-28 spec) and the Google Sheets API v4.

Tools

Spreadsheet IDs can be given as bare IDs or full Google Sheets URLs. Rows are 1-based numbers and columns are letters, exactly as in the Sheets UI.

Related MCP server: google-mcp

Setup

1. Google Cloud credentials (one-time)

1. In Google Cloud Console, create (or pick) a project.

2. Enable the Google Sheets API and Google Drive API.

3. Under APIs & Services → Credentials, create an OAuth client ID of type Desktop app. Note the client ID and secret.

   • Alternative: create a service account key instead, and share your sheets with the service account's email address.

2a. Install into Claude Desktop / Cowork (recommended)

npm install
npm run pack        # builds and produces google-sheets.mcpb

Double-click google-sheets.mcpb (or Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions → Install Extension…), then paste your OAuth client ID and secret in the extension settings. On first use a browser window opens to authorize your Google account; tokens are cached at ~/.config/google-sheets-mcp/token.json.

2b. Or run as a plain local MCP server

Add to your MCP client config (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-sheets": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/google-sheets-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "…apps.googleusercontent.com",
        "GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "…"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration reference

Default scopes: spreadsheets (read/write) + drive.metadata.readonly (list/search files).

Development

npm install
npm run build       # compile to dist/
npm run typecheck   # tsc --noEmit
npm run pack        # build + package .mcpb bundle

Source layout:

src/
  index.ts        stdio entry point
  server.ts       server factory: registers all tool groups
  auth.ts         OAuth loopback / service account / ADC resolution
  sheets.ts       googleapis client wrappers + sheet resolution
  tools/          one module per tool group (read, write, structure, format, advanced)
  utils/          A1-notation parsing, tool result/error helpers