Google now lets outside AI agents read and control a Google Home. The feature is called Home MCP, and Google’s Home MCP developer page labels it Early Access. It connects an agent such as Claude Cowork, Google Antigravity or OpenClaw to the homes, devices and device history in your Google Home account. It is not a switch in the Google Home app, though. You need the Advanced plan of Google Home Premium, a Google Cloud project of your own and an OAuth client that you create in that project.
Below: what an agent can and cannot do through Home MCP, what you need before you start, how the setup works, and how to take the access away again.
What an agent can do through Home MCP
Google’s Home MCP release notes date the launch to September 16, 2026. The server gives a connected agent five tools. The descriptions and example prompts in the table come from Google’s developer page.
| Tool | What Google says it does | Google’s example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| list_homes | Retrieves the homes and structures the agent can access | None given |
| list_home_resources | Lists devices, area layouts, traits, attributes and command schemas | “How many lights do I have in my house?” |
| list_home_states | Checks real-time device connectivity and device states | “Is my home secured?” |
| run_home_actions | Runs commands on target devices | “Turn off all the outside lights.” |
| list_home_history | Queries past state changes and event logs over a time range | “What happened while I was out?” |
Familiar faces data from Nest cameras is handled separately. Google requires its own consent step for it, given by a manager of the home. The home also needs at least one compatible Nest camera or doorbell, an active Google Home Premium subscription and Familiar face detection turned on for each camera or doorbell.
What it cannot do
- Unlock doors. Google says Home MCP enforces rate limits and safety protections, “such as prohibiting sensitive actions like unlocking doors.”
- Create automations. Google’s page says creating and managing automations with Home MCP “is not supported at this time,” and that Google plans to add it in a later release.
- Behave the same way with every agent. Google warns that “depending on your agent, connecting it to Home MCP can result in unexpected or even undesired behavior.”
Google also lists known issues: some traits are marked experimental and may not work as expected, and responses can take longer than expected at times.
What you need before you start
- A Google Home setup with connected devices.
- An active Advanced plan of Google Home Premium. Google’s Google Home Premium help page lists the Advanced plan with 60 days of event video history plus 10 days of 24/7 video history, against 30 days of event history on the Standard plan. Google’s Google One help page says Google AI Ultra includes access to the Advanced plan, and that otherwise the Advanced plan has to be purchased as an add-on.
- Access to a Google Cloud project.
- An MCP-compatible AI client. Google names Google Antigravity, Claude Cowork and OpenClaw.
On the subscription side, Google’s page lists a bug: Home MCP access should be limited to Premium Advanced subscribers, but Nest Aware Plus subscribers can currently get in as well. Google says it is working on a fix, so do not plan around that gap.
How the setup works
- In the Google Cloud console, create a project and enable the Home API.
- Configure the OAuth consent screen with an External audience.
- Create an OAuth client ID of the Web application type and add the redirect address for your agent. Google lists https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback for Claude Cowork and https://antigravity.google/oauth-callback for Google Antigravity. Copy the client ID and client secret to a secure location, as Google’s page instructs.
- Publish the app from the Audience section of Google Auth Platform.
- Add the server address, https://home.googleapis.com/mcp, to your agent with the client ID and secret. For Claude Cowork, Google’s steps go through Connectors, Add custom connector and Advanced settings, then the OAuth sign-in in your browser, then turning on home_mcp in a Cowork chat.
Google suggests testing with the example prompts from the table and granting tool permissions when your client asks for them.
Before you connect a shared home
Google’s page puts the risk plainly: connecting a real home to an agent lets that agent control devices on your behalf. If other people use the same Google Home, Google says you should tell them that your agent can control devices and access home data. Its alternative is to create an additional home and set up devices there for testing.
To cut an agent off, Google says its access “can be revoked at any time from the Google Home app (GHA) or your My Accounts page.”
Who should set it up now
Home MCP makes sense today for someone who already pays for Premium Advanced, already uses one of the agents Google names and is comfortable working in the Google Cloud console. For everyone else, the setup is the main cost: it is a developer-style OAuth project, not an option in the Google Home app. If you do connect an agent, start with questions about device lists, states and history before you ask it to run commands, and do not expect it to unlock doors, since Google blocks that.
For how other platforms handle hubs and local control, see our explainers on SmartThings local control and Matter 1.6 and on the hub and iCloud+ plan Apple Home Collection devices need.
How we checked: this article is based on Google’s Home MCP developer page and release notes, Google’s MCP servers overview page, and Google’s help pages on Google Home Premium and on Google One benefits, all read on November 1, 2026. Tool names, requirements, limits and known issues are Google’s. DecodeGear has not connected an agent to a Google Home for this article.
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