Verified Agent Skill record

google-ads-API-MCP-setup

Guides developers through downloading, configuring, and installing the official open-source Google Ads MCP Server. Use this skill when a user wants to connect their AI assistant (such as Gemini, Claude Code, or Cursor) to their Google Ads account to query campaigns or retrieve reporting metrics using natural language.

Tasks

Verify the local environment meets the prerequisites by checking that Python 3.12+ and pipx are installed and globally accessible.
Install the official google-ads-mcp package from PyPI using pipx install google-ads-mcp.
Configure the required Google Ads authentication credentials (Developer Token, Client ID, Client Secret, Refresh Token, and Customer IDs) in the MCP client's JSON configuration or shell environment.
Register the MCP server with the AI assistant by adding it as a stdio subprocess in the tool's configuration, using the command 'pipx run google-ads-mcp'.

Inputs

Developer Token from the Google Ads API Center
OAuth2 Client ID and Client Secret
OAuth2 Refresh Token
Client Customer ID (10 digits, no hyphens)
Login Customer ID for MCC hierarchies (10 digits, no hyphens)

Outputs

A configured local or cloud-hosted MCP server communicating via standard input/output (stdio) transport
Active integration allowing AI assistants to query Google Ads campaigns and retrieve reporting metrics

Limitations and checks

The MCP server does not listen on network ports like HTTP or WebSockets because it relies entirely on stdin/stdout piping.
The server must not print standard log messages or debug info to stdout, as it is reserved for MCP protocol messages; logs are routed to stderr.
Requires restarting the terminal or reloading the shell configuration after running 'pipx ensurepath' for the PATH updates to take effect.
Confirm Python version is 3.12 or higher before proceeding with the installation.
Validate that the Client Customer ID and Login Customer ID contain digits only and no hyphens.
Ensure the command proposed for Claude Desktop integration uses 'pipx' as the command and ['run', 'google-ads-mcp'] as the arguments.
Verify that the GOOGLE_ADS_DEVELOPER_TOKEN, GOOGLE_ADS_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_ADS_CLIENT_SECRET, and GOOGLE_ADS_REFRESH_TOKEN environment variables are declared within the integration configuration.
Confirm that the term 'standard input/output (stdio) transport' is explicitly stated when explaining the communication architecture to the user.