Add the BigQuery MCP server to Claude Desktop

Config last verified Jun 1, 2026

The exact config to run BigQuery in Claude Desktop — paste it in, restart, and the tools load.

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed.
BIGQUERY_PROJECT — Default Google Cloud project ID used for all BigQuery operations.

Setup

1. Open `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

On Windows the file lives at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.

2. Add this configuration

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bigquery": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "BIGQUERY_PROJECT",
        "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/database-toolbox/toolbox/toolbox:latest",
        "--prebuilt",
        "bigquery",
        "--stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BIGQUERY_PROJECT": "<BIGQUERY_PROJECT>"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop and confirm the BigQuery tools load.

Gotchas

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from an "mcpServers" object, but the config file is stdio-only: it cannot dial a remote URL directly. To reach a remote server you bridge it locally by running "npx mcp-remote <url>" as the command. Native remote Connectors exist on paid plans, but not through this config file, so the bridge is the portable path.

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