Can the Gemini app use a third-party MCP server?

Yes, through Spark’s custom apps — but with real conditions: a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription, a personal Google account, an 18+ account holder, availability in the United States, and Keep Activity switched on. Gemini CLI has none of those constraints.

Where does Gemini CLI store MCP servers?

~/.gemini/settings.json. A remote server is written as an httpUrl, which you can edit by hand if you would rather not use gemini mcp add. OAuth tokens are stored separately, so the file holds no secret.

Why does Gemini ask me to confirm every time it writes?

Write actions through a custom app always require manual confirmation in the Gemini app. It is a deliberate safety default and there is no setting to bypass it.

I am outside the US. What are my options?

Gemini CLI, which has no geographic restriction, or any of the other clients here. Claude Code and Codex are the closest equivalents in setup effort.

MCP · Hosted chat and CLI

Connect FishOut to Gemini (MCP setup)

Two routes, and they are genuinely different products. Gemini CLI takes a remote MCP server in one command and works anywhere. The Gemini app supports custom apps through Spark, which carries real eligibility rules.

Start free Read the MCP docs

Setup steps checked against Gemini's own documentation on 20 October 2026.

[01] CONNECT IT/ SETUP

Add FishOut to Gemini

https://mcp.fishout.ai/mcp, on every plan.

Gemini CLI — add the server

One command, and the same --transport http flag Claude Code needs. The config is written to ~/.gemini/settings.json, where a remote server appears as an httpUrl.

bash

gemini mcp add --transport http fishout https://mcp.fishout.ai/mcp

Gemini CLI — sign in

Gemini CLI discovers FishOut’s OAuth settings from the URL. Run /mcp auth fishout inside a session; your browser opens on FishOut to sign in, pick projects and approve. For a headless machine, pass an API key from Settings → API & MCP with --header "Authorization: Bearer …" instead.

gemini cli

/mcp auth fishout

Gemini app — check you are eligible

Custom apps in the Gemini app run through Spark, which requires a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription, a personal Google account rather than a Workspace one, an account holder aged 18 or over, and availability in the United States. Keep Activity also has to be on. If any of those does not hold, the CLI is the route that works.

Gemini app — add the custom app

Go to Settings & help → Connected Apps → Custom apps for Spark, and add the FishOut server URL. Authentication is negotiated in the browser rather than pasted as a header.

server url

https://mcp.fishout.ai/mcp

Check it worked. On the CLI, run gemini mcp list and look for fishout. In the app, open a Spark conversation and ask what the FishOut app can do — it will enumerate the tools it found.

[02] WORTH KNOWING FIRST/ LIMITS

Before it bites

Stated before you hit them.

The Gemini app route is US-only and needs a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription on a personal account, with Keep Activity enabled. Workspace accounts are excluded.

In the app, any tool that changes data asks for confirmation every time. That is a Gemini rule, not a FishOut one, and it cannot be turned off.

The CLI defaults to stdio like Claude Code does, so --transport http is required for a remote server.

The two routes do not share configuration. Adding the server to the CLI does not make it appear in the app, or the reverse.

[03] WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE/ GEMINI

A question in Gemini

Invented brands; a real call.

Gemini CLI · terminalfishout · mcp

Which platform drives the most conversation about us this month?

get_insightsread-onlyarguments

{
  "rangeDays": 30
}

r/devopsgravelroad6d

Alerting that does not page me for a typo in a log line

Reply nowAsking for recommendations

Reddit, at 46% of relevant mentions, then Hacker News at 22% and GitHub at 15%. Reddit is also where the buyers are: most of your Asking for recommendations labels come from r/devops and r/sysadmin.

[04] WATCH ANY PLATFORM/ SAME SERVER