Google Photos Automation via Rube MCP

Upload photos, manage albums, search media items, and batch-organize content in Google Photos using Rube MCP (Composio).

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/googlephotos

Prerequisites

• Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

• Active connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit googlephotos

• Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

• Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds

• Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit googlephotos

• If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete setup

• Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. List Albums

Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_ALBUMS to retrieve all albums visible in the user's Albums tab.

Tool: GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_ALBUMS Parameters:

• pageSize: Number of albums per page
• pageToken: Pagination token
• excludeNonAppCreatedData: Only show albums created by this app

2. Create a New Album

Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_CREATE_ALBUM to create a new album in Google Photos.

Tool: GOOGLEPHOTOS_CREATE_ALBUM Parameters:

• title (required): Album title

3. Upload Media

Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPLOAD_MEDIA to upload an image or video file to Google Photos.

Tool: GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPLOAD_MEDIA Parameters:

• file_to_upload: Local file path to upload
• url: URL of file to upload (alternative to file_to_upload)
• file_name: Name for the uploaded file
• description: Description/caption for the media item

4. Batch Upload and Create Media Items

Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_CREATE_MEDIA_ITEMS to upload multiple files and create media items in one operation.

Tool: GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_CREATE_MEDIA_ITEMS Parameters:

• files: Local file paths to upload
• urls: URLs of files to upload
• media_files: Mixed input (files and URLs)
• albumId: Album to add items to
• albumPosition: Position within the album

5. Search Media Items

Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_SEARCH_MEDIA_ITEMS to search the user's photo library with filters.

Tool: GOOGLEPHOTOS_SEARCH_MEDIA_ITEMS Parameters:

• albumId: Filter by album
• filters: Search filters (date ranges, content categories, media types)
• orderBy: Sort order
• pageSize: Results per page
• pageToken: Pagination token

6. Add Items to an Album

Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_ADD_MEDIA_ITEMS to add existing media items to an album.

Tool: GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_ADD_MEDIA_ITEMS Parameters:

• albumId (required): Target album ID
• mediaItemIds (required): Array of media item IDs to add

Common Patterns

• Create album then upload: Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_CREATE_ALBUM to create an album, then GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_CREATE_MEDIA_ITEMS with the album ID to upload and organize photos in one step.

• List then organize: Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_SEARCH_MEDIA_ITEMS or GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_MEDIA_ITEMS to find media item IDs, then GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_ADD_MEDIA_ITEMS to add them to albums.

• Update album metadata: Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPDATE_ALBUM to change an album's title or cover photo.

• Get album details: Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_GET_ALBUM with an album ID to retrieve full album information.

• Add enrichments: Use GOOGLEPHOTOS_ADD_ENRICHMENT to add text overlays, locations, or map enrichments to album positions.

• Upload from URLs: Use the url parameter in GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPLOAD_MEDIA or urls in GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_CREATE_MEDIA_ITEMS to upload images directly from web URLs.

Known Pitfalls

• GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_MEDIA_ITEMS is deprecated -- prefer GOOGLEPHOTOS_SEARCH_MEDIA_ITEMS for listing and filtering media.

• GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPLOAD_MEDIA supports images up to 200MB and videos up to a larger limit. Exceeding these will fail.

• Album IDs must be obtained from GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_ALBUMS or GOOGLEPHOTOS_CREATE_ALBUM responses -- they are opaque strings.

• GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_ADD_MEDIA_ITEMS can only add items to albums created by the app or albums the user owns.

• The filters parameter in GOOGLEPHOTOS_SEARCH_MEDIA_ITEMS uses a specific Google Photos API filter structure -- consult the schema for date range and content category formats.

• Media items created via the API may not immediately appear in the Google Photos web UI due to processing delays.

Quick Reference

Action Tool Key Parameters

List albums GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_ALBUMS

pageSize , pageToken

Create album GOOGLEPHOTOS_CREATE_ALBUM

title

Get album GOOGLEPHOTOS_GET_ALBUM

albumId

Update album GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPDATE_ALBUM

albumId , title , coverPhotoMediaItemId

Upload media GOOGLEPHOTOS_UPLOAD_MEDIA

file_to_upload or url , description

Batch upload GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_CREATE_MEDIA_ITEMS

files or urls , albumId

Search media GOOGLEPHOTOS_SEARCH_MEDIA_ITEMS

albumId , filters , pageSize

List media items GOOGLEPHOTOS_LIST_MEDIA_ITEMS

pageSize , pageToken

Add items to album GOOGLEPHOTOS_BATCH_ADD_MEDIA_ITEMS

albumId , mediaItemIds

Add enrichment GOOGLEPHOTOS_ADD_ENRICHMENT

albumId , newEnrichmentItem , albumPosition

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