Google Drive MCP server: setup for Claude & Cursor (2026)

A Google Drive MCP server lets an AI search your files, read Docs and Sheets, and manage content in Drive. Like all Google APIs, it runs on OAuth 2.0 — most of the work is creating credentials once. Here are the two routes for Claude and Cursor.

Create OAuth credentials first

In the Google Cloud Console:

Enable the Google Drive API (and Docs/Sheets APIs if you want those).
Configure the OAuth consent screen and add yourself as a test user.
Create an OAuth client ID; note the client ID and client secret.

Option A — official remote connector

Google provides an official Drive MCP server you add as a remote/OAuth connector in clients that support it. Paste the client ID and secret, authorise through Google, done — nothing runs locally. Cleanest when your client supports remote MCP.

Option B — local server via npx

A community Workspace server, configured for Drive:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-drive": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@dguido/google-workspace-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com",
        "GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret",
        "GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_SERVICES": "drive,docs,sheets"
      }
    }
  }
}

First tool call opens a browser for Google consent; the token caches locally. See MCP config file location.

Verify

Ask: "Find my doc named 'Q3 plan' in Drive and summarise it." Real content back confirms it works.

Common problems

access_denied — consent screen not set up, or you are not a test user on an unverified app.
redirect_uri_mismatch — the client's redirect URI is not registered in Cloud Console.
Cannot open a specific file — the scope is too narrow, or the file is not shared with the authenticated account.
No tools in client — Node 18+ required; see Cursor MCP not working.

Security

Drive access can expose sensitive documents. Prefer read-only scopes, limit which Workspace services you enable, and protect the client secret — see MCP security best practices.

Going further

Drive pairs with Calendar and web search for a research-and-write stack. Browse the productivity category or a curated loadout.