Google Search Console MCP Server

A minimal MCP server for Google Search Console.

Give Codex, Claude Code, or Claude Desktop read-only access to your search analytics, URL indexing information, and sitemap status. Runs locally; cannot change your site or Search Console settings.

Once connected, ask your agent:

• "Which queries had the most impressions but few clicks over the last 28 days?"
• "Compare mobile vs desktop search performance this month."
• "Check the indexing status of https://example.com/blog/my-post."

Setup · Tools · Limitations · Troubleshooting

Setup

You need Node.js and npm, an MCP client, and access to a Search Console property. To sign in as yourself, also install the Google Cloud CLI. Server startup and tool discovery were checked with Node.js 22.

1. Enable the Google API

Create or select a project in Google Cloud Console, then enable the Search Console API. Note the project ID for the next step.

2. Authenticate

Recommended for new users: sign in as yourself. Application Default Credentials (ADC) use your existing Search Console permissions, so you don't need to add another user to your properties.

[!IMPORTANT]
ADC requires the source build below. The published npm package 1.0.1 requires a service account key; use that path if you already have a service account with property access.

Run both commands, replacing YOUR_PROJECT_ID with the project you enabled above:

gcloud auth application-default login \
  --scopes=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform
gcloud auth application-default set-quota-project YOUR_PROJECT_ID

The quota project is required. For permission or scope errors, see troubleshooting.

Alternative: use a service account key

1. In Google Cloud Console, go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create Credentials → Service account. Name it and finish creation; you can skip the optional role/access steps.
2. Open the service account, then Keys → Add Key → Create new key → JSON to download a key.
3. In Search Console, open each property's Settings → Users and permissions → Add user. Add the service account email with Restricted access.

[!CAUTION]
Store the key outside your repo and never commit it. Use its absolute path in your client's configuration below.

If Search Console rejects the email with "Failed to add user: email not found," use ADC instead; see troubleshooting.

The source build checks GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS before local ADC. If switching to ADC, remove an old key-path setting from your client configuration and environment.

3. Install the server

Using ADC: build from source. Using a service account: the npx commands in the next step download and run version 1.0.1 for you.

Build from source (required for ADC)

git clone https://github.com/sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp.git
cd google-search-console-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Use the absolute path to the resulting build/index.js in your client configuration.

Let Codex or Claude Code handle installation and configuration

After completing authentication, paste this into your agent:

Clone and build the Google Search Console MCP server from https://github.com/sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp, then add it as gsc to this client's user-level MCP config, preserving existing servers. Use my local Application Default Credentials. Tell me when setup is complete and whether I need to restart the client.

For a service account, replace "Use my local Application Default Credentials" with "Set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to /path/to/service-account-key.json" and use your actual file location.

Once configured, skip to step 5.

4. Connect your client

Choose your client and run the command for your authentication method. Replace placeholder paths with your actual absolute paths; keep quotes around paths containing spaces. Preserve any existing server entries.

Codex

Source build with ADC:

codex mcp add gsc -- node "/absolute/path/to/google-search-console-mcp/build/index.js"

npm package with a service account:

codex mcp add gsc \
  --env "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/absolute/path/to/service-account-key.json" \
  -- npx -y @sarahpark/[email protected]

For manual configuration in ~/.codex/config.toml, see the Codex MCP documentation.

Claude Code

Source build with ADC:

claude mcp add gsc --scope user -- node "/absolute/path/to/google-search-console-mcp/build/index.js"

npm package with a service account:

claude mcp add gsc --scope user \
  --env "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/absolute/path/to/service-account-key.json" \
  -- npx -y @sarahpark/[email protected]

--scope user makes the server available across your projects. Use --scope project to share configuration through the project's .mcp.json instead.

Claude Desktop

Add the appropriate entry to claude_desktop_config.json, merging it into any existing mcpServers object.

Source build with ADC:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsc": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/google-search-console-mcp/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

npm package with a service account:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsc": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sarahpark/[email protected]"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS": "/absolute/path/to/service-account-key.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Verify the connection

Restart your client or start a new session, then ask:

Use the gsc MCP server to list my Search Console properties.

A successful list_sites call verifies both the connection and Google access. Use the exact property URL it returns in later requests, such as sc-domain:example.com or https://example.com/.

Tools

List your properties — list_sites

List all sites (properties) you have access to in Google Search Console.

No parameters required.

Query search performance — search_analytics

Query search analytics data — clicks, impressions, CTR, and position.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
siteUrl	string	Yes	Site URL as it appears in Search Console (e.g. https://example.com/ or sc-domain:example.com)
startDate	string	Yes	Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format
endDate	string	Yes	End date in YYYY-MM-DD format
dimensions	string	No	Comma-separated: query, page, country, device, searchAppearance, date
rowLimit	number	No	Max rows to return (default 100, max 25000)
searchType	string	No	web, image, video, news, discover, or googleNews (default web)
queryFilter	string	No	Filter by query. Prefix with regex: for regex matching
pageFilter	string	No	Filter by page URL. Prefix with regex: for regex matching
countryFilter	string	No	ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code (e.g. USA, GBR)
deviceFilter	string	No	DESKTOP, MOBILE, or TABLET

Inspect a URL — inspect_url

Check indexing status, crawl info, and mobile usability for a URL.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
siteUrl	string	Yes	Site URL as it appears in Search Console
inspectionUrl	string	Yes	The full URL to inspect (must belong to the site)

Check sitemap status — list_sitemaps

List all submitted sitemaps and their status for a site.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
siteUrl	string	Yes	Site URL as it appears in Search Console

Limitations

• Search analytics returns at most 25,000 rows per call, without pagination. Results may omit pages or queries, and recent data may be incomplete.
• URL inspection checks one URL at a time; it does not export a site's full indexing coverage report.
• Your agent performs comparisons and opportunity analysis using the returned data. This is a local STDIO server, not a hosted ChatGPT web integration.

License

MIT

Troubleshooting

403 error: missing quota project or permission

If the error says the API "requires a quota project," rerun:

gcloud auth application-default set-quota-project YOUR_PROJECT_ID

Your account needs serviceusage.services.use on that project. If permission is denied, ask a project administrator to grant it or use a project where you have it, with the Search Console API enabled.

Login attempts to attach your configured project automatically but can skip it when you lack permission. Setting it explicitly makes that failure visible. The cloud-platform scope in the setup command allows the quota project to be attached.

gcloud won't grant the Search Console scope

The built-in gcloud client was confirmed to grant webmasters.readonly with Google Cloud SDK 557.0.0. If it doesn't work in your version, follow the gcloud guidance for additional scopes to create your own OAuth client, then sign in with its downloaded client file:

gcloud auth application-default login \
  --client-id-file=client_id.json \
  --scopes=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform
gcloud auth application-default set-quota-project YOUR_PROJECT_ID

Keep credential files outside your repo.

Search Console says "Failed to add user: email not found"

This has been reported when adding newly created service accounts and motivated the ADC option. Sign in as yourself and use the source build, or use an existing service account that already has access to the property.

Missing credentials or no properties returned

• Using npm 1.0.1: set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS in the client configuration to your service account key's absolute path. This release does not support signing in through local gcloud ADC.
• Using ADC: use the source build and ensure an old GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS setting isn't overriding your login. The signed-in Google account must have access to the property.
• Using a service account: confirm its email was added to each property you want to read.