Lima in AI (MCP)

1: Gemini

Starting with Lima v2.0, Lima provides Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools for reading, writing, and executing local files using a VM sandbox.

1 - Gemini

⚡ Requirement	Lima >= 2.0

This page describes how to use Lima as an sandbox for Google Gemini CLI.

Prerequisite

In addition to Gemini and Lima, make sure that limactl mcp plugin is installed:

$ limactl mcp -v
limactl-mcp version 2.0.0-alpha.1

The limactl mcp plugin is bundled in Lima since v2.0, however, it may not be installed depending on the method of the installation.

Configuration

Run the default Lima instance, with a mount of your project directory:

limactl start --mount-only "$(pwd):w" default

Drop the :w suffix if you do not want to allow writing to the mounted directory.

Create .gemini/extensions/lima/gemini-extension.json as follows:

{
  "name": "lima",
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "mcpServers": {
    "lima": {
      "command": "limactl",
      "args": [
        "mcp",
        "serve",
        "default"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Modify .gemini/settings.json so as to disable Gemini CLI’s built-in tools except ones that do not relate to local command execution and file I/O:

{
  "coreTools": ["WebFetchTool", "WebSearchTool", "MemoryTool"]
}

Usage

Just run gemini in your project directory.

Gemini automatically recognizes the MCP tools provided by Lima.