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.

If Search Console rejects the email with "Failed to add user: email not found," sign in as yourself instead; see troubleshooting.

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

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

In the client commands below, replace npx -y @sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0 with node "/absolute/path/to/google-search-console-mcp/build/index.js". In Claude Desktop, set command to node and args to an array containing that absolute path. Run npm test for offline authentication checks.

After completing authentication, paste this into your agent:

Add npx -y @sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0 as gsc in 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.

Sign in as yourself (ADC):

codex mcp add gsc -- npx -y @sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0

npm package with a service account:

codex mcp add gsc \
  --env "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/absolute/path/to/service-account-key.json" \
  -- npx -y @sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0

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

Sign in as yourself (ADC):

claude mcp add gsc --scope user -- npx -y @sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0

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/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0

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

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

Sign in as yourself (ADC):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsc": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0"]
    }
  }
}

npm package with a service account:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsc": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sarahpark/google-search-console-mcp@1.1.0"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS": "/absolute/path/to/service-account-key.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

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

No parameters required.

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

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

List all submitted sitemaps and their status for a site.

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.

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.

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

• Using npm 1.0.1 or earlier: update your client command to version 1.1.0 or later to use local gcloud ADC.
• Using ADC: 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: set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to the key's absolute path and confirm its email was added to each property you want to read.