Google Docs: Export a document — MCP tool

Google Docs MCP tool: Exports the document as Markdown, text, HTML or a binary file format.

Technical name: export_document

What task it solves

I want to export a document as Markdown, PDF or another format.

Exports the document as Markdown, text, HTML or a binary file format.

When to use it

Use it to read a document as Markdown (the reading half of the Markdown round trip), to hand the content to another system, or to save a PDF/DOCX/ODT/RTF/EPUB copy locally.

What to provide

• document_id — required.
• format — required. One of markdown, txt, html, rtf, pdf, docx, odt, epub.
• output_path — optional for text formats, required for binary formats. Absolute local file path to write to; relative paths are refused.
• overwrite — optional (default false). Must be true for output_path to replace a file that already exists.

What it returns

Text formats (markdown, txt, html) inline as the tool result; with output_path (and for all binary formats) the file is written locally and the result reports saved_to and bytes.

What changes in Google Docs

Nothing in Google Docs. With output_path a new file is created on the local machine running the server — which is why the tool is not annotated read-only. An existing file at that path is never touched unless overwrite=true.

Example request

Export the launch plan as Markdown so we can review it as text.

Errors and limitations

Drive caps exports at 10 MB. Comments and unresolved suggestions are not part of any export. Binary formats without output_path are refused, as are relative output_path values and paths pointing at an existing file when overwrite is not true.

Access also depends on token permissions, quotas, and upstream API limits.

Related MCP tools

• Replace document with Markdown — import_markdown
• Read document as text — read_document_text

Technical details

• Impact: changes data (nothing in Google Docs — with output_path it creates a file on the local machine)
• Group: Documents and Markdown
• Description source: export_document registration in src/tools/documents.ts
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