Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison
Agentward vs Gws Admin MCP
In-depth architectural comparison of the Agentward and Gws Admin MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Agentward
Security · Local stdio
Quality: 63/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Gws Admin MCP
Security · Local stdio
Quality: 36/100 (Fair) | Auth: OAuth 2.0
Verdict Summary: Choose Agentward if you need specialized Security tools running via a local process. Choose Gws Admin MCP if your workspace requires Security integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's
mcpServers manifest.Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose Agentward when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
- Primary tools included: read_file, read_text_file, read_media_file.
Choose Gws Admin MCP when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: OAuth 2.0 (Free / Open Source).
- You have access to required keys:
GOOGLE_SA_KEY, DELEGATED_ADMIN, CUSTOMER_ID, GWS_ADMIN_CONFIG_DIR, GWS_ADMIN_ALLOW_WRITE, GWS_ADMIN_AUDIT. - Primary tools included: Read-only mode with 17 default tools, Google Workspace Admin SDK and Groups Settings access, Domain-wide delegation through a service account.
Feature & Specification Comparison
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
Agentward Tools (14)
read_file
Read the complete contents of a file as text. DEPRECATED: Use read_text_file instead.
read_text_file
Read the complete contents of a file from the file system as text. Handles various text encodings and provides detailed error messages if the file cannot be read. Use this tool when you need to examine the contents of a single file. Use the 'head' parameter to read only the first N lines of a file, or the 'tail' parameter to read only the last N lines of a file. Operates on the file as text regardless of extension. Only works within allowed directories.
read_media_file
Read a file and return it as a base64-encoded content block with its MIME type. Image and audio files are returned as image/audio content; any other file type is returned as an embedded resource. Only works within allowed directories.
read_multiple_files
Read the contents of multiple files simultaneously. This is more efficient than reading files one by one when you need to analyze or compare multiple files. Each file's content is returned with its path as a reference. Failed reads for individual files won't stop the entire operation. Only works within allowed directories.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Agentward Configuration
Gws Admin MCP Configuration