Get started with Google Workspace MCP and Gemini CLI

1. Introduction

In this codelab, you will learn how to use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect the Gemini CLI to your Google Workspace data. MCP is an open standard that enables AI models to securely use tools provided by remote servers. You will use the Gemini CLI as your client to interact with Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Chat, and the People API without writing any code!

What you'll do

• Enable Google Workspace MCP services in your Google Cloud project.
• Configure the Gemini CLI to use these MCP services.
• Test the integration with fun and useful prompts that interact with your Google Workspace data.

What you'll need

• A web browser such as Chrome
• A Google Cloud project
• A Google Workspace account
• Gemini CLI installed on your local machine

This codelab will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Easy access to this codelab

2. Before you begin

Google Workspace Developer Preview Program: Access to Google Workspace MCP servers is part of the Public Developer Preview Program. If you haven't already, please sign up and ensure your account is accepted into the program at https://developers.google.com/workspace/preview.

Create or Select a Google Cloud project

In the Google Cloud Console, select or create a Google Cloud project.

Enable the APIs

To use the Google Workspace MCP servers, you must enable the standard Google Workspace APIs. While some MCP servers operate independently, others still require the underlying standard API to be enabled:

• Gmail and Chat still require their standard APIs.
• Drive requires the standard API for certain tools.
• Calendar does not require the standard API to be enabled.
• The People API handles both standard access and MCP functionality, so it does not have a separate MCP service to enable.

Enable the APIs

Enable MCP Services

Next, enable the dedicated MCP services for the products.

Enable the MCP services

Configure the Chat App

To use the Google Chat MCP server, you must configure a Chat app in your Google Cloud project.

1. In the Google Cloud console, search for Google Chat API, and click Google Chat API > Manage > Configuration.Go to Google Chat API
2. Set up the Chat app:
   • In App name field, enter Chat MCP.
   • In Avatar URL field, enter https://developers.google.com/chat/images/quickstart-app-avatar.png.
   • In Description, enter Chat MCP server.
   • Under Functionality, turn off interactive features by toggling Enable interactive features off.
   • Under Logs, select Log errors to Logging.
3. Click Save.

3. Configure OAuth Consent and Client

The Google Workspace MCP servers use OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. You must configure an OAuth consent screen and create a Desktop application client.

Set up the OAuth Consent Screen

The Google Workspace MCP servers use OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You must configure the consent screen first.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to Google Auth Platform > Branding. Click Get Started if not configured.
2. Configure App Information:
   • App name: Google Workspace MCP Servers
   • User support email: Select your email.
3. Configure Audience: Select Internal (or External if Internal is not available).
4. Configure Contact Information: Enter your email address.
5. Review and agree to the User Data Policy, then click Create.
6. If you selected External, go to Audience and add your email under Test users.
7. Go to Data Access > Add or Remove Scopes. Under Manually add scopes, add the following for the servers you want to use:
   • Google Calendar: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.calendarlist.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.freebusy, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.readonly
   • Google Chat: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.spaces.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.memberships.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.users.readstate.readonly
   • Google Drive: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file
   • Gmail: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.compose
   • People API: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/directory.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.profile, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.readonly
8. Click Add to Table, then Update, and finally Save.

Create an OAuth Client ID

1. Go to Google Auth Platform > Clients > Create Client.
2. Select Desktop app as the application type.
3. Name it Gemini CLI.
4. Click Create and copy the Client ID and Client Secret. You will need these in the next step.

4. Configure Gemini CLI

Now let's configure the Gemini CLI to use these endpoints. If you don't have Gemini CLI installed, follow the installation instructions on the Gemini CLI website.

Local Environment Required: Do not use Cloud Shell for this step. Gemini CLI requires a local browser for OAuth authentication. Please use your local machine's terminal. See Browser redirect requirements for more information.

Create the configuration file

Open or create ~/.gemini/settings.json in your home directory and add the following configuration. Replace placeholders with your OAuth credentials.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "calendar": {
      "httpUrl": "https://calendarmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": {
        "enabled": true,
        "clientId": "<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>",
        "clientSecret": "<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.calendarlist.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.freebusy",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.readonly"
        ]
      }
    },
    "chat": {
      "httpUrl": "https://chatmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": {
        "enabled": true,
        "clientId": "<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>",
        "clientSecret": "<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.spaces.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.memberships.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.users.readstate.readonly"
        ]
      }
    },
    "drive": {
      "httpUrl": "https://drivemcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": {
        "enabled": true,
        "clientId": "<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>",
        "clientSecret": "<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file"
        ]
      }
    },
    "gmail": {
      "httpUrl": "https://gmailmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": {
        "enabled": true,
        "clientId": "<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>",
        "clientSecret": "<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.compose"
        ]
      }
    },
    "people": {
      "httpUrl": "https://people.googleapis.com/mcp/v1",
      "oauth": {
        "enabled": true,
        "clientId": "<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>",
        "clientSecret": "<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/directory.readonly",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.profile",
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.readonly"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Authenticate and Verify MCP Servers

Before you can use the MCP servers, you must authenticate and verify they are connected.

Start Gemini CLI

Run the following command in your terminal to start the Gemini CLI:

gemini

Authenticate

Authenticate with the services you want to test by running the corresponding command in the Gemini CLI. You only need to authenticate with the services you plan to use in this codelab.

Calendar

/mcp auth calendar

Chat

/mcp auth chat

Drive

/mcp auth drive

Gmail

/mcp auth gmail

People

/mcp auth people

Follow the prompts in your browser to authorize each service.

Verify Connection

Verify that the tools are loaded and ready:

/mcp list

You should see output indicating that the services are Ready with their tools listed.

6. Test MCP Servers

Now you can interact with your Google Workspace data using natural language. Here are some example prompts for each service.

Note: Replace the bracketed placeholders in the prompts below (e.g., [NAME], [FILE_NAME]) with actual values from your own Google Workspace data.

Google Calendar

Try asking Gemini about your schedule:

• "What are my upcoming meetings this week?"
• "Do I have any free time tomorrow afternoon?"

Google Chat

Try asking Gemini to search for messages:

• "Look for messages containing ‘[KEYWORD]' in ‘[SPACE_NAME]'"

Google Drive

Try asking Gemini to find or read files:

• "Search for files on my Google Drive that contain ‘[KEYWORD]'."
• "List the most recent documents I edited."
• "Read the content of my ‘[FILE_NAME]' doc and summarize the main goals."

Gmail

Try asking Gemini to search or manage your emails:

• "Summarize the last 5 emails I received."
• "Draft an email to ‘[EMAIL_ADDRESS]' requesting an update on the ‘[PROJECT_NAME]' project."

People API

Try asking Gemini about your profile or contacts:

• "According to my Google profile, what is my name?"
• "Find contact info for ‘[NAME]'."

Combining Multiple Services

The true power of MCP is realized when Gemini orchestrates tasks across multiple services. Try these prompts that demonstrate cross-service capabilities:

• "Search for files in Drive related to ‘[PROJECT_NAME] milestone updates', summarize their content, find the email address for ‘[NAME]', and create a Gmail draft to them with the summary."

Explore More Tools

These are just a few examples of what you can do. To see the full list of tools available for each service and try them out, refer to the Supported Products section of the official documentation.

7. Clean up

To clean up your project without deleting it, you can disable the APIs and MCP services you enabled:

1. In the Google Cloud Console, go to the API & Services Dashboard.
2. Click on each of the Google Workspace and MCP APIs you enabled (e.g., Calendar MCP, Chat MCP) and click Disable API.

Delete the OAuth client credentials in the Google Auth Platform console if you no longer plan to use them.

8. Congratulations

Congratulations! You have successfully configured and tested the official Google Workspace MCP servers using the Gemini CLI.

What you've learned

• How to enable Google Workspace MCP services in Google Cloud.
• How to configure an OAuth client for MCP.
• How to use the Gemini CLI to interact with Google Workspace data using standard tools.

Reference docs

• Introduction to Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• Configure Google Workspace MCP Servers
• Configure OAuth Consent