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Gemini CLI is Google’s terminal-based AI coding assistant. it supports MCP servers, so you can connect screenpipe to give Gemini context about what you’ve been working on.

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setup

Gemini CLI uses MCP for external tools. add screenpipe to your settings file (~/.gemini/settings.json): 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "screenpipe": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "screenpipe-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
restart Gemini CLI after configuration.

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usage

once configured, Gemini can search your screen history: 
gemini

> what was I working on this morning?

> find the error message I saw in my terminal earlier

> summarize the documentation I was reading about kubernetes

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available tools

screenpipe provides these MCP tools to Gemini:
tooldescription
search-contentsearch screen text (accessibility-first, OCR fallback), audio transcriptions, and input
activity-summarylightweight overview of app usage, speakers, and recent texts for a time range
search-elementssearch structured UI elements from the accessibility tree
frame-contextfull accessibility tree, URLs, and text for a specific frame
list-meetingslist detected meetings with duration, app, and attendees
export-videoexport screen recordings as MP4 for a time range

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example workflows

context-aware coding: 
> I was looking at a react component earlier that handled
> form validation, find it and help me implement something similar
debug from memory: 
> there was an error in my build output, find it and help me fix it
recall documentation: 
> what did that API documentation say about rate limits?

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requirements

  • screenpipe running on localhost:3030
  • Gemini CLI installed
  • Node.js >= 18.0.0

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troubleshooting

MCP server not connecting?
  1. verify screenpipe is running: 
    curl http://localhost:3030/health
    you should see {"status":"healthy"}. if this fails, start screenpipe first.
  2. check the settings file path: the config should be in ~/.gemini/settings.json. verify the file exists and contains valid JSON: 
    cat ~/.gemini/settings.json | jq .
  3. restart Gemini CLI: after adding or modifying the config, fully restart Gemini CLI. if it was running in a terminal, exit and reopen it.
queries returning empty?
  • make sure screenpipe has recorded data: curl "http://localhost:3030/search?limit=1"
  • if empty, let screenpipe run for a minute and try again
  • check screen recording is enabled (macOS: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording)
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