Garmin and Gemini: what works today, and how to connect it

The state of play: Gemini app or Gemini CLI?

The Gemini app, on the web and on phones, offers no custom connectors: it therefore cannot read Garmin Connect nor write to it, whatever the settings. What exists is Gemini CLI, Google's command-line assistant, free with a Google account, which supports MCP servers. That is how Gemini connects to Garmin with Running Workout.

Gemini CLI installs on a computer (macOS, Windows, Linux) and is driven from a terminal. It is not as comfortable as the app, but once configured, the conversation is the same: you ask for a workout, Gemini reads your Garmin data, builds the workout and sends it to the watch.

If you want the same thing in a real chat app, on your phone, Claude and ChatGPT allow it today. Running Workout works identically with all three.

Prerequisites

A Garmin watch compatible with Garmin Connect workouts, a Garmin Connect account, a Google account, and Node.js installed on your computer for Gemini CLI. First create your free Running Workout account by connecting your Garmin; that is what Gemini will use.

Step 1: create your Running Workout account

On runningworkout.fr, click "Get started" and sign in on Garmin's site. On the data-sharing screen, turn on "Historical Data", off by default: without it, Gemini will not see your past runs. Then enter your first name and email; the import of your activities starts on its own.

Step 2: install Gemini CLI and add the server

Install Gemini CLI following Google's documentation (one npm command), then run "gemini" once to sign in to your Google account. Then add the Running Workout server with one command: it registers it under the name running-workout.

gemini mcp add --transport http running-workout https://www.runningworkout.fr/mcp

Prefer configuring by hand? In the ~/.gemini/settings.json file, add this entry under mcpServers. The oauth option enabled is enough: Gemini discovers the rest on its own, with no client ID nor authorization URL to fill in.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "running-workout": {
      "httpUrl": "https://www.runningworkout.fr/mcp",
      "oauth": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: authenticate and run the first workout

In Gemini CLI, type the authentication command below. Your browser opens on runningworkout.fr: approve the authorization screen, which lists what Gemini will be able to do. Done.

/mcp auth running-workout

Check with "/mcp" that the running-workout server shows as connected, with its tools. Then ask:

Look at my latest runs, then create a workout for tomorrow that fits and send it to my Garmin watch.

Gemini calls the profile and activities tools, proposes a workout, and sends it to Garmin Connect after your approval. Sync the watch with the Garmin Connect app: the workout is in the training calendar.

What goes wrong most often

Frequently asked questions