Set up the Gemini Spark App
This guide walks you through connecting TeamTeacher to Gemini Spark so your agents — Minerva, Diane, Barbara, and your custom agents — become tools Gemini can call on. In Gemini, connectors are called Connected Apps, and a connection to a custom MCP server (like TeamTeacher) is a custom connected app. New to the connector? Start with the TeamTeacher Connector overview for the big picture.
Gemini Spark and custom Connected Apps are experimental and currently in beta. Custom apps can only be added in the Gemini web app, and connecting one requires a personal Google Account — work and school accounts aren't supported yet. The setup process and available options may change as the feature evolves.
Before You Start
Custom Connected Apps have a few requirements from Google:
- A personal Google Account (not a work or school / Workspace account)
- Keep Activity turned on for your Gemini apps
- The custom app added from the web app at gemini.google.com (once connected, it also works in the Gemini desktop app)
- Currently English only, and available where Gemini Spark has rolled out
You'll also need the TeamTeacher MCP server URL, which is the same everywhere:
https://www.teamteacher.ai/api/mcp
Setting Up in Gemini Spark
Step 1: Switch to Spark
At the top of Gemini, switch the mode toggle from Chat to Spark (marked BETA). Custom Connected Apps live in Spark, not in the standard Chat experience.
Step 2: Open Connected Apps
Open Connected Apps. You can reach it from the Spark surface, or from Settings & help → Connected Apps in the Gemini web app. (If you don't see it, open Personal Intelligence first, then Connected Apps.)
Step 3: Add a Custom App
Under the Custom apps for Spark heading, click the Add a custom app tile (the + card). Any custom apps you've already connected — including TeamTeacher once it's set up — appear here as cards with an on/off toggle.
Step 4: Enter the TeamTeacher MCP Link
In the Set up a custom connected app dialog, paste the TeamTeacher MCP server URL into the Add a custom app link field (it shows a https://your-app-link.com/mcp placeholder):
https://www.teamteacher.ai/api/mcp
Leave Advanced Settings collapsed — TeamTeacher authenticates with OAuth, so you won't need to enter credentials by hand. Advanced Settings is only for custom servers that don't support automatic sign-in.
Read the About custom connected apps note (Gemini reminds you that a custom app hasn't been reviewed by Google and that you should trust the service before connecting), then click Next and follow the on-screen prompts to authorize TeamTeacher.
Step 5: You're Connected
TeamTeacher now appears under Custom apps for Spark as a card showing its name, its @TeamTeacher handle, and the time it Last sync'd — with the toggle switched on. Click More details on the card any time to review the connection.
Using TeamTeacher in Gemini Spark
In a Spark conversation, type @ and choose TeamTeacher to bring your agents into the chat. Then ask Gemini to use one of them. For example:
"Ask Minerva for a primer on the MYP Grade 8 Math curriculum and assessments."
Other things you can try:
- "Ask Minerva to review this lesson plan for IB alignment"
- "Have my custom agent search my documents for resources on fractions"
- "Ask Diane what Texas TEKS standards cover this topic"
As with the other apps, every conversation your agents have appears in your TeamTeacher history, and their responses include a Continue in TeamTeacher link so you can pick the work back up in the full web app.
Managing the Connection
- Turn it off temporarily — flip the TeamTeacher toggle off under Custom apps for Spark.
- Remove it — open More details on the TeamTeacher card, then choose Remove app.
A Note on Data Sharing
A custom MCP server runs outside Google's control, so Gemini asks you to connect only services you trust. TeamTeacher only ever receives the request you (or Gemini, on your behalf) send to an agent, and returns that agent's response — the same technical transparency you get in Claude and ChatGPT. You can review TeamTeacher's privacy practices any time before connecting.
Set Up Other Apps
Use TeamTeacher somewhere else too: