@houtini/gemini-mcp

I've been running this MCP server in my Claude Desktop setup for several months, and it's one of the few I leave enabled permanently. Not because Gemini replaces Claude -- it doesn't -- but because grounded search, deep research, image generation, and video are things Gemini does well. Having them as tools inside Claude beats switching between browser tabs.

Thirteen tools. One npx command.

MCP App previews

Generated images and diagrams render inline in Claude Desktop with zoom controls, file paths, and prompt context:

Image generation	SVG / diagram generation

---

Get started in two minutes

Step 1: Get a Gemini API key

Go to Google AI Studio and create one. The free tier covers most development use -- you'll hit rate limits on deep research if you're hammering it, but for day-to-day work it's fine.

Step 2: Add to your Claude Desktop config

Config file locations:

• Windows: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gemini": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@houtini/gemini-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

That's it. The tools show up automatically. npx pulls the package on first run -- no separate install.

Local build instead

For development, or if you'd rather not rely on npx:

git clone https://github.com/houtini-ai/gemini-mcp
cd gemini-mcp
npm install --include=dev
npm run build

Then point your config at the local build:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gemini": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/path/to/gemini-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

What it does

Chat with Google Search grounding

Use gemini:gemini_chat to ask: "What changed in the MCP spec in the last month?"

Grounding is on by default. Gemini searches Google before answering, so you get current information rather than training data cutoff answers. Sources come back as markdown links.

For questions where you want reasoning over live search -- "explain this code" or similar -- set grounding: false.

Supports thinking_level on Gemini 3 models: high for maximum reasoning depth, low to keep it fast, medium/minimal on Gemini 3 Flash only.

Deep research

Use gemini:gemini_deep_research with:
  research_question="What are the current approaches to AI agent memory management?"
  max_iterations=5

Runs multiple grounded search iterations, then synthesises a full report. Takes 2-5 minutes depending on complexity. Worth it for anything where you need comprehensive coverage rather than a quick answer.

Set max_iterations to 3-4 in Claude Desktop (4-minute tool timeout). In IDEs (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code) or agent frameworks with longer timeout tolerance, 7-10 iterations produces noticeably better synthesis. Pass focus_areas as an array to steer toward specific angles.

Image generation with search grounding

Use gemini:generate_image with:
  prompt="Stock price chart showing Apple (AAPL) closing prices for the last 5 trading days"
  use_search=true
  aspectRatio="16:9"

Default model is gemini-3-pro-image-preview (Nano Banana Pro). Also supports gemini-2.5-flash-image for faster generation.

When use_search=true, Gemini searches Google for current data before generating. Financial and news queries work reliably and return 2-5 grounding sources as markdown links. Weather queries are inconsistent (Gemini API limitation, not a code issue).

Video generation with Veo 3.1

Use gemini:generate_video with:
  prompt="A close-up shot of a futuristic coffee machine brewing a glowing blue espresso, steam rising dramatically. Cinematic lighting."
  resolution="1080p"
  durationSeconds=8

Uses Google's Veo 3.1 model. Generates 4-8 second videos at up to 4K resolution with native synchronised audio. Processing takes 2-5 minutes -- the tool polls automatically until the video is ready.

Options worth knowing about:

• aspectRatio -- 16:9 (landscape, default) or 9:16 (portrait/vertical)
• generateAudio -- on by default, produces dialogue and sound effects matching the prompt
• sampleCount -- generate up to 4 variations in one call
• seed -- for deterministic output across runs
• generateThumbnail -- extracts a frame via ffmpeg (needs ffmpeg in PATH)
• generateHTMLPlayer -- creates a local HTML player alongside the video

SVG generation

Use gemini:generate_svg with:
  prompt="Architecture diagram showing a microservices system with API gateway, three services, and a shared database"
  style="technical"
  width=1000
  height=600

Generates clean, production-ready SVG code for diagrams, illustrations, icons, and data visualisations. Styles: technical (diagrams), artistic (illustrations), minimal (simple), data-viz (charts).

Image editing and analysis

Conversational editing -- Gemini 3 Pro Image maintains context across editing turns using thought signatures. The server captures these automatically. Pass them back on subsequent edit calls for full continuity:

Use gemini:edit_image with:
  prompt="Change the colour scheme to blue and green"
  images=[{data: imageBase64, mimeType: "image/png", thoughtSignature: "fromPreviousCall"}]

Skip thought signatures and each edit starts from scratch.

Analysis -- two tools for different purposes:

• describe_image -- Fast general descriptions using Gemini 3 Flash
• analyze_image -- Structured extraction and detailed reasoning using Gemini 3.1 Pro

Load local files:

Use gemini:load_image_from_path with filePath="C:/screenshots/error.png"

Returns base64 data ready for any image tool.

Media resolution control

Reduce token usage by up to 75% whilst maintaining quality:

Level	Tokens	Savings	Best for
MEDIA_RESOLUTION_LOW	280	75%	Simple tasks, bulk operations
MEDIA_RESOLUTION_MEDIUM	560	50%	PDFs/documents (OCR saturates here)
MEDIA_RESOLUTION_HIGH	1120	default	Detailed analysis
MEDIA_RESOLUTION_ULTRA_HIGH	2000+	per-image only	Maximum detail

For PDF OCR, MEDIUM gives identical text extraction quality to HIGH at half the tokens. Set global_media_resolution to apply to all images, or override per-image with mediaResolution.

Landing page generation

Use gemini:generate_landing_page with:
  brief="A SaaS tool that helps developers monitor API latency"
  companyName="PingWatch"
  primaryColour="#6366F1"
  style="startup"
  sections=["hero", "features", "pricing", "cta"]

Returns a self-contained HTML file -- inline CSS and vanilla JS, no external dependencies. Styles: minimal, bold, corporate, startup.

Professional chart design systems

The gemini_prompt_assistant tool includes 9 professional chart design systems:

System	Inspiration	Best for
storytelling	Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic	Executive presentations -- everything muted except one bold highlight
financial	Financial Times	Editorial journalism -- FT Pink background, serif titles
terminal	Bloomberg / Fintech	High-density dark mode with electric neon
modernist	W.E.B. Du Bois	Bold geometric blocks, stark contrasts
professional	IBM Carbon / Tailwind	Enterprise dashboards
editorial	FiveThirtyEight / Economist	Data journalism
scientific	Nature / Science	Academic rigour
minimal	Edward Tufte	Maximum data-ink ratio
dark	Observable	Modern dark mode

Use gemini:gemini_prompt_assistant with:
  request_type="template"
  use_case="product"
  desired_outcome="Generate a professional product comparison chart"

Help system

Use gemini:gemini_help with topic="overview"

Documentation for all features without leaving Claude. Topics: overview, image_generation, image_editing, image_analysis, chat, deep_research, grounding, media_resolution, models, all.

---

Image output and storage

Default behaviour: Images return as inline base64 previews (quality 100, 1024px) rendered directly in Claude.

Persistent storage: Set GEMINI_IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR to auto-save all generated images:

"env": {
  "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
  "GEMINI_IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR": "C:/Users/username/Pictures/gemini-output"
}

Every image saves with a timestamp filename. The tool returns both the inline preview and the file path.

Per-call override: Pass outputPath on any generation tool to save to a specific location.

The server uses a two-tier compression approach to handle the MCP protocol's ~1MB JSON-RPC limit whilst preserving full-resolution files on disk:

Tier	Quality	Max dimension	Purpose
Full-res	Original	Original	Saved to disk
Viewer preview	100	1024px	MCP App inline preview (~400KB)

Gemini returns 2-5MB images. The full image is saved to disk immediately, and a compressed preview is created for the MCP App viewer.

---

Configuration reference

Variable	Required	Default	Description
GEMINI_API_KEY	Yes	--	Google AI API key from AI Studio
GEMINI_DEFAULT_MODEL	No	gemini-3.1-pro-preview	Default model for gemini_chat and analyze_image
GEMINI_DEFAULT_GROUNDING	No	true	Enable Google Search grounding by default
GEMINI_IMAGE_OUTPUT_DIR	No	--	Auto-save directory for generated images
GEMINI_ALLOW_EXPERIMENTAL	No	false	Include experimental/preview models in auto-discovery
GEMINI_MCP_LOG_FILE	No	false	Write logs to ~/.gemini-mcp/logs/
DEBUG_MCP	No	false	Log to stderr for debugging tool calls

---

Tools reference

Tool	Description
gemini_chat	Chat with Gemini 3.1 Pro. Google Search grounding on by default. Supports thinking_level for Gemini 3
gemini_deep_research	Multi-step iterative research with Google Search. Synthesises comprehensive reports
gemini_list_models	Lists available models from the API
gemini_help	Documentation for all features without leaving Claude
gemini_prompt_assistant	Expert guidance for image generation with 9 chart design systems
generate_image	Image generation with search grounding and thought signatures for conversational editing
edit_image	Edit images with natural-language instructions. Supports multi-turn continuity
describe_image	Fast image descriptions using Gemini 3 Flash
analyze_image	Structured extraction and analysis using Gemini 3.1 Pro
load_image_from_path	Read a local image file and return base64 for any image tool
generate_video	Video generation with Veo 3.1 -- 4-8 seconds at up to 4K with native audio
generate_svg	Production-ready SVG graphics for diagrams, illustrations, and data visualisations
generate_landing_page	Self-contained HTML landing pages with inline CSS/JS

---

Model reference

Model	Used by	Notes
gemini-3.1-pro-preview	gemini_chat, analyze_image	Default. Advanced reasoning
gemini-3-pro-image-preview	generate_image, edit_image	Nano Banana Pro -- highest quality generation
gemini-2.5-flash-image	generate_image (optional)	Faster generation, higher volume
gemini-3-flash-preview	describe_image	Fast general descriptions
veo-3.1-generate-preview	generate_video	Veo 3.1 -- 4K video with native audio

Gemini 3 notes: Temperature is forced to 1.0 on Gemini 3 models (Google's requirement -- lower values cause looping). Thought signatures are captured automatically for conversational image editing. Thinking level only applies to gemini_chat.

---

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• A Gemini API key from Google AI Studio
• ffmpeg (optional, for video thumbnail extraction)

Licence

Apache-2.0