# Connect Gemini CLI to Zorlya

> Add Zorlya as a remote MCP server in Gemini CLI, sign in through the browser, and ask for your matches from the terminal.

Source: https://zorlya.com/guides/ai-clients/gemini-cli

Updated 2026-10-25.

To connect Gemini CLI to Zorlya, run `gemini mcp add --transport http zorlya https://mcp.zorlya.com` and sign in through the browser. Gemini CLI is not on Zorlya's list of AI apps, so registration may be refused. We have not tried it.

**Not on Zorlya's list yet.** Zorlya accepts only the AI apps on its list: Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code and Cursor ([how it works](/guides/ai-clients/what-you-approve-when-you-connect)). Gemini CLI is not on it, so Zorlya refuses its registration unless Gemini CLI sends you back to an address that a listed app uses. We have not tried it. The steps below are what Gemini CLI's own documentation describes for a remote server.

## What you need

- An approved Zorlya account. A job seeker account needs the Pro plan, because AI client access is part of Pro. You sign in through Zorlya's Connect page.
- Gemini CLI installed. Its documentation does not state a minimum version for remote servers.
- A browser on the same machine, because the sign-in redirects back to a local address.

## Redirect address

By default Gemini CLI uses `http://localhost:<random-port>/oauth/callback`, with a port the operating system picks. Zorlya's list allows loopback addresses only for Claude Code (path `/callback`) and Cursor (path `/callback`), so this address, with `/oauth/callback` as the path, does not match and registration is refused. Setting `redirectUri` to a loopback address with the path `/callback` would match Claude Code's entry. We have not tried that.

## Steps

1. Add the server. Run:

   ```bash
   gemini mcp add --transport http zorlya https://mcp.zorlya.com
   ```

   Gemini CLI writes this to a settings file. The default scope is the project (`.gemini/settings.json`). Pass `-s, --scope` to write to your user file, `~/.gemini/settings.json`.

2. Or edit the settings file yourself. For a Streamable HTTP server the documented key is `httpUrl` (the `url` key is for SSE servers):

   ```json
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "zorlya": {
         "httpUrl": "https://mcp.zorlya.com"
       }
     }
   }
   ```

3. Start `gemini`. The documentation says the CLI detects a 401 response, discovers the OAuth endpoints and registers a client if the server supports it. Zorlya answers 401 with a pointer to its discovery document and supports client registration, so you need no `oauth` block.
4. If you are not sent to a sign-in page, run `/mcp auth` to list servers that need sign-in, then `/mcp auth zorlya`.
5. In the browser, choose the Zorlya account and the permission level on the Connect page, then sign in. Read only is the default. Choose Read and change only if you want Gemini to save jobs or add notes.

## What you should see

After you approve, the browser returns to the CLI and the `zorlya` server is connected. Gemini CLI keeps the tokens in `~/.gemini/mcp-oauth-tokens.json`. Zorlya access tokens last 1 hour and refresh tokens 30 days, so after about a month without use you sign in again.

## Try it

- "Using Zorlya, show my top 5 matches this week and say why each one fits."
- "Search Zorlya for remote roles that mention TypeScript, then compare the two best against my profile."

## If it does not connect

1. **Wrong key.** `url` makes Gemini CLI use SSE. Zorlya does not offer an event stream (a GET answers 405), so use `httpUrl`.
2. **Sign-in never started.** Run `/mcp auth zorlya`. If the browser cannot reach the local callback, for example over SSH or in a container, the redirect cannot finish. Run Gemini CLI on the machine whose browser you use.
3. **Write tools are missing.** They exist only when you chose Read and change on the Connect page. Run `/mcp auth zorlya` again and choose it.

You can also clear a bad session by deleting the entry for Zorlya in `~/.gemini/mcp-oauth-tokens.json`. The Gemini CLI page does not describe that step, so treat it as untested.

## What we checked

The steps come from Gemini CLI's documentation, read on 2026-10-17. We did not try the connection to Zorlya in Gemini CLI. The page's OAuth discovery example uses the `url` key, so we could not confirm from the page that discovery works the same with `httpUrl`; its text says the CLI detects 401 responses for remote servers in general.

For what Zorlya exposes, read [the developer page](/developers) and [security](/security).

## Sources

- https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/blob/main/docs/tools/mcp-server.md