Use LocalASO from the Gemini CLI as an MCP server

The Gemini CLI documentation gives the form gemini mcp add [options] <name> <commandOrUrl> [args...], with the options --scope (short form -s; user or project, default project), --transport (short form -t; default stdio) and --env KEY=value (short form -e). For the installed app, at user scope:

gemini mcp add -s user -e ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 localaso \
  /Applications/LocalASO.app/Contents/MacOS/LocalASO \
  /Applications/LocalASO.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/out/main/mcp.js

Because the default scope is project, leaving out -s user writes .gemini/settings.json in the current folder, and the server would only exist there. Check that the options sit before the name; Gemini's syntax puts <name>, the command and its arguments last.

The same entry by hand in ~/.gemini/settings.json (user) or .gemini/settings.json (project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "localaso": {
      "command": "/Applications/LocalASO.app/Contents/MacOS/LocalASO",
      "args": ["/Applications/LocalASO.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/out/main/mcp.js"],
      "env": { "ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE": "1" }
    }
  }
}

Gemini's documentation also lists cwd, timeout (in milliseconds) and trust for each server. You do not need them for LocalASO. Leave trust off so Gemini keeps asking before it runs a tool. Use a server name without underscores; localaso is fine, and Gemini's documentation warns that underscores in server names can break its policy parsing.

Gemini CLI gives every MCP tool a fully qualified name in the form mcp_{serverName}_{toolName}:

You rarely need to type these, but they matter when you write permission rules, and they show up in the tool-call lines Gemini prints.

gemini mcp list from your shell shows connection errors for configured servers, and /mcp list does the same inside a session. If the server errors, the usual causes are a wrong path, invalid JSON, or LocalASO not being licensed on this Mac: every tool refuses to run without a valid license.

Gemini CLI can also be LocalASO's AI provider, where LocalASO runs gemini -p to localize or rewrite text; that is configured in the app and described in the AI providers docs. The two roles are independent. As an MCP client, Gemini reads data through the MCP server. The Codex page explains the same split in a table.

Ask Gemini to list your apps, then work through the example prompts. For other clients, use the generic client page.