How to connect Google Docs to Claude Cowork

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Introduction

Cowork is Anthropic's AI agent for knowledge work. Think of it as Claude Code for everything else. It works autonomously with your computer, local files, and applications to accomplish complex tasks.

This guide walks you through the easiest and most secure way to connect your Google Docs account to Cowork via Composio Connect, enabling it to create a new meeting notes document, copy last week's project summary template, add bullet points to the action items section, and more such actions on your behalf without compromising your account security.

Also integrate Google Docs with

Connecting Google Docs to Claude Cowork

1. Open Customize

In Claude Desktop, click Customize in the left sidebar, then select Connectors and click the + icon at the top.

Claude Desktop connectors screen with Add custom connector selected

2. Add the Composio MCP server

Click Add custom connector and paste in the Composio MCP server URL:

bash
https://connect.composio.dev/mcp
Add custom connector dialog with Composio MCP server URL

3. Authorize in your browser

Click Connect. You'll be redirected to a browser window where you can authorize Composio to continue.

Composio authorization screen for Claude Cowork

4. Connect your Google Docs account

Back in Cowork, ask the agent to connect to Google Docs or give it any Google Docs-related task.

For example, ask Cowork to:

  • "Create a new meeting notes document"
  • "Copy last week's project summary template"
  • "Add bullet points to the action items section"

It will prompt you to authenticate and authorize access.

That's it. Composio's tools are now available in Cowork, and your Google Docs account is ready to use.

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is Anthropic's agent for general knowledge work. It can use your computer, files, and connected applications to complete longer-running tasks across your work tools.

With Composio Connect, Cowork can securely access apps like Google Docs through MCP without you sharing account credentials directly with the agent.

What is the Google Docs MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Google Docs MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Google Docs account. It provides structured and secure access to your documents, so your agent can create, copy, edit, and organize Google Docs on your behalf.

  • Automated document creation and duplication: Let your agent generate new Google Docs from scratch or copy existing documents to quickly use templates or preserve originals.
  • Rich content editing and formatting: Direct your agent to add headers, footers, footnotes, bullet lists, and more—making it easy to update and format documents programmatically.
  • Targeted content manipulation: Have your agent delete specific content ranges, paragraphs, or sections within any document to keep your files up to date.
  • Named range management: Empower your agent to create and manage named ranges for easier referencing, collaboration, and advanced document workflows.
  • Markdown-based document generation: Allow the agent to create new Google Docs directly from markdown content, streamlining content migration from other tools or sources.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Triggers
Copy Google DocumentTool to create a copy of an existing google document.
Create a documentCreates a new google docs document using the provided title as filename and inserts the initial text at the beginning if non-empty, returning the document's id and metadata (excluding body content).
Create Document MarkdownCreates a new google docs document, optionally initializing it with a title and content provided as markdown text.
Create FooterTool to create a new footer in a google document.
Create FootnoteTool to create a new footnote in a google document.
Create HeaderTool to create a new header in a google document.
Create Named RangeTool to create a new named range in a google document.
Create Paragraph BulletsTool to add bullets to paragraphs within a specified range in a google document.
Delete Content Range in DocumentTool to delete a range of content from a google document.
Delete FooterTool to delete a footer from a google document.
Delete HeaderDeletes the header from the specified section or the default header if no section is specified.
Delete Named RangeTool to delete a named range from a google document.
Delete Paragraph BulletsTool to remove bullets from paragraphs within a specified range in a google document.
Delete TableTool to delete an entire table from a google document.
Delete Table ColumnTool to delete a column from a table in a google document.
Delete Table RowTool to delete a row from a table in a google document.
Get Charts from SpreadsheetTool to retrieve a list of all charts from a specified google sheets spreadsheet.
Get document by idRetrieves an existing google document by its id; will error if the document is not found.
Insert Inline ImageTool to insert an image from a given uri at a specified location in a google document as an inline image.
Insert Page BreakTool to insert a page break into a google document.
Insert Table in Google DocTool to insert a table into a google document.
Insert Table ColumnTool to insert a new column into a table in a google document.
Insert Text into DocumentTool to insert a string of text at a specified location within a google document.
List Charts from SpreadsheetTool to retrieve a list of charts with their ids and metadata from a google sheets spreadsheet.
Replace All Text in DocumentTool to replace all occurrences of a specified text string with another text string throughout a google document.
Replace Image in DocumentTool to replace a specific image in a document with a new image from a uri.
Search DocumentsSearch for google documents using various filters including name, content, date ranges, and more.
Unmerge Table CellsTool to unmerge previously merged cells in a table.
Update Document MarkdownReplaces the entire content of an existing google docs document with new markdown text; requires edit permissions for the document.
Update Document StyleTool to update the overall document style, such as page size, margins, and default text direction.
Update existing documentApplies programmatic edits, such as text insertion, deletion, or formatting, to a specified google doc using the `batchupdate` api method.
Update Table Row StyleTool to update the style of a table row in a google document.

Available tools and triggers

After setup, the supported Google Docs tools and triggers listed on this page are available to Cowork through Composio Connect.

You can now ask Cowork to handle Google Docs workflows in natural language, from quick summaries and drafting tasks to more complex multi-step work across connected apps.

How to build Google Docs MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Google Docs MCP?

With a standalone Google Docs MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Google Docs tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Google Docs and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Claude Cowork?

Yes, you can. Claude Cowork fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Google Docs tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Google Docs while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Google Docs scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Google Docs data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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