Drive File Browser MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, opencode, or any MCP client — browse, search, and read files from a Google Drive folder.

Runs in two modes:

• Local (stdio) — for desktop MCP clients
• Remote (HTTP, Streamable) — deployed on Vercel: https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp

Tools Provided

Tool	Description
list_files	List files and subfolders in a Drive folder
search_files	Search files by name (case-insensitive substring)
get_file_info	Get metadata for a specific file (name, type, size, timestamps)
read_file	Read file content — Google Docs export as markdown, Sheets as CSV, Slides as plain text; plain text files returned directly; binary files return a link

Remote Deployment (Vercel)

The server is live at:

https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp

It uses the stateless Streamable HTTP transport, so it works with any MCP client that supports remote HTTP servers. The endpoint is protected with a Bearer API key.

Connect a client

Claude Desktop / Claude Code (claude_desktop_config.json or .mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive-browser": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any HTTP client — send JSON-RPC over POST with headers Content-Type: application/json, Accept: application/json, text/event-stream, Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>:

curl -X POST https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"curl","version":"1.0"}}}'

Health check (no auth): GET https://drive-file-browser-mcp.vercel.app/api/health

Deploy your own instance

1. Fork/clone this repo, then:

npm install
npm i -g vercel
vercel login
vercel link --yes
# env vars:
echo "<your-api-key>" | vercel env add MCP_API_KEY production
echo "<your-drive-folder-id>" | vercel env add DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID production
echo "<service-account-json-contents>" | vercel env add GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON production
vercel deploy --prod --yes

2. Get a Google service account JSON (see below) and share your Drive folder with its client_email.

Environment Variables (Vercel)

Variable	Description
GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON	The full service account JSON key (inline string) — required for Drive access
DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID	Default folder ID the server browses
MCP_API_KEY	Bearer token required on /api/mcp — leave unset to disable auth (not recommended)

Manage them in the Vercel dashboard: Project → Settings → Environment Variables.

Local Setup (stdio mode)

1. Create a Google service account

1. Go to the Google Cloud Console and create (or select) a project.
2. Enable the Google Drive API (APIs & Services → Library → search "Google Drive API" → Enable).
3. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create Credentials → Service account.
4. Open the service account → Keys tab → Add key → Create new key → JSON. A .json key file downloads.
5. Share the Drive folder with the service account's email (found in the JSON file as client_email, looks like xxx@xxx.iam.gserviceaccount.com) — right-click the folder in Drive → Share → enter that email → Viewer.

2. Install and build

git clone https://github.com/ashrafur02-sys/drive-file-browser-mcp.git
cd drive-file-browser-mcp
npm install
npm run build

3. Configure

Set environment variables (or copy .env.example to .env — note: .env files are NOT auto-loaded; set real env vars in your MCP client config, or point GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON at a file path):

Variable	Description
GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON	Inline service account JSON or a path to the JSON key file
DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID	Default folder ID (or full URL) the server browses

Usage with MCP Clients

Add to your client's MCP configuration:

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive-browser": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/drive-file-browser-mcp/dist/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON": "/absolute/path/to/service-account.json",
        "DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID": "1TG4ssc_z0FgG2snDapoR_SRu3y16Wxm5"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code / opencode:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drive-browser": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/drive-file-browser-mcp/dist/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON": "/absolute/path/to/service-account.json",
        "DRIVE_ROOT_FOLDER_ID": "1TG4ssc_z0FgG2snDapoR_SRu3y16Wxm5"
      }
    }
  }
}

Once connected, ask your assistant things like:

• "List the files in the Drive folder"
• "Search for the press meet presentation"
• "Read the corporate communication file"
• "Get info about the file with ID ..."

Security Notes

• The server uses read-only Drive scope (drive.readonly).
• Never commit your service account key. It is gitignored by default.
• Anyone you give the key file to gets read access to everything the service account can see — share the repo, not your key.

License

MIT