Google Drive MCP Server: Official Preview and Options

Google runs an official Google Drive MCP server at https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1. It is a remote server with OAuth, in Developer Preview, and it needs a Google Cloud project and membership in the Workspace Developer Preview Program. The old reference Drive server is archived. A maintained MIT community server covers Drive too. We checked all of this on 31 October 2026.

Quick facts

Where the old one went

The first Google Drive MCP server came from the MCP project's reference set. It is now in modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived, and the main servers README lists "Google Drive" under Archived. The archive says no security updates or fixes will be provided.

It was small: one search tool, plus Drive files exposed as gdrive:///<file_id> resources. Google Workspace files were converted on export: Docs to Markdown, Sheets to CSV, presentations to plain text and drawings to PNG. It needed a Desktop-type OAuth client and a key file placed in the repository. If you still run it, move to one of the options below.

What the official server does

Google's Workspace page describes the family of servers as a way for agents to read data (search email, retrieve files, list events), take action (create draft emails, upload files, schedule meetings) and respect security by inheriting the user's own permissions and data governance controls. Each Workspace product has its own dedicated server, so Drive has one, and so do Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, Chat, People and Classroom.

The Drive tools we could read on Google's page:

Google's Drive MCP reference lists exactly these eight tools. There is no delete or move tool, which fits the narrow scopes below.

Set it up: the official server

Google's steps, in the order we would do them:

1. Join the Developer Preview Program. It is a prerequisite.
2. Create or choose a Google Cloud project and set up the gcloud CLI.
3. Enable the Google Drive API (drive.googleapis.com).
4. Enable the Drive MCP service (drivemcp.googleapis.com):

gcloud services enable drive.googleapis.com drivemcp.googleapis.com --project=PROJECT_ID

1. Configure the OAuth consent screen in Google Auth Platform. Choose Internal if you can, External otherwise, and add test users for External.
2. Add the Drive scopes under Data Access: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly and https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file.
3. Create an OAuth client ID of type Web application, tick "Use this client for an AI-powered agent", and add the redirect URI for your client.

Google's page also lists the other servers. If you want Docs, Sheets or Slides, those use the same two Drive scopes plus their own.

What the two scopes mean

The pairing is a thoughtful one: broad read, narrow write. An agent can search your whole Drive, but it can change only files it made or was given. That limits the damage a confused agent can do.

Install it in each agent

Google documents Antigravity and Claude for this server family. Lines for other agents are our adaptation.

Antigravity

Google's page covers Antigravity 2.0, the IDE and the CLI. Create the OAuth client with the redirect URI https://antigravity.google/oauth-callback, then add this to ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive": {
      "serverUrl": "https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": {
        "clientId": "OAUTH_CLIENT_ID",
        "clientSecret": "OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then authenticate. In the CLI, run agy, open /mcp, select the server, choose Authenticate, sign in through the browser, and paste the authorization code back. A server that is signed in shows Authed in the panel. Gemini CLI is now for Code Assist enterprise customers only.

Claude

Google documents Claude.ai and Claude Desktop, on the Enterprise, Pro, Max or Team plans. Use the redirect URI https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback when you create the OAuth client. Then go to Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector, name it, and use the URL https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1 with the client ID and secret.

Claude Code

Our adaptation, from Claude Code's remote server docs. Register http://localhost:PORT/callback as the redirect URI, pick a port, and pass it with --callback-port:

claude mcp add --transport http google-drive https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1 \
  --client-id OAUTH_CLIENT_ID --client-secret --callback-port 8080

Codex

Our adaptation, in ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.google-drive]
url = "https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1"

Codex takes a pre-registered client through codex mcp login with --oauth-client-id, plus --oauth-client-secret for a confidential client. Codex prints the callback URL to register with Google.

Cursor

Our adaptation, in .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-drive": {
      "url": "https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "auth": { "CLIENT_ID": "OAUTH_CLIENT_ID", "CLIENT_SECRET": "OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET" }
    }
  }
}

OpenCode

Our adaptation, in opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "google-drive": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": { "clientId": "OAUTH_CLIENT_ID", "clientSecret": "OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET" }
    }
  }
}

For the clients above that Google does not document, the redirect URI you register must match the one the client uses, or sign-in fails. Check each client's docs before you create the OAuth client.

The community option

If you cannot join the Developer Preview, or want one server for several Workspace apps, taylorwilsdon/google_workspace_mcp is the most used maintained alternative we found. It is MIT licensed, was last released as v2.3.0 on 30 October 2026, and covers Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Chat, Forms, Tasks and more, with 120 or more tools.

export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="..."
export GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="..."
uvx workspace-mcp --tools drive --tool-tier core --read-only

Its README highlights: three tool tiers (core, extended, complete) to keep context lean, a --read-only mode, per-service --permissions, a stateless mode with no disk writes, and no telemetry. It blocks reads of .env* files and credential folders like ~/.ssh/ and ~/.aws/. For Claude Code, start it in HTTP mode and run claude mcp add --transport http workspace-mcp http://localhost:8000/mcp. Its Drive tools include search_drive_files, get_drive_file_content and create_drive_file, in the core tier. There are other community Drive servers, with far fewer stars. We cannot vouch for any of them.

A first session, step by step

This is our suggested flow, built from the tool list. We did not run it.

1. Start with a search you can check. Ask the agent to use search_files for a document you know, such as "Q3 budget". If the right file is the first hit, the connection and scopes are fine.
2. Look at metadata before content. get_file_metadata shows the owner, type and modified time. It is cheap, and it tells the agent whether a file is worth reading in full.
3. Read, then summarise. read_file_content returns the text. Ask for a summary with the key figures quoted, so you can compare it with the source.
4. Audit sharing. get_file_permissions on a folder you suspect is over-shared answers a question that is tedious in the Drive UI. This is a read, so it is a safe first real task.
5. Find what changed lately. list_recent_files is a quick way to rebuild context at the start of a week.
6. Create last. create_file is the only writing tool in the list we saw. Ask the agent to name the folder and file before it creates anything, and check where it landed.

Two habits help. First, ask the agent to quote the file name and ID it used in each answer, so you can tell which document a claim came from. Second, keep agents that read Drive away from tools that can post outside your organisation in the same session. A document written by someone else can contain instructions, and a read tool plus a send tool is the combination an attacker wants.

Where a document is huge, ask for a section instead of the whole file. Large reads fill the context window, and the answer gets worse as the window fills. If you need a figure from a long spreadsheet, point the agent at the Sheets server instead of the Drive one, since that server is built for cell ranges.

Security notes

1. You hand over your file index. drive.readonly means the agent can search and read your entire Drive. Documents hold contracts, HR files and credentials. Use a separate Google account or an Internal OAuth client scoped to a test group while you learn.
2. Prompt injection through documents. Google tells you to screen prompts and responses for malicious content. A shared document can hide instructions for an agent. Google's security page offers Model Armor, or your own solution documented for users.
3. Model Armor logs payloads. Google warns that when logging is on, Model Armor logs the entire payload, which can expose sensitive data in your logs. It also notes routing in unsupported regions may break data residency.
4. Permissions inherited. The agent sees what you see. It does not see more, which is good, but it sees everything you see.
5. Keep the client secret safe. It belongs in your client's secret storage. Do not commit it.
6. `create_file` writes into your Drive. Check where it puts files and who they are shared with.
7. Look at permissions before sharing. get_file_permissions is a read tool, so an agent can audit sharing without changing it.
8. Developer Preview terms. Features and terms can change before general release.

Limits and known issues

• Developer Preview. You need program membership, and the server may change.
• Setup is long. Cloud project, two APIs, consent screen, scopes and a client. Budget an hour the first time.
• External consent screens. If you cannot choose Internal, you must add test users.
• Client redirect URIs vary. Each client needs its own registered redirect URI.
• Narrow write scope. drive.file limits edits to files you open with the app or share with it. That is a feature, but it can surprise you when the agent cannot change an older file.
• Large files. Reading content from big files costs context, and the reference page we read gives no size limit for read_file_content.

Alternatives

Our take

We did not run any of these servers for this page. This comes from Google's documentation and the repositories.

Google's own server is the right default for anyone already in the Developer Preview. It is hosted, it uses your own OAuth client, it inherits user permissions, and the two Drive scopes are a good match: wide read, narrow write. The cost is setup effort and the Preview label.

If you want to start today with fewer steps, the community server is a fair alternative with a read-only flag, which the official one does not need because its scope already limits writes. Either way, treat your Drive as sensitive: use a test account first, and keep documents from outsiders away from an agent that also has a way to send data out.

A short setup checklist

1. Decide: official Preview server, or the community one.
2. Use a test Google account or an Internal OAuth client first.
3. Enable the APIs and MCP service, and add only the Drive scopes.
4. Register the redirect URI for your client.
5. Authenticate, then search for one file you know and read it.
6. Try get_file_permissions on a shared file.
7. Add write use only after reading what create_file does.

Related pages

• MCP servers
• Best MCP servers
• Claude Code

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Google Drive MCP server?

Yes. Google offers a remote Drive MCP server at https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1 as part of its Google Workspace MCP servers. It is in Developer Preview and needs membership in the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program.

What happened to the old reference Drive server?

It is archived in modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived. It had one search tool and exposed files as resources, and the archive says it gets no security fixes.

Can the official server edit or delete files?

The documented tools can create and copy files and read content. The scopes Google lists are drive.readonly and drive.file. We found no delete tool in the list we saw.

Do I need Google Cloud?

Yes. You need a Google Cloud project, enabled APIs and MCP services, an OAuth consent screen and an OAuth client ID.

What is a community option?

taylorwilsdon/google_workspace_mcp is an MIT server covering Drive, Gmail and other Workspace apps with tool tiers and a read-only mode.