Gemini CLI smithsonian mcp server smithsonian_search_objects
How to: Gemini CLI smithsonian mcp server smithsonian_search_objects
Add smithsonian mcp server to Gemini CLI
-
01
Open ~/.gemini/settings.json and merge this in. Keep any servers already there.
{
"mcpServers": {
"smithsonian-mcp-server": {
"httpUrl": "https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}-
02
Save the file and restart Gemini CLI.
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03
Ask for something smithsonian_search_objects does. Gemini CLI lists the server's tools on connect and calls smithsonian_search_objects itself — you do not invoke it by name.
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04
If nothing happens, check the server is running and that smithsonian mcp server's identifier in your config matches the one above exactly.
Gemini expands $VAR and ${VAR} inside env values, so a secret can live in your shell rather than this file. Gemini CLI docs
Set these first
smithsonian mcp server will not start until these are set, so smithsonian_search_objects never becomes available.
-
SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY -
MCP_LOG_LEVEL
Same tool, other clients
This list was read from the server itself, by connecting to it and calling tools/list on 24 September 2026. It is what
the server actually exposes, not what its listing claims.
Mutating and Read-only are read off each tool's name, not its schema — a hint, not a guarantee. The registry stores tool names only; connect the server for its live schemas.