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Why?

The gws CLI had a built-in MCP server that was removed in v0.8.0 because it exposed 200-400 tools — causing context window bloat in MCP clients. This server takes a curated approach: you choose which Google services to expose, and only a focused set of high-value, narrowly scoped operations are registered as tools. Every tool declares MCP readOnlyHint/destructiveHint annotations so clients can reason about side effects and surface clearer consent prompts.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• gws CLI installed and authenticated (npm install -g @googleworkspace/cli && gws auth login)

Quick start

# Install
npm install -g gws-mcp-server

# Or run from source
git clone https://github.com/conorbronsdon/gws-mcp-server.git
cd gws-mcp-server
npm install && npm run build

Configuration

Claude Code (.mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-workspace": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "gws-mcp-server",
        "--services", "drive,sheets,calendar,docs,gmail,tasks"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-workspace": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "gws-mcp-server",
        "--services", "drive,sheets,calendar"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--services, -s	Comma-separated list of services to expose	All services
--gws-path	Path to the gws binary	gws

Available services & tools

drive (9 tools)

• drive_files_list — Search and list files
• drive_files_get — Get file metadata
• drive_files_create — Create files (with optional upload)
• drive_files_copy — Copy files (useful for format conversion)
• drive_files_update — Update file metadata/content
• drive_files_delete — Delete files
• drive_files_export — Export Google Workspace files (Doc, Sheet, Slide) to other formats
• drive_files_download — Download file content (text inline, binary as base64 or saved to a path; Google-native files are exported to a readable format)
• drive_permissions_create — Share files

sheets (4 tools)

• sheets_get — Get spreadsheet metadata
• sheets_values_get — Read cell values
• sheets_values_update — Write cell values
• sheets_values_append — Append rows

calendar (5 tools)

• calendar_events_list — List events
• calendar_events_get — Get event details
• calendar_events_insert — Create events
• calendar_events_update — Update events (only supplied fields change)
• calendar_events_delete — Delete events

docs (3 tools)

• docs_get — Get document content
• docs_create — Create documents
• docs_batchUpdate — Apply document updates

gmail (6 tools)

• gmail_messages_list — Search messages
• gmail_messages_get — Read a message
• gmail_threads_list — Search threads
• gmail_threads_get — Read a full thread
• gmail_threads_modify — Add/remove labels on a thread (archive, mark read, star)
• gmail_drafts_create — Create a draft (plain text and/or HTML, with reply threading via threadId). Drafts are never auto-sent

tasks (12 tools)

• tasks_tasklists_list — List task lists
• tasks_tasklists_get — Get a task list
• tasks_tasklists_insert — Create a task list
• tasks_tasklists_update — Update a task list (only supplied fields change)
• tasks_tasklists_delete — Delete a task list
• tasks_tasks_list — List tasks (filters: completed/hidden/due dates)
• tasks_tasks_get — Get a task
• tasks_tasks_insert — Create a task (optionally nested or positioned)
• tasks_tasks_update — Update a task (only supplied fields change; common use: mark complete)
• tasks_tasks_move — Move a task within/across lists or reorder
• tasks_tasks_delete — Delete a task
• tasks_tasks_clear — Hide all completed tasks in a list

Update semantics: the *_update tools (calendar events, tasks, task lists) use the Google API's patch verb — they merge the fields you supply and leave the rest untouched. To clear an existing value, pass it explicitly (e.g. an empty string) rather than omitting it.

Total: 39 tools (vs 200-400 in the old implementation)

Adding new tools

Edit src/services.ts to add tool definitions. Each tool maps directly to a gws CLI command:

{
  name: "drive_files_list",           // MCP tool name
  description: "List files in Drive", // Shown to AI
  command: ["drive", "files", "list"],// gws CLI args
  params: [                           // Maps to --params JSON
    { name: "q", description: "Search query", type: "string", required: false },
  ],
  bodyParams: [                       // Maps to --json body
    { name: "name", description: "File name", type: "string", required: true },
  ],
}

Typed errors

Tool call failures are mapped to a typed error hierarchy (src/errors.ts): AuthenticationError (401/403), RateLimitError (429), ValidationError (400), NotFoundError (404, with a shared-drive access hint for drive commands), and ServerError (5xx), all extending a base GwsError. Unlike an HTTP API client, this server has no response object to read a status code from — it spawns the gws CLI as a subprocess and only sees plain text (stdout/stderr, or a rejected promise's .message). mapGwsErrorToTyped() recovers a status-like code from that text, handling both a raw JSON error body (Google's own {"error":{"code":...,"message":...}} shape) and plain text containing an HTTP-status-like token (e.g. "Error 404: ..."). If neither pattern is found, the original message passes through unchanged rather than forcing an invented status onto it.

Architecture

MCP Client (Claude) ←→ stdio ←→ gws-mcp-server ←→ gws CLI ←→ Google APIs

The server is a thin wrapper: it translates MCP tool calls into gws CLI invocations, passes --params and --json as appropriate, and returns the JSON output. Authentication stays in the gws CLI — this server never sees or stores your Google credentials.

Development

git clone https://github.com/conorbronsdon/gws-mcp-server.git
cd gws-mcp-server
npm ci
npm run lint    # type-check
npm run build
npm test        # vitest, mocks the executor layer — no real gws calls

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. The most useful contributions are new tool definitions in src/services.ts for high-value gws operations (see "Adding new tools" above). Keep the curated contract: a focused set of narrowly scoped tools, not a 1:1 mirror of every Google API surface. See SECURITY.md for how to report vulnerabilities.

About

Built and maintained by Conor Bronsdon. I host the Chain of Thought podcast, which covers AI infrastructure, developer tools, and how practitioners actually use this stuff. I built this to give the agent workflows that run the show safe, curated access to Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Sheets, Docs, and Tasks.

Companion tools:

• Transistor-MCP: the Transistor.fm MCP server. Episodes, transcripts, and download counts.
• substack-mcp: read posts and manage drafts on Substack, safe for agent workflows.
• podcastindex-mcp: the Podcast Index MCP server, search by person or topic, trending shows, feed health.
• op3-mcp: podcast analytics through OP3. Downloads, geography, apps. Read-only.
• ai-tools-for-creators: a curated list of AI skills and MCP servers for people who ship ideas for a living.

More at chainofthought.show and on X.

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License

MIT