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Using Extensions

Extensions are add-ons that provide a way to extend the functionality of Goose by connecting with applications and tools you already use in your workflow. These extensions can be used to add new features, access data and resources, or integrate with other systems.

Extensions are based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), so you can connect Goose to a wide ecosystem of capabilities.

Tutorials

Check out the step-by-step tutorials for adding and using several Goose Extensions

Built-in Extensions​

Out of the box, Goose is installed with a few extensions but with only the Developer extension enabled by default.

Here are the built-in extensions:

  1. Developer: provides a set of general development tools that are useful for software development.
  2. Computer Controller: provides general computer control tools for webscraping, file caching, and automations.
  3. Memory: teaches goose to remember your preferences as you use it
  4. JetBrains: provides an integration for working with JetBrains IDEs.

Toggling Built-in Extensions​

  1. Click ... in the top right corner of the Goose Desktop.
  2. Select Advanced Settings from the menu.
  3. Under Extensions, you can toggle the built-in extensions on or off.
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All of Goose's built-in extensions are MCP servers in their own right. If you'd like to use the MCP servers included with Goose with any other agent, you are free to do so.

Discovering Extensions​

Goose provides a central directory of extensions that you can install and use.

You can also add any other MCP Server as a Goose extension, even if it's not listed in our directory.

Adding Extensions​

Extensions can be installed directly via the extensions directory, CLI, or UI.

MCP Servers​

You can install any MCP server as a Goose extension.

MCP Server Directory

See available servers in the MCP Server Directory.

  1. Click ... in the top right corner of the Goose Desktop.
  2. Select Advanced Settings from the menu.
  3. Under Extensions, click Add custom extension.
  4. On the Add custom extension modal, enter the necessary details
    • If adding an environment variable, click Add button to the right of the variable
    • The Timeout field lets you set how long Goose should wait for a tool call from this extension to complete
  5. Click Add button

Example of adding the Knowledge Graph Memory MCP Server:​

  • Type: Standard IO
  • ID: kgm-mcp (set this to whatever you want)
  • Name: Knowledge Graph Memory (set this to whatever you want)
  • Description: maps and stores complex relationships between concepts (set this to whatever you want)
  • Command: npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

Extensions can be installed using Goose's deep link protocol. The URL format varies based on the extension type:

goose://extension?cmd=<command>&arg=<argument>&id=<id>&name=<name>&description=<description>

Required parameters:

  • cmd: The base command to run (e.g., npx, uvx)
  • arg: (cmd only) Command arguments (can be repeated for multiple arguments: &arg=...&arg=...)
  • timeout: Maximum time (in seconds) to wait for extension responses
  • id: Unique identifier for the extension
  • name: Display name for the extension
  • description: Brief description of the extension's functionality

A command like npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github would be represented as:

goose://extension?cmd=npx&arg=-y&arg=%40modelcontextprotocol/server-github&timeout=<timeout>&id=<id>&name=<name>&description=<description>

Note that each parameter to the npx command is passed as a separate arg parameter in the deeplink.

note

All parameters in the deeplink must be URL-encoded. For example, spaces should be replaced with %20, and @ should be replaced with %40.

Config Entry​

For advanced users, you can also directly edit the config file (~/.config/goose/config.yaml) to add, remove, or update an extension:

extensions:
  fetch:
    name: GitHub
    cmd: npx
    args: [-y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github]
    enabled: true
    envs: { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>" }
    type: stdio
    timeout: 300

Enabling/Disabling Extensions​

You can enable or disable installed extensions based on your workflow needs.

  1. Click the three dots in the top-right corner of the application.
  2. Select Advanced Settings from the menu, scroll down to the Extensions section.
  3. Use the toggle switch next to each extension to enable or disable it.

Automatically Enabled Extensions​

The Smart Extension Recommendation system in Goose automatically identifies and suggests relevant extensions based on your tasks and needs. This section explains how to use this feature effectively and understand its capabilities and limitations.

When you request a task, Goose checks its enabled extensions and their tools to determine if it can fulfill the request. If not, it suggests or enables additional extensions as needed. You can also request specific extensions by name.

warning

Any extensions enabled dynamically are only enabled for the current session. To keep extensions enabled between sessions, see Enabling/Disabling Extensions.

Automatic Detection​

Goose automatically detects when an extension is needed based on your task requirements. Here's an example of how Goose identifies and enables a needed extension during a conversation:

Goose Prompt​

Find all orders with pending status from our production database

Goose Output​

I'll help you search for available extensions that might help us interact with PostgreSQL databases.

🔍 Search Available Extensions
└─ Output ▼

 I see there's a PostgreSQL extension available. Let me enable it so we can query your database.

🔧 Manage Extensions
└─ action           enable
   extension_name   postgresql

The extension 'postgresql' has been installed successfully

Great! Now I can help you query the database...

Direct Request​

Goose responds to explicit requests for extensions, allowing users to manually enable specific tools they need. Here's an example of how Goose handles a direct request to enable an extension:

Goose Prompt​

Use PostgreSQL extension

Goose Output​

I'll help enable the PostgreSQL extension for you.

🔧 Manage Extensions
└─ action           enable
   extension_name   postgresql

The extension 'postgresql' has been installed successfully

The PostgreSQL extension is now ready to use. What would you like to do with it?

Removing Extensions​

You can remove installed extensions.

  1. Click ... in the top right corner of the Goose Desktop.
  2. Select Advanced Settings from the menu.
  3. Under Extensions, find the extension you'd like to remove and click on the settings icon beside it.
  4. In the dialog that appears, click Remove Extension.

Starting Session with Extensions​

You can start a tailored Goose session with specific extensions directly from the CLI.

Notes
  • The extension will not be installed. It will only be enabled for the current session.
  • There's no need to do this if you already have the extensions enabled.

Built-in Extensions​

To enable a built-in extension while starting a session, run the following command:

goose session --with-builtin "{extension_id}"

For example, to enable the Developer and Computer Controller extensions and start a session, you'd run:

goose session --with-builtin "developer,computercontroller"

Or alternatively:

goose session --with-builtin developer --with-builtin computercontroller

External Extensions​

To enable an extension while starting a session, run the following command:

goose session --with-extension "{extension command}" --with-extension "{another extension command}"

For example, to start a session with the Fetch extension, you'd run:

goose session --with-extension "uvx mcp-server-fetch"

Environment Variables​

Some extensions require environment variables. You can include these in your command:

goose session --with-extension "VAR=value command arg1 arg2"

For example, to start a session with the GitHub extension, you'd run:

goose session --with-extension "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=<YOUR_TOKEN> npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
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Note that you'll need Node.js installed on your system to run this command, as it uses npx.

Remote Extensions over SSE​

To enable a remote extension over SSE while starting a session, run the following command:

goose session --with-remote-extension "{extension URL}" --with-remote-extension "{another extension URL}"

For example, to start a session with a remote extension running on localhost on port 8080, you'd run:

goose session --with-remote-extension "http://localhost:8080/sse"

Developing Extensions​

Goose extensions are implemented with MCP, a standard protocol that allows AI models and agents to securely connect with local or remote resources. Learn how to build your own extension as an MCP server.