google-search-console-mcp-server
An open-source Model Context Protocol server for Google Search Console. It lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client query your search performance, inspect indexing, and analyse sitemaps.
Read-only, with no way to turn that off. You run it, and your credentials stay on your machine.
Also listed in the MCP Registry as com.getmcpads/google-search-console, so clients that read the registry can install it by name.
Prefer not to run it yourself? getmcpads.com is the hosted version of this server, with Search Console alongside Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, Pinterest Ads and Google Analytics behind a single endpoint, hosted OAuth, and cross-platform reporting. Same tools, same safety model, no setup.
What you get
| 20 read tools | Search Analytics, sites, sitemaps, URL Inspection, and analyses built on top of them |
| SEO analyses, not just an API wrapper | Cannibalisation detection, query clustering, wins and losses between periods, indexation watchlists, large-site sampling plans |
| 7 resources | Live catalogues the model can read: metrics, dimensions, filters, compatibility rules, 8 workflow recipes, read-only playbooks |
| Quota guardrails | Every URL Inspection call is capped at 10 URLs, so one exploratory question cannot burn a day of quota |
| No writes at all | Not a flag, a property of the code. See below |
What it does beyond fetching rows
Search Console answers questions about rows. Most real questions are about change: which queries did we lose, which pages compete for the same term, is indexing drifting.
These tools do that work rather than leaving it to the model:
| Tool | Question it answers |
|---|---|
gsc_detect_cannibalization | Which pages compete for the same query |
gsc_find_losses_gains | What we won and lost between two periods |
gsc_cluster_queries | Which queries belong to the same intent |
gsc_compare_search_types | How web, image, video and news differ |
gsc_analyze_search_appearance_trends | How rich results evolve |
gsc_indexation_watchlist | Which URLs changed indexing verdict |
gsc_plan_large_site_sampling | Which URLs to inspect, when you cannot inspect them all |
One thing to know before you trust a number
Search Console returns a top N, not a site total.
When you query with a dimension such as query or page, the API returns the highest
ranked rows up to your row limit, ordered by clicks. Summing the clicks of those rows does
not give you the site total: the long tail is missing, and on a large site it can be most
of the traffic.
To get a real total, query without dimensions. To compare periods, compare like with like: same dimensions, same row limit, same search type.
gsc_query_search_analytics reports what it actually returned, and gsc_validate_query
checks a combination before it runs. But the arithmetic mistake is yours to avoid, and it is
the most common one in Search Console analysis.
Two other limits worth carrying in your head:
- Roughly 16 months of history. Anything older is gone, not slow.
- Data settles over about three days.
gsc_get_data_freshnesstells you what is final.
Read-only, and why it stays that way
There are no write tools, and no environment variable that adds any. The Search Console API can submit and delete sitemaps, add and remove properties, and request indexing. This server exposes none of that.
The scope it asks for reflects that: webmasters.readonly, not webmasters. Even if the
model tried, the token cannot write.
Our ad platform servers, where writes make sense, do have them, guarded by a mandatory preview: Meta Ads · Google Ads · TikTok Ads
The hosted version at getmcpads.com keeps the same rule: Search Console stays read-only there too.
Getting credentials
Three values, obtained once.
1. OAuth client
In a Google Cloud project, enable the Google Search Console API, then create an OAuth client under APIs & Services → Credentials. Choose Desktop app for local use. Note the client ID and client secret.
2. Refresh token
Run the OAuth consent flow once, signed in as a Google account that owns or can read your
properties, and keep the refresh token. Request webmasters.readonly and nothing more.
📖 Google OAuth for installed apps
The refresh token does not expire. Use an OAuth client dedicated to this server so you can revoke it on its own.
For a quick trial you can set GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN to a short-lived token instead, but it
expires within the hour and is useless for daily work.
If setting up an OAuth client is more than you want to do for one property, getmcpads.com handles the consent flow for you and gives you the same tools behind a hosted endpoint.
3. Site URL, optional
Set GSC_SITE_URL to avoid passing it on every call. Both property forms work:
| Property type | Value |
|---|---|
| URL-prefix | https://example.com/ (the trailing slash matters) |
| Domain | sc-domain:example.com |
List what you can reach with gsc_list_sites, and run gsc_health_check as your first
call. It verifies the credentials without printing any secret.
Setup
Claude Desktop
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS)
or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
Restart Claude Desktop. Ask it: "which queries did we lose last month?".
Claude Code
Cursor
.cursor/mcp.json in your project, same shape as the Claude Desktop config above.
From source
Configuration
| Variable | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
GSC_CLIENT_ID | none | OAuth client ID |
GSC_CLIENT_SECRET | none | OAuth client secret |
GSC_REFRESH_TOKEN | none | From the consent flow |
GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN | none | Alternative to the three above, expires within the hour |
GSC_SITE_URL | none | Optional default property |
LOG_LEVEL | info | debug, info, warn, error |
Either the three OAuth values, or GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN. The server refuses to start with neither.
Tools
20 read tools
Discovery and health
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
gsc_health_check | Validates credentials and reachable properties |
gsc_list_sites / gsc_get_site | Properties you can reach, and their permission level |
gsc_get_data_freshness | How settled the most recent data is |
Search Analytics
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
gsc_query_search_analytics | The main reporting tool. Dimensions, filters, date ranges |
gsc_validate_query | Check a combination before running it |
gsc_compare_search_types | Web, image, video, news and discover side by side |
gsc_analyze_search_appearance_trends | How rich results evolve over time |
SEO analysis
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
gsc_detect_cannibalization | Pages competing for the same query |
gsc_find_losses_gains | Queries and pages won or lost between two periods |
gsc_cluster_queries | Group queries by shared intent |
Indexing
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
gsc_inspect_url | Crawl and index status for one URL |
gsc_bulk_inspect_urls | Up to 10 URLs per call, to protect your quota |
gsc_indexation_watchlist | Track URLs whose verdict changed |
gsc_monitor_indexation_freshness | Freshness and indexation drift together |
gsc_plan_large_site_sampling | Build an inspection sample when you cannot inspect everything |
Sitemaps
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
gsc_list_sitemaps / gsc_get_sitemap | Submitted sitemaps and their status |
gsc_get_sitemap_health | Errors, warnings and pending states |
gsc_track_sitemap_deltas | What changed against a baseline you supply |
7 resources
| URI | Contents |
|---|---|
gsc://manifest | What this server exposes, and which tool to run first |
gsc://metrics | The 8 Search Analytics metrics, raw and derived |
gsc://dimensions | The 7 dimensions and where they are valid |
gsc://filters | The 5 filter operators and their accepted values |
gsc://compatibility | Which dimensions work with which search types and data states |
gsc://recipes | 8 step-by-step workflows |
gsc://p2-readonly-playbooks | Monitoring playbooks and their invariants |
Security
- The client secret and refresh token are never logged, at any log level, or written to disk.
- Four hosts are contacted, and only four:
searchconsole.googleapis.comandwww.googleapis.comfor the API,oauth2.googleapis.comandaccounts.google.comfor OAuth. A test fails the build if a fifth host appears in the source. - No fetch follows a redirect. Every outbound call sets
redirect: "error", so a redirect cannot forward a bearer token or client secret to another host. A test fails the build if any fetch omits this. - The scope is
webmasters.readonly. The token itself cannot write. - No telemetry. The server makes no network call other than to Google.
Full policy: SECURITY.md.
Looking for a managed, multi-platform version?
This server does one platform, on your machine, with your credentials. That is on purpose.
If you'd rather not run it yourself, or you need Search Console alongside Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, Pinterest Ads and Google Analytics behind one endpoint, with hosted OAuth and cross-platform reporting, that's what we build at getmcpads.com.
Same philosophy, less plumbing. This project stays open source and independently useful either way.
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md. Please read SECURITY.md before reporting anything security-related.
Licence
Apache License 2.0. See also NOTICE.
Google and Google Search Console are trademarks of Google LLC. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC. It is an independent client of a public API.