Skip to content llms.txt

Gemini CLI — MCP Configs

File format
JSON
Discovery path
.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 keyConversionCanonical keySummary
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 Embedded Conversion type: Embedded 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.
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.

FeatureConversionSummary
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
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
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.

Sources

Source
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/main/schemas/settings.schema.json
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/main/docs/tools/mcp-server.md
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/main/docs/cli/tutorials/mcp-setup.md