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See it in action:

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A quick plug for AI-Enhanced Docs

But why?

This README was written with AI assistance, and here's why that matters

As a solo dev building open source tools, comprehensive documentation often wouldn't happen without AI help. Using agentic dev tools like Roo & Claude Code that understand the entire codebase, AI doesn't just regurgitate generic content - it extracts real implementation details and creates accurate, specific documentation.

In this case, Sonnet 4 took a pass & a human (me) verified them 8/9/25.

Overview

A production-ready MCP server that integrates all major Google Workspace services with AI assistants. It supports both single-user operation and multi-user authentication via OAuth 2.1, making it a powerful backend for custom applications. Built with FastMCP for optimal performance, featuring advanced authentication handling, service caching, and streamlined development patterns.

Simplified Setup: Now uses Google Desktop OAuth clients - no redirect URIs or port configuration needed!

Features

• 🔐 Advanced OAuth 2.0 & OAuth 2.1: Secure authentication with automatic token refresh, transport-aware callback handling, session management, centralized scope management, and OAuth 2.1 bearer token support for multi-user environments with innovative CORS proxy architecture
• 📅 Google Calendar: Full calendar management with event CRUD operations
• 📁 Google Drive: File operations with native Microsoft Office format support (.docx, .xlsx)
• 📧 Gmail: Complete email management with search, send, and draft capabilities
• 📄 Google Docs: Document operations including content extraction, creation, and comment management
• 📊 Google Sheets: Comprehensive spreadsheet management with flexible cell operations and comment management
• 🖼️ Google Slides: Presentation management with slide creation, updates, content manipulation, and comment management
• 📝 Google Forms: Form creation, retrieval, publish settings, and response management
• ✓ Google Tasks: Complete task and task list management with hierarchy, due dates, and status tracking
• 💬 Google Chat: Space management and messaging capabilities
• 🔍 Google Custom Search: Programmable Search Engine (PSE) integration for custom web searches
• 🔄 All Transports: Stdio, Streamable HTTP & SSE, OpenAPI compatibility via mcpo
• ⚡ High Performance: Service caching, thread-safe sessions, FastMCP integration
• Developer Friendly: Minimal boilerplate, automatic service injection, centralized configuration

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🚀 Quick Start

1. One-Click Claude Desktop Install (Recommended)

1. Download: Grab the latest google_workspace_mcp.dxt from the “Releases” page
2. Install: Double-click the file – Claude Desktop opens and prompts you to Install
3. Configure: In Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions → Google Workspace MCP, paste your Google OAuth credentials
4. Use it: Start a new Claude chat and call any Google Workspace tool

Why DXT?

Desktop Extensions (.dxt) bundle the server, dependencies, and manifest so users go from download → working MCP in one click – no terminal, no JSON editing, no version conflicts.

Required Configuration

Environment - you will configure these in Claude itself, see screenshot:

Variable	Purpose
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID	OAuth client ID from Google Cloud (used by both legacy auth and OAuth 2.1)
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET	OAuth client secret (used by both legacy auth and OAuth 2.1)
USER_GOOGLE_EMAIL (optional)	Default email for single-user auth
GOOGLE_PSE_API_KEY (optional)	API key for Google Custom Search - see Custom Search Setup
GOOGLE_PSE_ENGINE_ID (optional)	Programmable Search Engine ID for Custom Search
MCP_ENABLE_OAUTH21 (optional)	Set to true to enable OAuth 2.1 support (requires streamable-http transport)
OAUTHLIB_INSECURE_TRANSPORT=1	Development only (allows http:// redirect)

Claude Desktop stores these securely in the OS keychain; set them once in the extension pane.

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• uvx (for instant installation) or uv (for development)
• Google Cloud Project with OAuth 2.0 credentials

Configuration

1. Google Cloud Setup:

   • Create OAuth 2.0 credentials in Google Cloud Console

   • Create a new project (or use an existing one) for your MCP server.

   • Navigate to APIs & Services → Credentials.

   • Click Create Credentials → OAuth Client ID.

   • Choose Desktop Application as the application type (simpler setup, no redirect URIs needed!)

   • Download your credentials and note the Client ID and Client Secret

   • Enable APIs:

   • In the Google Cloud Console, go to APIs & Services → Library.

   • Search for & enable Calendar, Drive, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Tasks, Chat

   • Expand the section below marked "API Enablement Links" for direct links to each!

API Enablement Links

You can enable each one by clicking the links below (make sure you're logged into the Google Cloud Console and have the correct project selected):

• Enable Google Calendar API
• Enable Google Drive API
• Enable Gmail API
• Enable Google Docs API
• Enable Google Sheets API
• Enable Google Slides API
• Enable Google Forms API
• Enable Google Tasks API
• Enable Google Chat API
• Enable Google Custom Search API

1.1. Credentials:

• Configure credentials using one of these methods:

  Option A: Environment Variables (Recommended for Production)

  export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com"
  export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"
  export GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI="http://localhost:8000/oauth2callback"  # Optional - see Reverse Proxy Setup below
  

  Option B: File-based (Traditional)

  • Download credentials as client_secret.json in project root
  • To use a different location, set GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET_PATH (or legacy GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRETS) environment variable with the file path

  Option C: .env File (Recommended for Development)

  • Copy the provided .env.oauth21 example file to .env in the project root:

  cp .env.oauth21 .env
  

  • Edit the .env file to add your GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID and GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET.
  • The server automatically loads variables from this file on startup, simplifying local development.

Credential Loading Priority: The server loads credentials in the following order of precedence:

1. Manually set environment variables (e.g., export VAR=value).
2. Variables defined in a .env file in the project root.
3. client_secret.json file specified by GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET_PATH.
4. Default client_secret.json file in the project root.

Why Environment Variables?

• ✅ Containerized deployments (Docker, Kubernetes)
• ✅ Cloud platforms (Heroku, Railway, etc.)
• ✅ CI/CD pipelines
• ✅ No secrets in version control
• ✅ Easy credential rotation

2. Environment:

   export OAUTHLIB_INSECURE_TRANSPORT=1  # Development only
   export USER_GOOGLE_EMAIL=your.email@gmail.com  # Optional: Default email for auth - use this for single user setups and you won't need to set your email in system prompt for magic auth
   export GOOGLE_PSE_API_KEY=your-custom-search-api-key  # Optional: Only needed for Google Custom Search tools
   export GOOGLE_PSE_ENGINE_ID=your-search-engine-id  # Optional: Only needed for Google Custom Search tools
   

3. Server Configuration: The server's base URL and port can be customized using environment variables:

   • WORKSPACE_MCP_BASE_URI: Sets the base URI for the server (default: http://localhost). Note: do not include a port in WORKSPACE_MCP_BASE_URI - set that with the variable below.
   • WORKSPACE_MCP_PORT: Sets the port the server listens on (default: 8000).
   • GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI: Override the OAuth redirect URI (useful for reverse proxy setups - see below).
   • USER_GOOGLE_EMAIL: Optional default email for authentication flows. If set, the LLM won't need to specify your email when calling start_google_auth.

Google Custom Search Setup

To use the Google Custom Search tools, you need to:

1. Create a Programmable Search Engine:

   • Go to Programmable Search Engine Control Panel
   • Configure sites to search (or search the entire web)
   • Note your Search Engine ID (cx parameter)

2. Get an API Key:

   • Visit Google Developers Console
   • Create or select a project
   • Enable the Custom Search API
   • Create credentials (API Key)
   • Set the GOOGLE_PSE_API_KEY environment variable with your API key

3. Configure Environment Variables:

   • Set GOOGLE_PSE_API_KEY to your Custom Search API key
   • Set GOOGLE_PSE_ENGINE_ID to your Search Engine ID (the cx parameter from step 1)

For detailed setup instructions, see the Custom Search JSON API documentation.

Start the Server

# Default (stdio mode for MCP clients)
uv run main.py

# HTTP mode (for web interfaces and debugging)
uv run main.py --transport streamable-http

# Single-user mode (simplified authentication)
uv run main.py --single-user

# Selective tool registration (only register specific tools)
uv run main.py --tools gmail drive calendar tasks
uv run main.py --tools sheets docs
uv run main.py --single-user --tools gmail  # Can combine with other flags

# Docker
docker build -t workspace-mcp .
docker run -p 8000:8000 -v $(pwd):/app workspace-mcp --transport streamable-http

Available Tools for --tools flag: gmail, drive, calendar, docs, sheets, forms, tasks, chat, search

OAuth 2.1 Support (Multi-User Bearer Token Authentication)

The server includes OAuth 2.1 support for bearer token authentication, enabling multi-user session management. OAuth 2.1 automatically reuses your existing GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID and GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET credentials - no additional configuration needed!

When to use OAuth 2.1:

• Multiple users accessing the same MCP server instance
• Need for bearer token authentication instead of passing user emails
• Building web applications or APIs on top of the MCP server
• Production environments requiring secure session management
• Browser-based clients requiring CORS support

Enabling OAuth 2.1: To enable OAuth 2.1, set the MCP_ENABLE_OAUTH21 environment variable to true.

# OAuth 2.1 requires HTTP transport mode
export MCP_ENABLE_OAUTH21=true
uv run main.py --transport streamable-http

If MCP_ENABLE_OAUTH21 is not set to true, the server will use legacy authentication, which is suitable for clients that do not support OAuth 2.1.

Innovative CORS Proxy Architecture

This implementation solves two critical challenges when using Google OAuth in browser environments:

1. Dynamic Client Registration: Google doesn't support OAuth 2.1 dynamic client registration. Our server provides a clever proxy that accepts any client registration request and returns the pre-configured Google OAuth credentials, allowing standards-compliant clients to work seamlessly.

2. CORS Issues: Google's OAuth endpoints don't include CORS headers, blocking browser-based clients. We implement intelligent proxy endpoints that:

• Proxy authorization server discovery requests through /auth/discovery/authorization-server/{server}
• Proxy token exchange requests through /oauth2/token
• Add proper CORS headers to all responses
• Maintain security by only proxying to known Google OAuth endpoints

This architecture enables any OAuth 2.1 compliant client to authenticate users through Google, even from browser environments, without requiring changes to the client implementation.

MCP Inspector: No additional configuration needed with desktop OAuth client.

Claude Code Inspector: No additional configuration needed with desktop OAuth client.

VS Code MCP Client Support

VS Code mcp.json Configuration Example:

{
    "servers": {
        "google-workspace": {
            "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp/",
            "type": "http"
        }
    }
}

Connect to Claude Desktop

The server supports two transport modes:

Stdio Mode (Default - Recommended for Claude Desktop)

Guided Setup (Recommended if not using DXT)

python install_claude.py

This script automatically:

• Prompts you for your Google OAuth credentials (Client ID and Secret)
• Creates the Claude Desktop config file in the correct location
• Sets up all necessary environment variables
• No manual file editing required!

After running the script, just restart Claude Desktop and you're ready to go.

Manual Claude Configuration (Alternative)

1. Open Claude Desktop Settings → Developer → Edit Config
   1. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   2. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
2. Add the server configuration:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "google_workspace": {
         "command": "uvx",
         "args": ["workspace-mcp"],
         "env": {
           "GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com",
           "GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret",
           "OAUTHLIB_INSECURE_TRANSPORT": "1"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

2. Advanced / Cross-Platform Installation

If you’re developing, deploying to servers, or using another MCP-capable client, keep reading.

Instant CLI (uvx)

# Requires Python 3.10+ and uvx
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="xxx"
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="yyy"
uvx workspace-mcp --tools gmail drive calendar

Run instantly without manual installation - you must configure OAuth credentials when using uvx. You can use either environment variables (recommended for production) or set the GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET_PATH (or legacy GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRETS) environment variable to point to your client_secret.json file.

Reverse Proxy Setup

If you're running the MCP server behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Apache, Cloudflare, etc.), you'll need to configure GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI to match your external URL:

Problem: When behind a reverse proxy, the server constructs redirect URIs using internal ports (e.g., http://localhost:8000/oauth2callback) but Google expects the external URL (e.g., https://your-domain.com/oauth2callback).

You also have options for: | OAUTH_CUSTOM_REDIRECT_URIS (optional) | Comma-separated list of additional redirect URIs | | OAUTH_ALLOWED_ORIGINS (optional) | Comma-separated list of additional CORS origins |

Solution: Set GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI to your external URL:

# External URL without port (nginx/Apache handling HTTPS)
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI="https://your-domain.com/oauth2callback"

# Or with custom port if needed
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI="https://your-domain.com:8443/oauth2callback"

Important:

• The redirect URI must exactly match what's configured in your Google Cloud Console
• The server will use this value for all OAuth flows instead of constructing it from WORKSPACE_MCP_BASE_URI and WORKSPACE_MCP_PORT
• Your reverse proxy must forward /oauth2callback requests to the MCP server

# Set OAuth credentials via environment variables (recommended)
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com"
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

# Start with specific tools only
uvx workspace-mcp --tools gmail drive calendar tasks

# Start in HTTP mode for debugging
uvx workspace-mcp --transport streamable-http

Requires Python 3.10+ and uvx. The package is available on PyPI.

Development Installation

For development or customization:

git clone https://github.com/taylorwilsdon/google_workspace_mcp.git
cd google_workspace_mcp
uv run main.py

Development Installation (For Contributors):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google_workspace": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/repo/google_workspace_mcp",
        "main.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com",
        "GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret",
        "OAUTHLIB_INSECURE_TRANSPORT": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP Mode (For debugging or web interfaces)

If you need to use HTTP mode with Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google_workspace": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://localhost:8000/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Note: Make sure to start the server with --transport streamable-http when using HTTP mode.

First-Time Authentication

The server uses Google Desktop OAuth for simplified authentication:

• No redirect URIs needed: Desktop OAuth clients handle authentication without complex callback URLs
• Automatic flow: The server manages the entire OAuth process transparently
• Transport-agnostic: Works seamlessly in both stdio and HTTP modes

When calling a tool:

1. Server returns authorization URL
2. Open URL in browser and authorize
3. Google provides an authorization code
4. Paste the code when prompted (or it's handled automatically)
5. Server completes authentication and retries your request

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🧰 Available Tools

Note: All tools support automatic authentication via @require_google_service() decorators with 30-minute service caching.

📅 Google Calendar (calendar_tools.py)

Tool	Description
list_calendars	List accessible calendars
get_events	Retrieve events with time range filtering
get_event	Fetch detailed information of a single event by ID
create_event	Create events (all-day or timed) with optional Drive file attachments and custom reminders
modify_event	Update existing events with intelligent reminder handling
delete_event	Remove events

📁 Google Drive (drive_tools.py)

Tool	Description
search_drive_files	Search files with query syntax
get_drive_file_content	Read file content (supports Office formats)
list_drive_items	List folder contents
create_drive_file	Create new files or fetch content from public URLs

📧 Gmail (gmail_tools.py)

Tool	Description
search_gmail_messages	Search with Gmail operators
get_gmail_message_content	Retrieve message content
send_gmail_message	Send emails
draft_gmail_message	Create drafts

📝 Google Docs (docs_tools.py)

Tool	Description
search_docs	Find documents by name
get_doc_content	Extract document text
list_docs_in_folder	List docs in folder
create_doc	Create new documents
read_doc_comments	Read all comments and replies
create_doc_comment	Create new comments
reply_to_comment	Reply to existing comments
resolve_comment	Resolve comments

📊 Google Sheets (sheets_tools.py)

Tool	Description
list_spreadsheets	List accessible spreadsheets
get_spreadsheet_info	Get spreadsheet metadata
read_sheet_values	Read cell ranges
modify_sheet_values	Write/update/clear cells
create_spreadsheet	Create new spreadsheets
create_sheet	Add sheets to existing files
read_sheet_comments	Read all comments and replies
create_sheet_comment	Create new comments
reply_to_sheet_comment	Reply to existing comments
resolve_sheet_comment	Resolve comments

🖼️ Google Slides (slides_tools.py)

Tool	Description
create_presentation	Create new presentations
get_presentation	Retrieve presentation details
batch_update_presentation	Apply multiple updates at once
get_page	Get specific slide information
get_page_thumbnail	Generate slide thumbnails
read_presentation_comments	Read all comments and replies
create_presentation_comment	Create new comments
reply_to_presentation_comment	Reply to existing comments
resolve_presentation_comment	Resolve comments

📝 Google Forms (forms_tools.py)

Tool	Description
create_form	Create new forms with title and description
get_form	Retrieve form details, questions, and URLs
set_publish_settings	Configure form template and authentication settings
get_form_response	Get individual form response details
list_form_responses	List all responses to a form with pagination

✓ Google Tasks (tasks_tools.py)

Tool	Description
list_task_lists	List all task lists with pagination support
get_task_list	Retrieve details of a specific task list
create_task_list	Create new task lists with custom titles
update_task_list	Modify existing task list titles
delete_task_list	Remove task lists and all contained tasks
list_tasks	List tasks in a specific list with filtering options
get_task	Retrieve detailed information about a specific task
create_task	Create new tasks with title, notes, due dates, and hierarchy
update_task	Modify task properties including title, notes, status, and due dates
delete_task	Remove tasks from task lists
move_task	Reposition tasks within lists or move between lists
clear_completed_tasks	Hide all completed tasks from a list

💬 Google Chat (chat_tools.py)

Tool	Description
list_spaces	List chat spaces/rooms
get_messages	Retrieve space messages
send_message	Send messages to spaces
search_messages	Search across chat history

🔍 Google Custom Search (search_tools.py)

Tool	Description
search_custom	Perform web searches using Programmable Search Engine
get_search_engine_info	Retrieve search engine metadata and configuration
search_custom_siterestrict	Search within specific sites/domains

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🛠️ Development

Project Structure

google_workspace_mcp/
├── auth/              # Authentication system with decorators
├── core/              # MCP server and utilities
├── g{service}/        # Service-specific tools
├── main.py            # Server entry point
├── client_secret.json # OAuth credentials (not committed)
└── pyproject.toml     # Dependencies

Adding New Tools

from auth.service_decorator import require_google_service

@require_google_service("drive", "drive_read")  # Service + scope group
async def your_new_tool(service, param1: str, param2: int = 10):
    """Tool description"""
    # service is automatically injected and cached
    result = service.files().list().execute()
    return result  # Return native Python objects

Architecture Highlights

• Service Caching: 30-minute TTL reduces authentication overhead
• Scope Management: Centralized in SCOPE_GROUPS for easy maintenance
• Error Handling: Native exceptions instead of manual error construction
• Multi-Service Support: @require_multiple_services() for complex tools

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🔒 Security

• Credentials: Never commit .env, client_secret.json or the .credentials/ directory to source control!
• OAuth Callback: Uses http://localhost:8000/oauth2callback for development (requires OAUTHLIB_INSECURE_TRANSPORT=1)
• Transport-Aware Callbacks: Stdio mode starts a minimal HTTP server only for OAuth, ensuring callbacks work in all modes
• Production: Use HTTPS & OAuth 2.1 and configure accordingly
• Network Exposure: Consider authentication when using mcpo over networks
• Scope Minimization: Tools request only necessary permissions

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🌐 Integration with Open WebUI

To use this server as a tool provider within Open WebUI:

Instant Start (No Config Needed)

Just copy and paste the below, set your values and you're off!

GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id" GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret" uvx mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" -- uvx workspace-mcp

Otherwise:

1. Create MCPO Configuration

Create a file named config.json with the following structure to have mcpo make the streamable HTTP endpoint available as an OpenAPI spec tool:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google_workspace": {
      "type": "streamablehttp",
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp"
    }
  }
}

2. Start the MCPO Server

mcpo --port 8001 --config config.json --api-key "your-optional-secret-key"

This command starts the mcpo proxy, serving your active (assuming port 8000) Google Workspace MCP on port 8001.

3. Configure Open WebUI

1. Navigate to your Open WebUI settings
2. Go to "Connections" → "Tools"
3. Click "Add Tool"
4. Enter the Server URL: http://localhost:8001/google_workspace (matching the mcpo base URL and server name from config.json)
5. If you used an --api-key with mcpo, enter it as the API Key
6. Save the configuration

The Google Workspace tools should now be available when interacting with models in Open WebUI.

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📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

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