Gemini CLI — MCP Configs
- File format
- JSON
- Discovery path
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.gemini/settings.json - Syllago install method
- JSON merge
- Symlink support
- No
- Config file
-
.gemini/settings.json - Transports
-
stdio,sse
Features
How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.
Fields
Native frontmatter or config fields this provider exposes. The first column is the provider's own field name; the canonical key column links to syllago's cross-provider equivalent.
| Config key | Conversion | Canonical key | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
includeTools | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | — | Per-server includeTools and excludeTools arrays filter which MCP tools are exposed; excludeTools takes precedence on overlap. |
type | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | — | Supports stdio, SSE, and Streamable HTTP transports — set explicitly via the type field or inferred from the connection property used. |
trust | Conversion type: No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more → | — | Boolean trust field on a server config bypasses all tool call confirmations for that server when set to true. |
env | Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more → | — | Automatically expands $VAR, ${VAR}, and %VAR% in MCP server env blocks so secrets can be referenced from the shell environment. |
authProviderType | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | — | Remote MCP servers (SSE or HTTP transport) can require OAuth 2.0; authProviderType chooses dynamic_discovery (auto-detects endpoints from 401 responses), google_credentials (Google ADC), or service_account_impersonation (IAP-protected Cloud Run). Tokens stored in ~/.gemini/mcp-oauth-tokens.json and refreshed automatically. Managed interactively via /mcp auth. |
mcp.allowed | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | — | Top-level mcp.allowed and mcp.excluded arrays in settings.json globally allowlist or blocklist server names before per-server config. |
Other features
Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.
| Feature | Conversion | Summary |
|---|---|---|
env_var_expansion | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | env_variable_expansion: Gemini CLI MCP configuration supports environment variable expansion for secrets and paths |
oauth_support | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | oauth_authentication: Gemini CLI supports OAuth 2.0 for remote MCP servers via SSE or HTTP transports; authProviderType selects dynamic_discovery, google_credentials, or service_account_impersonation; tokens stored in ~/.gemini/mcp-oauth-tokens.json and auto-refreshed |
resource_referencing | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | resource_referencing: Gemini CLI supports accessing MCP resources in addition to tools |
tool_filtering | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | tool_filtering: Gemini CLI supports per-server tool filtering to control which MCP tools are exposed to the agent |
transport_types | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | transport_types: Gemini CLI documents supported MCP transport protocols including stdio and HTTP |
| Automatic environment variable redaction for MCP processes | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | When spawning MCP server processes, Gemini CLI redacts sensitive variables from the inherited environment (GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, and anything matching *TOKEN*, *SECRET*, *PASSWORD*, *KEY*, *AUTH*, *CREDENTIAL*, or certificate patterns) unless the variable is explicitly listed in the server's env block. |
| CLI commands for MCP server management | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | gemini mcp subcommands and /mcp slash commands add, remove, list, enable, and disable servers without editing settings.json. |
| MCP resource referencing via @ syntax | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | MCP server resources are exposed in the @ completion menu and inlined into prompts via @server://resource/path references. |