Before You Begin

The whole Build path runs between three things: your Google account (where your stuff lives), Claude (the AI that helps you with it), and your computer(where they connect). That's it. No new accounts to remember, no third-party server to trust, no monthly fee.

When you ask Claude something, here's what actually happens: Claude looks at your Google Drive (or Calendar, or a Sheet), reads what you asked it to, and answers. Anthropic — the company that makes Claude — sees the question you typed and the answer it gave. They don't see anything else in your Google, and they don't store your files.

The same rule applies as anywhere on the internet: don't paste full medical records, full SSNs, or anything you wouldn't email a stranger. Reference the file in your Drive instead — Claude can read it directly and you don't have to copy-paste sensitive info into a chat.

Open drive.google.com. Click + New → Folder and name it Build with techfoundations. Inside that folder, create the following Google Sheets — empty for now, we'll fill them in as you go:

• meal_plan

  This week's meals + grocery items

• pantry

  What you already have in the kitchen

• recipes

  Saved recipes you actually cook

• health_log

  Vitals, symptoms, doctor notes

• medications

  Active meds + refill dates

• workouts

  Routine + log

• finance

  Budget, subscriptions, net worth

• paperwork

  Warranties, manuals, important docs

That's it for now. Each Build project tells you which Sheet to use and what columns to add — you don't have to know up front. Empty Sheets are fine.

Claude Desktop is the free app from Anthropic that runs on your computer. It's the version of Claude that can read your Google Drive directly (the browser version can't do that yet). Install it once and you're set.

MCP is the protocol that lets Claude Desktop talk to Google. It's set up via a small JSON file on your computer. You only do this once.

Open Claude Desktop. Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. The file you're editing lives here:

(varies by OS — Claude Desktop's Settings → Developer → Edit Config opens it for you)

Paste this snippet into the file (replace its contents). When you save and restart Claude Desktop, it will ask you to grant Google Drive access — say yes:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-workspace": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-gdrive"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

We'll keep the recommended MCP server up to date here. Drop-in replacements are normal as the Google Workspace MCP ecosystem matures.

Open Claude Desktop. In the chat, paste this exact prompt (it teaches Claude where your stuff is, just once):

I'm using techfoundations.ai to organize my life with you. My
Google Drive has a folder called "Build with techfoundations"
where I keep Sheets like meal_plan, pantry, and workouts.
When I ask you about meal planning, fitness, or finance,
read the relevant Sheet first and write updates back to it.

Then ask: "Help me plan dinner this week. My pantry Sheet is empty for now — start by asking me three questions."

Claude will ask about dietary preferences, who's eating, and how much time you have. From your answers, it writes a 5-meal plan into your meal_plan Sheet — and a grocery list. Open the Sheet in another tab and watch it fill in.

That's the foundation. Every Build project builds on this — health, exercise, finance, paperwork, family. Same Sheets, same Claude, same Google. Always yours.