Google Docs: Get document structure — MCP tool
Google Docs MCP tool: Returns the raw Docs API document with every structural element and index.
Technical name: get_document
What task it solves
I want to inspect the full technical structure of a document.
Returns the raw Docs API document with every structural element and index.
When to use it
Use it when the compact view from read_document_text is not enough: you need text run styles, inlineObjects image ids, header/footer segment ids, list definitions, suggestions, or the exact JSON the Docs API stores. For plain reading prefer read_document_text — this output is verbose.
What to provide
document_id— required. The id from the document URL orcreate_document.include_tabs_content— optional, default true. Populate every tab's content.suggestions_view_mode— optional. How unresolved suggested edits render.
What it returns
The raw Docs API document: title, documentId, revisionId, per-tab body.content with startIndex/endIndex on every element, inlineObjects, headers/footers and named styles.
What changes in Google Docs
Nothing — the tool reads Google Docs data and does not change it.
Example request
Show me the raw structure of this document so we can find the image object ids.
Errors and limitations
Large documents produce very large responses — use read_document_text for content work. Indexes are UTF-16 code units and go stale after any edit.
Access also depends on token permissions, quotas, and upstream API limits.
Related MCP tools
- Read document as text —
read_document_text - List document tabs —
list_tabs - Raw Google Docs API call —
raw_request
Technical details
- Impact: read-only
- Group: Documents and Markdown
- Description source:
get_documentregistration insrc/tools/documents.ts - Full technical reference
- All MCP capabilities