Google Docs: Style paragraphs — MCP tool

Google Docs MCP tool: Applies paragraph formatting — headings, alignment, spacing, indents — to a range.

Technical name: style_paragraph

What task it solves

I want to turn paragraphs into headings or change their layout.

Applies paragraph formatting — headings, alignment, spacing, indents — to a range.

When to use it

Use it to make headings (named_style heading_1..heading_6 — these feed the document outline), align text, set line spacing, spacing above/below, indents, keep-with-next and text direction. Affects every paragraph overlapping the range.

What to provide

• document_id, start_index, end_index — required.
• Any of: named_style (normal_text, title, subtitle, heading_1..heading_6), alignment (start/center/end/justified), line_spacing (100 = single), space_above/space_below (points), indent_start/indent_end/indent_first_line (points), keep_with_next, direction (ltr/rtl). At least one is required.
• tab_id, segment_id — optional addressing.

What it returns

The batchUpdate reply with the new revisionId.

What changes in Google Docs

Only the provided paragraph fields change on every overlapping paragraph. A range inside a single paragraph styles that whole paragraph.

Example request

Make the line "Roadmap" a Heading 2 and center it.

Errors and limitations

Requires at least one style field. Named styles replace manual character styling defaults for the paragraph — apply style_text afterwards if needed.

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

Related MCP tools

• Style a text range — style_text
• Set or remove list bullets — set_paragraph_bullets

Technical details

• Impact: destructive operation
• Group: Styles and lists
• Description source: style_paragraph registration in src/tools/styles.ts
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