Watch Skill in Gemini CLI

August 8, 2026 · View on GitHub

Gemini CLI avatar comparing two projected film frames

Status: config verified against official docs, not machine-tested ☑ (Gemini CLI is not installed on the development machine — please report issues.)

Install

uvx --from "watch-skill[standard]" watch-skill doctor

uvx fetches the package on first use and needs no checkout. Prefer a permanent install? pipx install "watch-skill[standard]", then use "command": "watch-skill", "args": ["serve"] in the config below.

From source instead (contributors) 
git clone https://github.com/oxbshw/watch-skill && cd watch-skill
uv sync --extra all
uv run watch-skill doctor

Then run watch-skill setup, which writes the config pointing at your checkout rather than the published package.

Configure

Edit ~/.gemini/settings.json (create it if missing):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "watch-skill": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "watch-skill[standard]", "watch-skill", "serve"],
      "timeout": 600000
    }
  }
}

The generous timeout matters: first-time watch_video on a long video can exceed Gemini CLI's default tool timeout.

Smoke test (3 steps)

  1. gemini → /mcp should list watch-skill and its tools.
  2. Prompt: "Use watch-skill to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqz-KE-bpKQ and tell me what happens at 0:10."
  3. Follow up: "ask that video what appears at the end" → ask_video.