In this guide
- The Tag Manager tools are part of the Open Tracked MCP server. They appear when you give it a Google credential.
- They can read and change accounts, containers, workspaces, tags, triggers, variables, templates, clients, transformations and versions.
- The install tool puts the Open Tracked containers into new workspaces. Nothing is published.
Tag Manager is a tool where a lot of the work is clicking: create a tag, attach a trigger, set a variable, repeat. An AI assistant connected to Tag Manager can do that from a plain description. The GTM MCP server is the connection. It is part of the Open Tracked MCP server, free and open source, and it works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and any app that supports MCP. This page explains what it can do, how it is set up and how to keep it safe. Set-up steps are in the configuration guide.
What you need
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source |
| Google credential | A service account added to Tag Manager (recommended), or an OAuth client with a refresh token |
| Tag Manager rights | The service account needs Edit rights for the web and server containers, under Admin, User management |
| Tag Manager API | Enabled in the service account's Google Cloud project |
| Node.js | 20 or newer |
Connected in minutes
Add your domain, install the pixel, connect your ad platforms and watch the first events land.
What it can do
Read
Accounts, containers, workspaces, tags, triggers, variables, templates, clients, transformations and versions. "Which tags fire on purchase?"
Change
Create, update and delete the same things inside a workspace. "Add a trigger for the thank-you page and attach it to the Meta purchase tag."
Version and publish
Create versions and publish them, only when you ask for it.
Install the Open Tracked tags in one request
Tag Manager has no "import container" call. The open_tracked_install_gtm_pack tool does what Admin, Import container does, through the API. It builds the Open Tracked containers for your shop and creates their templates, variables, triggers, clients, tags and transformations in a new workspace of your web container and one of your server container.
- Nothing existing is touched and nothing is published. Open the workspace link, look, then publish.
- A name that is already in the workspace is skipped, so a second run is safe.
- Tag Manager allows only a few changes per minute, so a full pack takes a few minutes. The tool slows down and retries on its own.
- A dry run builds and describes everything without changing anything.
Watch events arrive, live
A sample feed. In Open Tracked you see the same stream for your own store.
Stay in control
The assistant can only do what the Tag Manager rights of your service account allow. Give Edit rights only to the containers you want it to work on, and review a workspace before you publish it. Read AI controls for Google Tag Manager for a safe workflow, and MCP for Google Tag Manager for how this compares with other servers.
Benefits
- Faster work. Describe the change instead of clicking through workspaces.
- Several accounts and containers. Ask the same question across all of them.
- Quicker answers. Find where a tag, trigger or variable is used without opening each one.
- A cleaner start for Open Tracked. One request replaces importing two files by hand.
Get started
Set up the Open Tracked MCP server
See the Open Tracked MCP server.
Create a Google service account
In your Google Cloud project, with the Tag Manager API enabled.
Add it to Tag Manager
In Admin, User management, with Edit rights for the containers you want.
Give the key to the server
As described in the configuration guide.
Ask a read-only question first
For example, list the tags in the web container.
Try the dry run of the install tool
Then run it for real into a new workspace.
The Tag Manager tools come from the open-source google-tag-manager-mcp-core package (Apache 2.0), used unchanged.
Runs on your domain, anywhere
Your tracking runs on your own domain, so a visit from any country is handled the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What is the GTM MCP server?
The Tag Manager tools of the Open Tracked MCP server, which let an AI assistant read and change Google Tag Manager.
Does it publish automatically?
No. The install tool never publishes. Versions and publishing happen only when you ask for them.
What does it need?
A Google credential with Tag Manager rights, Node.js 20 or newer and an MCP app.
Is it free?
Yes, free and open source.
How do I install the Open Tracked tags?
Use the install tool. It creates the Open Tracked containers in new workspaces of your web and server containers, and you review before publishing.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
Fix your tracking at the source
Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.
The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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