gdocs-mcp

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# @dasasian/gdocs-mcp

An [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server that lets an AI agent (like Claude Code) treat a **Google Doc like a local file** — read it, edit it by content, review and resolve **suggestions**, manage **comments**, and work across **tabs** and **multiple Google accounts**.

> **Status:** beta. The tool surface is complete and every change is verified against the live API, not just unit tests. Markdown code blocks are the one construct still to render (see [Roadmap](#roadmap)).

## Why this exists

Most Google Docs MCP servers treat a doc as flat text. This one fills the gap nobody else does:

- **Suggestions as diffs you can act on.** `list_suggestions` shows pending tracked-changes as `before → after`; `apply_suggestions` accepts/rejects one or more cleanly. `read_doc` can render them inline as `<ins>/<del>`.
- **File-like editing.** `edit_doc` matches a unique snippet of text (like a local `Edit`) and rewrites it — indices are never exposed.
- **Comments.** Read threads (author, quoted text, replies, resolved status), reply, resolve, add.
- **Tabs as sub-files.** Full create/rename/delete, and every read/edit tool can target a specific tab.
- **Multiple accounts.** Authorize several Google accounts; pick a default per project.

## What you can ask for

You don't call tools. You ask in plain language and the agent drives them.

**Fill a template without rebuilding it**

> *"Copy the Proposal Template into /Clients/Acme, name it 'Acme Q3 Proposal', then fill in the client name, the dates, and the pricing table."*

The copy keeps the letterhead, the logo at its exact size, the fonts and the page setup — everything a markdown round-trip **cannot** rebuild. Then only the words that change are edited. The alternative is retyping a document you already have.

**A whole review pass in one instruction**

> *"Show me the pending suggestions as a diff, accept the typo fixes, reject anything that changes meaning, then reply to the open comments and resolve the ones that are settled."*

Four tools, one sentence, and the judgement in the middle is the part you wanted help with. Most Docs integrations cannot see tracked changes at all, let alone act on them safely.

**More:** publishing a folder of markdown as a Drive tree, auditing many docs for style drift, pulling a doc back into your repo with its images → **[docs/recipes.md](docs/recipes.md)**.

## Install

```sh
npm install -g @dasasian/gdocs-mcp
```

Or from source:

```sh
git clone https://github.com/dasasian/gdocs-mcp && cd gdocs-mcp
npm install && npm run build
npm link   # makes `gdocs-mcp` available globally, same as the published package
```

Then follow the setup below exactly as an installed user would. (`npm link` symlinks the
`gdocs-mcp` binary to your build; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for the dev workflow.)

## Setup

You need a Google Cloud OAuth client (one-time). Each user creates their own — this keeps your credentials yours and avoids Google app-verification for the restricted Drive scope.

1. **Create a project + enable APIs** (or use the [setup guide](docs/setup.md)):
   ```sh
   gcloud projects create my-gdocs-mcp
   gcloud config set project my-gdocs-mcp
   gcloud services enable docs.googleapis.com drive.googleapis.com
   ```
2. **OAuth consent screen** (Cloud Console → APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen): User type **External**, add yourself as a **Test user**. For long-lived tokens, set publishing status to **In production** (avoids the 7-day refresh-token expiry).
3. **OAuth client** → Create credentials → **OAuth client ID** → **Desktop app**. Download the JSON and save it as `~/.config/gdocs-mcp/client_secret.json`.
4. **Authorize an account** (opens a browser):
   ```sh
   gdocs-mcp add-account
   ```
   Repeat for each Google account you want to use.

## Configure your MCP client

In a project's `.mcp.json` (Claude Code) or equivalent:

```jsonc
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gdocs": {
      "command": "gdocs-mcp",
      "env": { "GDOCS_DEFAULT_ACCOUNT": "you@example.com" }
    }
  }
}
```

`GDOCS_DEFAULT_ACCOUNT` sets which authorized account this project uses by default — so a work project and a personal project can point at different accounts without re-authorizing. Any tool call can override it with an `account` argument.

Prefer it available in **every** project? Register once at user scope: `claude mcp add gdocs -s user -e GDOCS_DEFAULT_ACCOUNT=you@example.com -- gdocs-mcp`. Then a project can pin its own defaults with a `.gdocs-mcp.json` — both the account and a default folder for new docs:

```json
{ "account": "work@company.com", "folder": "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/…" }
```

With a `folder` set, `create_doc` files new docs there automatically (an explicit `folder` argument still overrides). See [docs/setup.md](docs/setup.md) for the full resolution order.

You don't have to edit that file by hand — just tell the agent *"make damithsc@gmail.com my default account for this project"* or *"make my Manuscripts folder the default here,"* and it writes the `.gdocs-mcp.json` for you via `set_project_default` (searching for the folder by name if needed).

## Tools

> The table below is the reference. For what to actually *ask for*, see [What you can ask for](#what-you-can-ask-for) above, or the full set in **[docs/recipes.md](docs/recipes.md)**.

| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| `read_doc` | Read as markdown + inline HTML — text color/size/font come back as `<span style="…">`, so styling is visible and round-trips. Modes: `clean` · `tracked` (`<ins>/<del>`) · `accepted` · `rejected`. `segment`: `body` (default) / `header` / `footer` / `all` — a body read always reports what the headers/footers hold, so a letterhead never reads as empty |
| `edit_doc` | Replace a unique text snippet (string-anchored, markup-tolerant; new text supports inline markdown) |
| `set_style` | Style existing text in place — like selecting in Docs and applying formatting: a `from`/`to` selection, a single `from` snippet, or the `whole_document`. bold/italic/underline/strikethrough, color, font size/family, link, alignment, paragraph spacing (before/after/line) |
| `get_page_setup` / `set_page_setup` | Read / set document-level page setup: margins, page size (preset or explicit), orientation (File > Page setup) |
| `get_style` | Read the computed (inherited-resolved) style at a text anchor — paragraph spacing, alignment, fonts, colors that markdown can't show (read counterpart to `set_style`) |
| `overwrite_doc` | Replace a doc/tab body with markdown-rendered content — guarded against orphaning comments/suggestions |
| `insert_content` | Insert new markdown content at a position — `at: "end"` (default) / `"top"` / a unique anchor. The way to add a paragraph after a table that ends the doc, where `edit_doc` has nothing to anchor on |
| `export_doc` | Export a doc to a local file — pdf (default), docx, odt, rtf, txt, html, epub, md (rendered server-side by Google) |
| `create_doc` | Create a doc from markdown, optionally in a folder |
| `list_suggestions` | Pending suggestions as `before → after` diffs — `segment` to read a header/footer's |
| `apply_suggestions` | Accept or reject one or more suggestions atomically — required for overlapping/adjacent "clusters"; `segment` to resolve a header/footer's |
| `insert_image` | Insert an inline image from a URL **or a local file** — position, size, left/center/right align. `segment: "header"` (+ `createSegment`) puts a letterhead logo where it repeats |
| `download_images` | Download a doc’s embedded images to a local folder (pairs with `read_doc`’s image markers — the inverse of publishing) |
| `insert_table` | Insert a rows×columns table — data fill (cells accept inline markdown), per-column `align`, column widths, header shading; `segment`/`createSegment` for a letterhead table |
| `edit_table` | Table structure ops — insert/delete a row or column (surgical — locate the table by cell text); `segment` for header/footer tables |
| `set_table_style` | Style an existing table (located by cell text): cell padding, background, cell borders (`width: 0` = borderless), column widths, pinned header rows — scope table/row/column/cell; `segment` for header/footer tables |
| `get_table_style` | Read a table's style (located by cell text): column widths, pinned header rows, and the matched cell's padding, background and per-side borders — the read counterpart to `set_table_style` |
| `list_comments` / `add_comment` / `resolve_comment` | Comment threads (`add_comment` also replies, via `replyTo`) |
| `list_tabs` / `add_tab` / `rename_tab` / `delete_tab` | Tab structure |
| `drive` | Drive as a filesystem: `ls` `find` `mkdir` `cp` `mv`. Paths are `/` or `~` (My Drive), `/shared/<drive>`, `/shared-with-me`, `/lost+found`; anything else is an id. `cp` preserves what markdown can’t round-trip (headers/footers, i