Antigravity IDE MCP Server Setup: Store, JSON, WSL, and Fixes

What an Antigravity IDE MCP Server Does

Model Context Protocol, usually shortened to MCP, gives an agent a standard way to discover tools and context outside the open editor. A server might expose a database schema, issue tracker, documentation collection, browser automation service, cloud resource, or local file parser. Antigravity does not magically trust every server. It starts the configured process or connects to the declared remote endpoint, reads the tool definitions, and makes those tools available to the agent under the permissions you approve.

That boundary matters. Installing an MCP server is not the same as installing a normal editor theme. A local stdio server can run a command on your machine. A remote server can receive requests and may require OAuth or an API token. Before adding one, identify who publishes it, which data it can read, which actions it can perform, and whether it needs access outside the current repository.

The setup path below follows current Google Antigravity documentation and separates the Antigravity IDE interface from Antigravity CLI commands. The IDE offers an MCP Store and a raw JSON configuration path. The CLI also has an interactive /mcp manager, but that slash command should not be treated as the only IDE setup method.

Choose Global or Workspace MCP Configuration

Use the narrowest scope that fits the job. A global entry is convenient for tools you need in many projects; a workspace entry is easier to review, share, and remove with one repository.

Install an MCP Server from the Antigravity IDE Store

The Store is the simplest starting point because it avoids hand-editing JSON. Open a real project, wait for sign-in and initialization to finish, then use the three-dot menu at the top of the agent side panel. Select MCP Servers. Hover over a supported server and choose Install, or open its detail view before installing. Complete any authentication prompt and return to the list to confirm that the integration is present.

Choose one small integration first. Installing many servers at once makes it difficult to tell which process, credential, or tool definition caused a failure. It also adds more tools to the agent's decision space. A focused setup gives you a clean baseline: one publisher, one authentication flow, and one test request.

1. Step 1 — Open the IDE agent side panel and select the three-dot menu.
2. Step 2 — Choose MCP Servers and inspect the publisher and requested access.
3. Step 3 — Install one server, complete its official authentication flow, and reload.
4. Step 4 — Ask for a read-only action, then inspect the result and any permission prompt.

Add a Custom Server with mcp_config.json

If a server is not in the Store, open MCP Servers, choose Manage MCP Servers, and select View raw config. The official global location is ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json, while a workspace-local configuration can live at .agents/mcp_config.json. Keep a single mcpServers object at the root. The server documentation must supply the real command, arguments, endpoint, and authentication method; do not guess package names or URLs from examples.

The example below is deliberately inert. Replace the placeholder values only with instructions from the server's official repository or documentation. For a local stdio process, command and args start the server. For a current remote configuration, Google documents serverUrl; legacy url or httpUrl fields may not be recognized. Put secrets in the authentication mechanism recommended by the publisher rather than committing them into a repository file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "example-server": {
      "command": "SERVER_COMMAND",
      "args": ["SERVER_ARGUMENT"]
    },
    "example-remote": {
      "serverUrl": "https://EXAMPLE_OFFICIAL_ENDPOINT/mcp"
    }
  }
}

This is a structure example, not a working download or endpoint. Copy the executable, package, URL, headers, and OAuth fields only from the chosen server's first-party documentation.

Reload and Verify the MCP Server

Save valid JSON, return to the MCP server list, and reload the configuration. A successful load should identify the server and expose its tools or resources. Do not begin with a destructive request. Ask for something that is easy to verify, such as listing available resources, reading a non-sensitive test document, or showing the names of tools without executing them.

If the server uses authentication, verify the account and scope before approving access. A green status indicator only proves that a connection exists; it does not prove that the server is appropriate for confidential data. Check the agent's requested tool call, the arguments, and the returned source. Then decide whether the permission should remain one-time or become a narrow remembered rule.

• Loaded — The expected server name appears and its tool list can be inspected.
• Authorized — The signed-in account and granted scope match the intended project.
• Grounded — A read-only test returns the expected source rather than invented data.
• Reversible — You know how to disable the entry, revoke its token, and remove its configuration.

MCP Security and Permission Rules

Treat every MCP server as code with a data boundary. Prefer a first-party server or a repository you can inspect. Pin versions when the publisher supports it, review updates, and avoid curl-to-shell commands from unverified tutorials. Give database and cloud integrations a least-privilege account. A read-only development credential is safer than a production owner credential, especially while you are still testing tool behavior.

Workspace scope does not automatically sandbox a process. A command can still read whatever the operating system account permits unless the server or Antigravity permission model restricts it. Keep secrets out of prompts and committed JSON. Review write, delete, deployment, payment, messaging, and account-administration calls every time until you have a documented reason to automate them.

Fix MCP Server Problems in Antigravity IDE and WSL

Most failures come from the wrong config scope, invalid JSON, a command that is missing from PATH, authentication, or a Windows-to-WSL path mismatch. Change one variable at a time.

The server does not appear after reload

Validate the JSON, confirm that mcpServers is at the root, and verify that you edited the file shown by Manage MCP Servers. Check whether a workspace file overrides or differs from the global file. Restart the IDE only after a normal reload fails.

The command works in a terminal but not in Antigravity

The IDE process may have a different PATH, home directory, shell, or environment variables. Use an absolute executable path when the server publisher supports it, and restart Antigravity after changing system environment variables.

Antigravity IDE runs the MCP server from WSL incorrectly

Decide which side owns the process. A Windows IDE launching a Linux command normally needs an explicit wsl.exe invocation and Linux paths inside the WSL command. A server running natively in WSL should not receive a Windows C:\ path as if it were a Linux path. Test the exact command outside the IDE first.

A remote server connects but exposes no tools

Check the official endpoint schema, authentication scope, and transport. Current Antigravity documentation uses serverUrl for remote MCP configurations. Confirm that you did not copy a listing page or dashboard URL instead of the actual MCP endpoint.

The server repeatedly starts and stops

Run the process directly and inspect stderr without exposing secrets. Common causes include a missing runtime, an unsupported Node or Python version, a package that writes protocol-breaking logs to stdout, or credentials that expire during startup.

Version Freshness and Download Source Check

This site is a software download site, so the version gate was completed before publishing this guide. On July 24, 2026, the official Google Antigravity changelog listed version 2.2.1 dated June 25, 2026. The site's current version field already said v2.2.1, so no version-number update was required. The official download page provides Windows, macOS, and Linux choices, but this article does not claim or manufacture a permanent package URL, file size, checksum, or safety scan.

The download call to action therefore points to the official Antigravity download page as a verified page fallback. Check that page again when you install because Google notes that releases can roll out gradually. MCP menus and configuration behavior can also evolve; use the official MCP documentation linked below as the final authority for current paths and remote schema.