AI SavvyFounders Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure

Connect Google Sheets to Claude via Gumloop MCP

Give Claude direct read and write access to your Google Sheets. No code, no API keys, no middleware you have to maintain.

10 minutes Beginner Updated August 2026

Purpose

Connect your Google Sheets to Claude so you can read, write, and manage spreadsheet data directly inside a Claude conversation.

Who This Is For

Founders who use Google Sheets for tracking, reporting, or managing data and want Claude to work with that data in real time.

Tools Needed

A Google account with at least one Google Sheet, a Claude Pro or Team plan, and a free Gumloop account.

01

Create Your Gumloop Account

Go to Gumloop and sign up for a free account. No credit card is required.

Gumloop Sign Up
gumloop.com
  1. a. Click Sign Up on the Gumloop homepage.
  2. b. Enter your email and create a password, or continue with Google.
  3. c. Verify your email if prompted. You will land on the Gumloop dashboard once complete.
02

Connect Google Sheets Inside Gumloop

Now connect your Google account so Gumloop can act as the bridge between Claude and your spreadsheets.

  1. a. Inside your Gumloop dashboard, click Connectors in the left sidebar.
  2. b. Find Google Sheets in the list of available connectors.
  3. c. Click Connect. A Google OAuth window will open.
  4. d. Sign in with the Google account that owns (or has access to) the sheets you want Claude to work with.
  5. e. Review the permissions Google asks for and click Allow.
  6. f. You will be redirected back to Gumloop. The integration should now show as connected with a green status indicator.
Important

Make sure you connect the Google account that contains the sheets you want to use. If your business sheets are on a different Google account from your personal one, use the business account during the OAuth step.

03

Copy Your MCP Server URL

Gumloop generates a unique MCP server URL for your account. This URL is what Claude will use to communicate with your Google Sheets.

Gumloop MCP for Google Sheets
gumloop.com/mcp/gsheets
  1. a. Go to gumloop.com/mcp/gsheets in your browser (make sure you are logged in).
  2. b. Scroll down to the Installation section on the page.
  3. c. You will see a unique URL generated for your account. It will look something like https://mcp.gumloop.com/gsheets/mcp?user_id=your_id.
  4. d. Click the copy button next to the URL, or select the full URL and copy it manually.
Warning

This URL is unique to your account. Do not share it publicly. Anyone with this URL could potentially interact with your Google Sheets through the MCP connector.

04

Add the Custom Connector in Claude

Now tell Claude where to find your Google Sheets MCP server by adding it as a custom connector.

  1. a. Open Claude at claude.ai.
  2. b. Click your profile icon in the bottom-left corner, then click Settings.
  3. c. In the Settings panel, click Connectors in the left menu.
  4. d. Click Add custom connector.
  5. e. In the Name field, enter a clear label. For example: Google Sheets via Gumloop.
  6. f. In the URL field, paste the MCP server URL you copied in Step 3.
  7. g. Click Save.
Tip

After saving, the connector should appear in your connectors list. If Claude asks you to approve or confirm the connection when you first use it in a conversation, click Allow.

Screenshot: Claude Settings > Connectors > Add custom connector dialog
05

Test the Connection

Verify that everything is working by asking Claude to do something with one of your existing Google Sheets.

  1. a. Open a new conversation in Claude.
  2. b. Make sure the Google Sheets connector is enabled for this conversation. Check the tools/connectors toggle if available.
  3. c. Type a simple request that references a real spreadsheet you own. For example:
Sample Prompts to Test

"List all the sheet names in my [Spreadsheet Name] spreadsheet."

"Read the first 5 rows from Sheet1 in my [Spreadsheet Name] spreadsheet."

"Add a new row to my [Spreadsheet Name] spreadsheet with today's date in column A and 'Test entry' in column B."

  1. d. Claude should execute the action and return the result. If it reads your data correctly or writes to the sheet successfully, the connection is working.
  2. e. Open the Google Sheet in your browser to confirm any write operations actually appeared.

Capabilities

What You Can Do Now

With the Gumloop MCP connector active, Claude can perform these operations on your Google Sheets in real time:

Action Example Prompt
Read cell values "What's in cells A1 through C10 of my Sales Tracker?"
Write or update data "Update row 5, column D to 'Completed' in my Project Sheet."
Create a new spreadsheet "Create a new Google Sheet called 'Q3 Budget' with columns for Date, Category, Amount, and Notes."
Add a new sheet tab "Add a new tab called 'August' to my Monthly Tracker spreadsheet."
Format cells "Bold the header row and set it to a light grey background."
Sort a range "Sort my leads sheet by column C (Score) in descending order."
Find and replace "Replace all instances of 'TBD' with 'Pending' in my tracker."
Add a chart "Create a bar chart from columns A and B in my Revenue sheet."

Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Fixes

Claude says it cannot find the connector or the tool is not available

Open Claude Settings and check that the connector is listed and enabled. If it shows as disconnected, delete it, re-copy the URL from Gumloop, and add it again.

Claude connects but cannot find your spreadsheet

Make sure the Google account you connected in Gumloop is the same account that owns (or has edit access to) the spreadsheet. If the sheet was shared with a different Google account, connect that account instead, or share the sheet with the connected account.

The Google OAuth flow fails or shows an error

Try a different browser or clear your cookies. Some ad blockers interfere with OAuth pop-ups. Disable them temporarily and try the connection again from Gumloop's Connectors page.

Connection was working but suddenly stopped

Your Google OAuth token may have expired. Go to Gumloop's Connectors page, disconnect Google Sheets, and reconnect it. Then test again in Claude.

Claude writes to the wrong sheet or wrong cells

Be specific in your prompts. Include the exact spreadsheet name and sheet tab name. For example: "In my 'Q3 Revenue Tracker' spreadsheet, on the 'August' tab, update cell B12 to 4500."

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs

Is Gumloop free to use for this?

Yes. Gumloop offers a free tier that includes the Google Sheets MCP connector. No credit card is required to sign up. If you hit usage limits on the free plan, Gumloop offers paid tiers with higher capacity.

What can Claude actually do with my Google Sheets?

Claude can read cell values, write and update data, create new spreadsheets and tabs, format cells, add charts, sort ranges, find and replace values, and more. It operates on your live Google Sheets in real time.

Does Gumloop store my spreadsheet data?

Gumloop acts as a pass-through connector. It authenticates your Google account and relays requests between Claude and the Google Sheets API. Review Gumloop's privacy policy for full details on data handling.

Can I connect multiple Google accounts?

Each Gumloop account connects to one Google account at a time. If you need to work with sheets from multiple Google accounts, share the relevant sheets with the Google account you connected in Gumloop.

Do I need a Claude Pro plan for this?

Custom connectors are available on Claude Pro, Team, and Enterprise plans. If you are on the free Claude tier, you will need to upgrade to use MCP connectors.

What if my connector stops working?

Go to Gumloop's Connectors page and check if your Google Sheets connection is still active. If it shows as disconnected, re-authenticate through the OAuth flow. Then test again in Claude.