DebugAIdocs

Gemini CLI

Add the DebugAI tools to Gemini CLI with one command.

Gemini CLI gets the three DebugAI tools: lookup_error, debug_error and report_outcome. You need Node.js 18.14.1 or later. node -v prints your version.

Run setup

npx -y @debugai/mcp setup

It signs you in through your browser with a short code (free account, 10 debugs a day, no card). Then it adds DebugAI to every MCP client it finds on this machine, Gemini CLI included, and finishes by running doctor to check the result.

To change Gemini CLI's config and nothing else:

npx -y @debugai/mcp login
npx -y @debugai/mcp install --client=gemini-cli

Add --dry-run to the install line to print the change without writing anything.

Restart the session

Quit the Gemini CLI session you have open and start a new one.

Check it works

Run npx -y @debugai/mcp doctor. Under MCP clients you want this line:

✓ Gemini CLI — debugai configured

Then hand Gemini an error and ask for the lookup by name:

Use the debugai lookup_error tool on this error: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')

lookup_error makes no model call and does not count against your daily limit, so this check is free.

You'll know it worked when

Gemini calls lookup_error and gets back a line like Not seen before in this project (shop). Call debug_error with the full error for an analysis. The name in brackets is your project's folder.

Make the agent reach for it

When Gemini CLI connects, the server tells it what the tools are for. A rule in whatever instructions file your agent reads makes the habit dependable:

When a command fails, call the debugai lookup_error tool first: it is
instant and free. If it has no confirmed fix, call debug_error before
attempting your own, and pass the command that reproduces the failure
as reproCommand. After applying a fix, call report_outcome so the
project's error memory stays accurate.

The config it writes

setup adds one entry to mcpServers in ~/.gemini/settings.json. On Windows, ~ is your user folder, C:\Users\<you>.

~/.gemini/settings.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "debugai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@debugai/mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}
  • Your key is never written into this file. It lives in ~/.debugai/config.json with 0600 permissions, and every MCP client on the machine reads it from there.
  • Before changing the file, install saves a copy beside it, named settings.json.debugai-backup-<timestamp>. Every other setting in the file is kept.
  • If the file has comments, the rewrite drops them, and install warns you when it does. The backup keeps them.
  • npx -y @debugai/mcp uninstall takes the entry out of every client config again.

Next

Zed

Give Zed's agent the DebugAI tools with one command, or one entry in your Zed settings.

Cline

Add the DebugAI tools to Cline in VS Code with one command.

On this page

1Run setup2Restart the session3Check it worksMake the agent reach for itThe config it writesNext