GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_TOKEN is required when GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_H

Error message

GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_TOKEN is required when GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_HOST is not loopback.

What it means

Error "GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_TOKEN is required when GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_HOST is not loopback." thrown in paperclipai/paperclip.

Source

Thrown at packages/google-sheets-mcp-server/src/config.ts:136

  }

  const serviceAccount = serviceAccountSchema.parse(parsed);
  return {
    serviceAccount,
    allowedSpreadsheetIds,
    secretRedactions: [
      raw,
      serviceAccount.private_key,
      serviceAccount.client_email,
    ].filter((value) => value.length >= 8),
  };
}

export function createGoogleSheetsMcpHttpConfig(input: GoogleSheetsMcpHttpConfigInput): GoogleSheetsMcpHttpConfig {
  const token = input.token?.trim();
  const host = normalizeBindHost(input.host);
  if (!token && !isLoopbackBindHost(host)) {
    throw new Error("GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_TOKEN is required when GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_HOST is not loopback.");
  }
  return {
    mcpConfig: createGoogleSheetsMcpConfig(input),
    port: parsePort(input.port),
    host,
    token: token ? token : null,
  };
}

export function readConfigFromEnv(
  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
  argv: string[] = process.argv.slice(2),
): GoogleSheetsMcpConfig {
  const args = parseArgs(argv);
  return createGoogleSheetsMcpConfig({
    serviceAccountJson: args.serviceAccountJson ?? env.GOOGLE_SHEETS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON,
    serviceAccountJsonPath: args.serviceAccountJsonPath ?? env.GOOGLE_SHEETS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON_PATH,
    allowedSpreadsheetIds: args.allowedSpreadsheetIds

View on GitHub (pinned to 120ae5428f)

Solutions

Set GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_TOKEN to a strong bearer token, or bind GOOGLE_SHEETS_MCP_HOST to 127.0.0.1 (loopback).

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/google-sheets-mcp-server/src/config.ts:136 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d2bffc46b46bbd10. Report an issue: GitHub.