Connect to the Developer Knowledge MCP server

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Connect your account

1. To grant the MCP server the ability to act on your behalf, run the following command, replacing PROJECT_ID with your Google Cloud project ID:

   gcloud auth application-default login
   --project=PROJECT_ID
   

2. When prompted, choose an account, then click Continue.

Configure your AI application

Once authenticated, the final step is to provide your AI application with the server configuration details. While the exact JSON structure varies by application, you can use the following example as a template.

1. To configure Gemini CLI or Gemini Code Assist, edit or create one of the following configuration files:

   • In your project: .gemini/settings.json
   • In your home directory: ~/.gemini/settings.json

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "google-developer-knowledge": {
         "httpUrl": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
         "authProviderType": "google_credentials",
         "oauth": {
           "scopes": [
             "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform"
           ]
        },
         "timeout": 30000,
         "headers": {
           "X-goog-user-project": "PROJECT_ID"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

   To check whether the MCP server is working as expected, continue on to verify installation.

Manual Credentials

Configure the OAuth consent screen

Configure the project's OAuth consent screen and add yourself as a test user. If you've already completed this step for your Google Cloud project, skip to the next step.

1. Open the Google Cloud console Auth overview page, and click Get started.
2. Enter an App name, select your Support email, and click Next.
3. Within Audience, select External, and click Next.
4. Enter your email address within Contact information, and click Next.
5. Review and agree to the Google API Services: User Data Policy, and then click Continue.
6. Click Create.

Add test users

1. In the Google Auth Platform, click Audience.
2. Under Test users, click Add users.
3. Enter your email address and any other authorized test users, then click Save.

Create an OAuth client

To authenticate as an end user and access user data in your app, you need to create an OAuth 2.0 Client IDs. A client ID is used to identify a single app to Google's OAuth servers.

1. In the Google Auth Platform, click Clients.
2. Click Create client.
3. From the Application type selector, choose Desktop app.
4. In the Name field, type a name for the credential. This name is only shown in the Google Cloud console.
5. Click Create. The OAuth client created screen appears, showing your new Client ID and Client secret.
6. Click OK. The newly created credential appears under OAuth 2.0 Client IDs.
7. Click your newly created client ID. In the Client secrets section, click the download icon to save the JSON file. You'll use the client_id and client_secret values in this file in a subsequent step.

Configure your AI application

Next, you need to provide your AI application with the server configuration details. While the exact series of steps varies by application, you can use the following example as a template.

To configure Antigravity to use the MCP server:

1. In Antigravity, click the more_horiz menu in the Agent pane > MCP Servers > Manage MCP Servers.

2. In the Manage MCPs pane that opens, click View raw config to edit the mcp_config.json file:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "google-developer-knowledge": {
         "serverUrl": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp"
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Return to Manage MCP servers and click Refresh.

Add OAuth credentials

The first time you attempt to use the Developer Knowledge MCP server, your AI assistant will prompt you to complete setup:

1. Ask the agent to use the Developer Knowledge MCP server with a prompt such as:

   How do I list Cloud Storage buckets?
   

2. If you see a message asking you to register one or more redirect URIs, click the option to proceed. Because you set up the client ID as a Desktop app, there's no need to add these specific URIs in the Google Auth Platform.

3. When your AI assistant prompts you for the Client ID and Client Secret, paste each corresponding key from the client secret JSON file you saved earlier.

4. When prompted, choose an account, then click Continue.

5. Return to your AI assistant. The agent will now process your request using the newly authenticated server.

Google Cloud Console

Enable the API

1. Open the Developer Knowledge API page in the Google APIs library.
2. Check that you have the correct project selected in which you intend to use the API.
3. Click Enable. No specific IAM roles are required to enable or use the API.

Create and secure the API key

1. In the Google Cloud console for the project in which you enabled the API, go to the Credentials page.
2. Click Create credentials, and then select API key from the menu. The API key created dialog displays the string for your newly created key.
3. Click Edit API key.
4. In the Name field, provide a name for the key.
5. Under API restrictions, select Restrict key.
6. From the Select APIs list, enable Developer Knowledge API and click OK.
   • Note: If you just enabled the Developer Knowledge API, there may be a delay before it appears in the Select APIs list.
7. Click Save.

After the key is created, click Show key to view it. Make a note of it for use when configuring your AI application.

gcloud CLI

1. If you haven't already, download and install the gcloud CLI.

2. Enable the Developer Knowledge API, replacing PROJECT_ID with your Google Cloud project ID:

   gcloud services enable developerknowledge.googleapis.com --project=PROJECT_ID
   

3. Create an API key using the same Google Cloud project ID:

   gcloud services api-keys create --project=PROJECT_ID --display-name="DK API Key"
   

   This command returns an API key string. Make a note of it for use when configuring your AI application.

4. Secure your API key by adding API key restrictions. For better security, restrict the API key to the Developer Knowledge API.

Gemini CLI

To configure Gemini CLI, run the following command:

gemini mcp add -t http -H "X-Goog-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" google-developer-knowledge https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp --scope user

Alternatively, edit or create one of the following configuration files:

• In your project: .gemini/settings.json
• In your home directory: ~/.gemini/settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-developer-knowledge": {
      "httpUrl": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Gemini Code Assist

To configure Gemini Code Assist, edit or create one of the following configuration files:

• In your project: .gemini/settings.json
• In your home directory: ~/.gemini/settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-developer-knowledge": {
      "httpUrl": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Firebase Studio

To configure Firebase Studio, edit or create the configuration file: .idx/mcp.json.

Note: If the file doesn't yet exist, create it by right-clicking the parent directory and selecting New file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-developer-knowledge": {
      "url": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

To configure Claude Code, run the following command under your app folder.

claude mcp add google-dev-knowledge --transport http https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp --header "X-Goog-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Cursor

To configure Cursor, edit either .cursor/mcp.json (for a specific project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (for all projects).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-developer-knowledge": {
      "url": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot

To configure GitHub Copilot in VS Code for a single project, edit the .vscode/mcp.json file in your workspace.

{
  "servers": {
    "google-developer-knowledge": {
      "url": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

To make the server available in every project, edit your user settings. Click the Open Settings (JSON) button.

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "google-developer-knowledge": {
        "url": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
        "headers": {
          "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

To configure Windsurf Editor, edit the ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-developer-knowledge": {
      "url": "https://developerknowledge.googleapis.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Goog-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}