MCP Setup Guide for Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, and Kiro

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is now supported by virtually every AI coding tool. Here's how to configure MCP servers in Windsurf, Google's Gemini CLI, OpenAI's Codex CLI, and Amazon's Kiro — the four tools that joined the MCP ecosystem in 2025–2026.

🏄 Windsurf IDE (by Codeium)

Windsurf is an AI-native IDE built by Codeium. It supports MCP servers through its settings panel and project-level configuration.

Windsurf MCP Configuration

// ~/.windsurf/mcp.json  OR  .windsurf/mcp.json (project-level)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_xxx" }
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "./"]
    }
  }
}

💎 Google Gemini CLI

Google's Gemini CLI added MCP support in late 2025. It uses a configuration file in your home directory or project root.

Gemini CLI MCP Configuration

// ~/.gemini/settings.json  OR  .gemini/settings.json (project)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"]
    },
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
      "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "BSA_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

🧠 OpenAI Codex CLI

OpenAI's Codex CLI is an open-source terminal coding agent. MCP support was added in its 2025 updates, allowing Codex to use the same MCP servers as Claude Code and Cursor.

Codex CLI MCP Configuration

// ~/.codex/config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

📦 Amazon Kiro

Amazon Kiro is AWS's AI coding assistant that supports MCP for connecting to AWS services, databases, and third-party tools.

Kiro MCP Configuration

// .kiro/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "supabase": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["supabase-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SUPABASE_URL": "https://xxx.supabase.co",
        "SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY": "eyJxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Comparison: MCP Support Across IDEs

Tool	Config File	MCP Since	GUI Setup
Claude Code	`.claude.json`	2024	No (CLI)
Cursor	`.cursor/mcp.json`	2025	Yes
Windsurf	`.windsurf/mcp.json`	2025	Yes
VS Code	`.vscode/mcp.json`	2025	Yes
Gemini CLI	`.gemini/settings.json`	2025	No (CLI)
Codex CLI	`.codex/config.json`	2025	No (CLI)
Kiro	`.kiro/mcp.json`	2025	Yes

MCP Setup for Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI & Kiro