Google Analytics

The Google Analytics connector works with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) accounts and properties. It uses the Google Analytics Data API for reports and the Google Analytics Admin API for account and property discovery and configuration data.

Authentication types

For a custom Google Cloud app, configure OAuth. Willow may also show Instant OAuth, which uses Willow's preconfigured app and does not use the Cloud client described here. This guide covers custom OAuth.

Before you start

You will need:

• A Google account that can create or configure a project in the Google Cloud Console.
• Access to at least one GA4 account or property. Cloud API access alone does not grant Analytics permissions.
• Your Willow Redirect URL, which is shown on the connector's Setup tab.

If Google Workspace restricts third-party apps, a Workspace admin may need to approve the OAuth client. See Approving the app for your organization.

Order matters

Enable both Analytics APIs before adding scopes. Google Auth Platform only lists scopes for APIs enabled in the selected Cloud project.

Setting up OAuth

1. Create or select a project

Go to https://console.cloud.google.com/ and either create a new project or select an existing one using the project picker in the top bar.

Every step below applies to the selected project, so make sure the right project name is showing before you continue.

2. Enable the Google Analytics APIs

In APIs & Services → Library, enable both of these APIs:

1. Search for Google Analytics Data API, open it, and click Enable.
2. Search for Google Analytics Admin API, open it, and click Enable.

The Data API provides report data, while the Admin API provides GA4 account and property configuration data used for discovery. If an API is already enabled, its page shows API Enabled or Disable API instead of Enable.

Direct links: Google Analytics Data API · Google Analytics Admin API

3. Configure the consent screen (Branding)

Google now places OAuth settings under Google Auth Platform instead of the old "OAuth consent screen" wizard. Open console.cloud.google.com/auth/branding. You can also go to APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen, which redirects to the same page.

Fill in the required fields:

• App name: What users see on the Google consent screen
• User support email
• Developer contact email

Click Save. Until these fields are filled in, the Audience page will warn that your OAuth configuration is incomplete.

4. Choose your audience

Open Audience (console.cloud.google.com/auth/audience) and set the User type.

Use Internal if you can. Click Make internal. An Internal app can be used only by members of your organization and does not need Google's External app verification.

Google offers Internal only when the Google Cloud project belongs to a Google Cloud Organization. Google Workspace or Cloud Identity provides an organization, but a personal Gmail account does not. If your project has no organization, Make internal is greyed out and External is your only option.

Internal apps may still need admin approval

An Internal app may still need admin approval for restricted Google Workspace services, including Gmail and Drive. See Approving the app for your organization.

If you use External, the app starts in Testing. Only accounts listed under Test users can connect. Add each user under Test users → Add users. Anyone who is not on the list gets an error when they try to connect.

Two things to know about Testing before you rely on it:

• The cap is 100 test users over the entire lifetime of the project. It cannot be reset or changed. Each person counts toward the limit as soon as you add them, even if they never connect.
• The user's authorization and refresh token expire after seven days. Users will have to reconnect every week.

Adding a test user takes effect immediately. Until the account is on the list, Google returns Error 403: access_denied with the message "Access blocked: … has not completed the Google verification process". Although the message mentions verification, it usually means the account is missing from Test users.

Complete Branding before publishing. If the Branding page is incomplete, the Audience page shows "Your app's OAuth configuration is incomplete" and Publish app stays greyed out.

5. Add Analytics scopes

Open Data Access (console.cloud.google.com/auth/scopes) and click Add or remove scopes. Start with the narrowest scope:

Scope	Use it when
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.readonly	The connector only reads reports and account/property metadata. This is the recommended starting point.
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics	A Willow tool explicitly requires broader view and management access.
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.edit	A Willow tool explicitly edits Analytics management entities.

For read-only access, select only analytics.readonly. The screenshot shows the broader options too; you do not need to select them all.

Google's Analytics Data API report methods accept analytics.readonly or the broader analytics scope. Analytics Admin API read methods generally accept analytics.readonly or analytics.edit; the exact requirement is method-specific. Do not add the broader scopes just because they appear in the picker.

If a scope is missing, paste its complete URI into Manually add scopes, click Add to table, and select it. Click Update, then Save.

6. Create the OAuth client

Open Clients (console.cloud.google.com/auth/clients) and click Create client.

1. Set Application type to Web application
2. Give the client a name
3. Under Authorized redirect URIs, click Add URI and add your Willow redirect URL:
   • For SaaS deployments: https://{org}.mcp-s.com/{org}/api/auth/callback
   • For On-Premise deployments: {connectUrl}/{org}/api/auth/callback
4. Click Create
5. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret

The redirect URI must match exactly, including https://, and must not have a trailing slash. A mismatch produces Error 400: redirect_uri_mismatch when you connect.

7. Finish in Willow

Open your Google connector in Willow and go to the Setup tab.

1. Under Authentication, select OAuth to use your own Client ID and Client Secret.
2. Paste the Client ID and Client Secret
3. Confirm the Redirect URL shown here exactly matches the URI you registered in step 6
4. Under Scopes, click Add and select the same scopes you configured in step 5
5. Click Save Changes

Selecting a scope in Willow that you did not add in Google Cloud will fail at connect time, so keep the two lists identical.

One OAuth client can serve several connectors

Every connector in a Willow organization shares the same Redirect URL, so one Google OAuth client works for all of them. You do not need one client per connector. Paste the same Client ID and Secret into each connector, then select only the scopes it needs.

Select the narrowest scopes offered by the connector that meet your needs.

8. Authorize the connection

Click Check connection. It stays disabled until the credentials are saved.

Willow opens Google's consent window. It also shows an Authenticate your MCP dialog with the authorization URL and an Authenticate button in case your browser blocks the window. Complete the Google consent steps, then click I've authenticated.

"Google hasn't verified this app"

An External app that requests sensitive or restricted scopes may show an unverified-app warning. If you are testing your own app, follow the available prompts to continue to consent. Publishing the app does not by itself complete verification.

If the consent window does not appear, use the Authenticate button in the dialog.

Test a read-only tool

To test the connection, go to the Tools tab, open the row menu for a read-only tool, and choose Test Tool → Run test. A successful run returns data from Google as JSON.

Use an existing resource that the authenticated account can access. A 401 response indicates an authentication problem; a 403 or 404 can also indicate missing permissions or an inaccessible resource, so an error alone does not confirm a working connection.

Check Guards if a response is blocked

If a tool returns Tool blocked by organization's guardrails, check the matching Willow Guard. The response was blocked by a Guard; changing OAuth scopes will not fix that block.

Approving the app for your organization

Google Workspace admins can restrict which third-party apps may access organization data. When this restriction is on, users may see an access-blocked message naming their Workspace admin or an admin-policy error, even when the OAuth setup is correct.

A Workspace super admin fixes this in the Admin console. From the Admin console, go to Menu → Security → Access and data control → API controls, then click Manage App Access.

To add an app that is not listed yet:

1. Click Configure new app
2. Enter the app name or the Client ID from step 6, then click Search
3. Select the app and click Continue
4. Under Access to Google data, choose Specific Google data and allow the scopes your connector needs, including any required Google Sign-in scopes. Choose Trusted only if your organization intends to allow the app to request all Google services, including restricted services.
5. Click Continue, then Finish

To change an app that is already listed, point to it and click Change access. To update several apps, select them and click Change access at the top. Use Select org units → Include organizations to choose which parts of your organization receive the change. Leave the top-level organization selected to apply it to everyone. Then confirm with Change access.

The access levels are Trusted, Limited, Specific Google data, and Blocked. Specific Google data permits the scopes you approve, including scopes for restricted services. Trusted permits access across all services.

Internal apps also need approval if your organization restricts unconfigured third-party apps. See Google's guide, Control which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data.

Verify the connection

After authorization, open the connector's Tools tab:

1. Run the account or property discovery tool and confirm that it returns the GA4 accounts or properties visible to the authorizing user.
2. Run a small report, such as a single metric over a short date range, against a property the user can access.

If discovery succeeds but a report fails, check the property ID and the user's access in Google Analytics. If no accounts or properties are returned, check that you authorized the intended Google account and that it has access to the expected Analytics account or property.

Google Analytics access is separate from OAuth

OAuth does not grant access to Analytics accounts or properties. In Google Analytics, confirm that the authenticated user has the role needed for the operation: Viewer or higher for reports, Editor or higher for configuration changes, or Administrator for access management.

When a tool asks for a property resource name, use properties/123456789. If it asks for a numeric property ID, use 123456789.

Publishing and verification

An Internal app is limited to users in the Cloud project's organization. If Internal is unavailable, use External and add every connecting account under Audience → Test users while the app is in Testing. Testing authorizations expire after seven days. For production use with external users, publish the app and follow the verification requirements shown for your selected scopes in Google Auth Platform.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause
Required scopes missing from the scope picker	A required API is not enabled in the selected project. See step 2.
Error 400: redirect_uri_mismatch	The Redirect URI in the OAuth client does not exactly match Willow's Redirect URL.
org_internal error	The app is Internal, but the user does not belong to the organization that owns the Google Cloud project.
Error 403: access_denied: "Access blocked: <domain> has not completed the Google verification process… can only be accessed by developer-approved testers"	The app is External and in Testing, but the Google account is not in Test users. Add the account on the Audience page. This is a test-user error, not a Workspace admin approval error.
"Access blocked" that names your Workspace admin, or persists for an account already listed under Test users	Workspace admin has not trusted the app. See Approving the app for your organization.
Users have to reconnect every 7 days	App is External and still in Testing. Authorizations expire seven days after consent.
Make internal is greyed out	The project does not belong to a Google Cloud Organization
Publish app is greyed out, with "Your app's OAuth configuration is incomplete"	Branding is unfinished. Fill in the Branding page first.
Tool call returns {"error":{"type":"Tool Error","message":"Tool blocked by organization's guardrails"}}	A Willow Guard blocked the response. Check Guards for the matching rule and result.

For scope requirements, see Google's Analytics Data API authorization documentation and Analytics Admin API documentation.