diff --git a/cli/src/integrationTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliIntegrationTest.kt b/cli/src/integrationTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliIntegrationTest.kt
index 9389139..eee53cf 100644
--- a/cli/src/integrationTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliIntegrationTest.kt
+++ b/cli/src/integrationTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliIntegrationTest.kt
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ class CliIntegrationTest {
       assertThat(createResult.output)
           .contains("${projectGradleScript()} :desktopApp:hotRunJvm --auto")
       assertJvmReadme(projectDir)
+      assertGeneratedProjectHasGitignore(projectDir)
 
       val compileResult =
           runProcess(
@@ -288,11 +289,13 @@ class CliIntegrationTest {
     val rootDir = createTempRoot("composables-cli-mcp-install-cursor")
     try {
       val launcher = installedLauncher()
+      File(rootDir, "settings.gradle.kts").writeText("""pluginManagement {}""")
+      val nestedDir = File(rootDir, "features/chat").apply { mkdirs() }
 
       val result =
           runProcess(
               command = listOf(launcher.absolutePath, "mcp", "install", "--client", "cursor"),
-              workingDir = rootDir,
+              workingDir = nestedDir,
               timeoutSeconds = 60,
           )
 
@@ -309,24 +312,45 @@ class CliIntegrationTest {
   }
 
   @Test
-  fun `cli mcp install writes firebender global config`() {
+  fun `cli mcp install fails outside a Gradle project for project clients`() {
+    val rootDir = createTempRoot("composables-cli-mcp-install-no-project")
+    try {
+      val launcher = installedLauncher()
+
+      val result =
+          runProcess(
+              command = listOf(launcher.absolutePath, "mcp", "install", "--client", "cursor"),
+              workingDir = rootDir,
+              timeoutSeconds = 60,
+          )
+
+      assertThat(result.finished).isTrue()
+      assertThat(result.exitCode).isEqualTo(1)
+      assertThat(result.output).contains("Could not find a Gradle project root")
+      assertThat(result.output).contains("Run this command from the root of your project")
+    } finally {
+      rootDir.deleteRecursively()
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun `cli mcp install writes firebender project config`() {
     val rootDir = createTempRoot("composables-cli-mcp-install-firebender")
     try {
       val launcher = installedLauncher()
+      File(rootDir, "settings.gradle.kts").writeText("""pluginManagement {}""")
 
       val result =
           runProcess(
               command = listOf(launcher.absolutePath, "mcp", "install", "--client", "firebender"),
               workingDir = rootDir,
-              extraEnvironment =
-                  mapOf("JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS" to "-Duser.home=${rootDir.absolutePath}"),
               timeoutSeconds = 60,
           )
 
       assertThat(result.finished).isTrue()
       assertThat(result.exitCode).isEqualTo(0)
       assertThat(result.output).contains("Installed Composables MCP for Firebender.")
-      val content = File(rootDir, ".firebender/firebender.json").readText()
+      val content = File(rootDir, "firebender.json").readText()
       assertThat(content).contains(""""mcpServers"""")
       assertThat(content).contains(""""command": "composables"""")
       assertThat(content).contains(""""mcp"""")
@@ -337,10 +361,11 @@ class CliIntegrationTest {
   }
 
   @Test
-  fun `cli mcp install writes zed global config`() {
+  fun `cli mcp install writes zed project config`() {
     val rootDir = createTempRoot("composables-cli-mcp-install-zed")
     try {
       val launcher = installedLauncher()
+      File(rootDir, "settings.gradle.kts").writeText("""pluginManagement {}""")
 
       val result =
           runProcess(
@@ -353,16 +378,13 @@ class CliIntegrationTest {
                       "zed",
                   ),
               workingDir = rootDir,
-              extraEnvironment =
-                  mapOf(
-                      "JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS" to "-Duser.home=${rootDir.absolutePath} -Dos.name=Linux"),
               timeoutSeconds = 60,
           )
 
       assertThat(result.finished).isTrue()
       assertThat(result.exitCode).isEqualTo(0)
       assertThat(result.output).contains("Installed Composables MCP for Zed.")
-      val content = File(rootDir, ".config/zed/settings.json").readText()
+      val content = File(rootDir, ".zed/settings.json").readText()
       assertThat(content).contains(""""context_servers"""")
       assertThat(content).contains(""""command": "composables"""")
       assertThat(content).contains(""""mcp"""")
@@ -1046,6 +1068,16 @@ class CliIntegrationTest {
         .contains("fun main() = singleWindowApplication(title = \"Sample App\") { App() }")
   }
 
+  private fun assertGeneratedProjectHasGitignore(projectDir: File) {
+    val gitignore = File(projectDir, ".gitignore")
+    assertThat(gitignore.exists()).isTrue()
+
+    val content = gitignore.readText()
+    assertThat(content).contains(".idea")
+    assertThat(content).contains(".gradle")
+    assertThat(content).contains("**/build/")
+  }
+
   private fun runProcess(
       command: List<String>,
       workingDir: File,
diff --git a/cli/src/jvmMain/kotlin/Cli.kt b/cli/src/jvmMain/kotlin/Cli.kt
index 7519d1a..08c3c8a 100644
--- a/cli/src/jvmMain/kotlin/Cli.kt
+++ b/cli/src/jvmMain/kotlin/Cli.kt
@@ -494,37 +494,65 @@ class McpInstall : CliktCommand("install") {
       }
 
       "antigravity" -> {
-        val result = installAntigravityMcpServer(overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installAntigravityMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("Antigravity", result)
       }
 
       "claude" -> {
-        val result = installClaudeCodeMcpServer(projectRoot = workingDir, overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installClaudeCodeMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("Claude Code", result)
       }
 
       "codex" -> {
-        val result = installCodexMcpServer(projectRoot = workingDir, overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installCodexMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("Codex", result)
       }
 
       "cursor" -> {
-        val result = installCursorMcpServer(projectRoot = workingDir, overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installCursorMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("Cursor", result)
       }
 
       "firebender" -> {
-        val result = installFirebenderMcpServer(overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installFirebenderMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("Firebender", result)
       }
 
       "opencode" -> {
-        val result = installOpenCodeMcpServer(projectRoot = workingDir, overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installOpenCodeMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("OpenCode", result)
       }
 
       "zed" -> {
-        val result = installZedMcpServer(overwrite = overwrite)
+        val result =
+            installZedMcpServer(
+                projectRoot = findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(workingDir),
+                overwrite = overwrite,
+            )
         echoInstallResult("Zed", result)
       }
 
@@ -549,6 +577,22 @@ class McpInstall : CliktCommand("install") {
   }
 }
 
+internal fun findGradleProjectRoot(start: File): File? {
+  var current: File? = start.absoluteFile
+  while (current != null) {
+    if (File(current, "settings.gradle.kts").isFile || File(current, "settings.gradle").isFile) {
+      return current
+    }
+    current = current.parentFile
+  }
+  return null
+}
+
+private fun findRequiredMcpProjectRoot(start: File): File =
+    findGradleProjectRoot(start)
+        ?: throw UsageError(
+            "Could not find a Gradle project root. Run this command from the root of your project.")
+
 class AddModule : CliktCommand("module") {
   override fun help(context: Context): String =
       """
@@ -810,12 +854,12 @@ internal fun installAndroidStudioMcpServer(
 }
 
 internal fun installAntigravityMcpServer(
-    configFile: File = File(System.getProperty("user.home"), ".gemini/config/mcp_config.json"),
+    projectRoot: File,
     serverName: String = "composables",
     overwrite: Boolean = false,
 ): McpInstallResult =
     installJsonMcpServer(
-        configFile = configFile,
+        configFile = File(projectRoot, ".agents/mcp_config.json"),
         rootKey = "mcpServers",
         serverName = serverName,
         serverConfig = composablesStdioJsonConfig,
@@ -868,12 +912,12 @@ internal fun installOpenCodeMcpServer(
     )
 
 internal fun installFirebenderMcpServer(
-    configFile: File = File(System.getProperty("user.home"), ".firebender/firebender.json"),
+    projectRoot: File,
     serverName: String = "composables",
     overwrite: Boolean = false,
 ): McpInstallResult =
     installJsonMcpServer(
-        configFile = configFile,
+        configFile = File(projectRoot, "firebender.json"),
         rootKey = "mcpServers",
         serverName = serverName,
         serverConfig = composablesStdioJsonConfig,
@@ -882,12 +926,12 @@ internal fun installFirebenderMcpServer(
     )
 
 internal fun installZedMcpServer(
-    configFile: File = defaultZedSettingsFile(),
+    projectRoot: File,
     serverName: String = "composables",
     overwrite: Boolean = false,
 ): McpInstallResult =
     installJsonMcpServer(
-        configFile = configFile,
+        configFile = File(projectRoot, ".zed/settings.json"),
         rootKey = "context_servers",
         serverName = serverName,
         serverConfig = composablesStdioJsonConfig,
@@ -895,18 +939,6 @@ internal fun installZedMcpServer(
         overwrite = overwrite,
     )
 
-internal fun defaultZedSettingsFile(appDataPath: String? = System.getenv("APPDATA")): File {
-  val homeDir = File(System.getProperty("user.home"))
-  return when {
-    isWindows() -> {
-      val appData = appDataPath?.takeIf { it.isNotBlank() }?.let(::File)
-      File(appData ?: File(homeDir, "AppData/Roaming"), "Zed/settings.json")
-    }
-    isMacOs() -> File(homeDir, ".zed/settings.json")
-    else -> File(homeDir, ".config/zed/settings.json")
-  }
-}
-
 private fun installJsonMcpServer(
     configFile: File,
     rootKey: String,
diff --git a/cli/src/jvmMain/resources/project/.gitignore b/cli/src/jvmMain/resources/project/.gitignore
index 6f6db68..adfa9bf 100644
--- a/cli/src/jvmMain/resources/project/.gitignore
+++ b/cli/src/jvmMain/resources/project/.gitignore
@@ -1,17 +1,19 @@
 *.iml
+.kotlin
 .gradle
-.kotlin/
-/local.properties
-/.idea
+**/build/
+xcuserdata
+!src/**/build/
+local.properties
+.idea
 .DS_Store
-kotlin-js-store/
-build/
-/captures
+captures
 .externalNativeBuild
 .cxx
-iosApp/Podfile.lock
-iosApp/Pods/*
-iosApp/iosApp.xcworkspace/*
-iosApp/iosApp.xcodeproj/*
-!iosApp/iosApp.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
-shared/shared.podspec
\ No newline at end of file
+*.xcodeproj/*
+!*.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj
+!*.xcodeproj/xcshareddata/
+!*.xcodeproj/project.xcworkspace/
+!*.xcworkspace/contents.xcworkspacedata
+**/xcshareddata/WorkspaceSettings.xcsettings
+node_modules/
diff --git a/cli/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliTest.kt b/cli/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliTest.kt
index 5ba12ac..6cb3485 100644
--- a/cli/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliTest.kt
+++ b/cli/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/composables/cli/CliTest.kt
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ class CliTest {
       val desktopBuildFile = File(projectDir, "desktopApp/build.gradle.kts")
       val rootBuildFile = File(projectDir, "build.gradle.kts")
       val readmeFile = File(projectDir, "README.md")
+      val gitignoreFile = File(projectDir, ".gitignore")
       val settingsFile = File(projectDir, "settings.gradle.kts")
       val appFile = File(projectDir, "shared/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/composables/demo/App.kt")
       val desktopMainFile =
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ class CliTest {
       assertThat(desktopBuildFile.exists(), "Generated desktop module build file should exist")
           .isTrue()
       assertThat(readmeFile.exists(), "Generated README should exist").isTrue()
+      assertThat(gitignoreFile.exists(), "Generated .gitignore should exist").isTrue()
       assertThat(settingsFile.exists(), "Generated settings file should exist").isTrue()
       assertThat(appFile.exists(), "App source should be moved to the requested package").isTrue()
       assertThat(desktopMainFile.exists(), "Desktop launcher source should exist").isTrue()
@@ -72,6 +74,7 @@ class CliTest {
       val desktopMainContent = desktopMainFile.readText()
       val rootBuildContent = rootBuildFile.readText()
       val readmeContent = readmeFile.readText()
+      val gitignoreContent = gitignoreFile.readText()
       val settingsContent = settingsFile.readText()
       val appContent = appFile.readText()
 
@@ -101,6 +104,9 @@ class CliTest {
       assertThat(readmeContent).doesNotContain(":androidApp:installDebug")
       assertThat(readmeContent).doesNotContain("iosApp/iosApp.xcodeproj")
       assertThat(readmeContent).doesNotContain(":webApp:wasmJsBrowserDevelopmentRun")
+      assertThat(gitignoreContent).contains(".idea")
+      assertThat(gitignoreContent).contains(".gradle")
+      assertThat(gitignoreContent).contains("**/build/")
 
       assertThat(appContent).contains("package com.composables.demo")
       assertThat(appContent).contains("import androidx.compose.ui.tooling.preview.Preview")
@@ -553,10 +559,10 @@ class CliTest {
   }
 
   @Test
-  fun `installAntigravityMcpServer writes shared mcp config`() {
-    withTempDir { targetDir ->
-      val configFile = File(targetDir, "mcp_config.json")
-      val result = installAntigravityMcpServer(configFile = configFile)
+  fun `installAntigravityMcpServer writes workspace mcp config`() {
+    withTempDir { projectRoot ->
+      val result = installAntigravityMcpServer(projectRoot = projectRoot)
+      val configFile = File(projectRoot, ".agents/mcp_config.json")
 
       val content = configFile.readText()
       assertThat(result is McpInstallResult.Installed).isTrue()
@@ -609,10 +615,10 @@ class CliTest {
   }
 
   @Test
-  fun `installFirebenderMcpServer writes global firebender config`() {
-    withTempDir { targetDir ->
-      val configFile = File(targetDir, "firebender.json")
-      val result = installFirebenderMcpServer(configFile = configFile)
+  fun `installFirebenderMcpServer writes project firebender config`() {
+    withTempDir { projectRoot ->
+      val result = installFirebenderMcpServer(projectRoot = projectRoot)
+      val configFile = File(projectRoot, "firebender.json")
       val content = configFile.readText()
 
       assertThat(result is McpInstallResult.Installed).isTrue()
@@ -625,10 +631,10 @@ class CliTest {
   }
 
   @Test
-  fun `installZedMcpServer writes global zed context server config`() {
-    withTempDir { targetDir ->
-      val configFile = File(targetDir, "settings.json")
-      val result = installZedMcpServer(configFile = configFile)
+  fun `installZedMcpServer writes project zed context server config`() {
+    withTempDir { projectRoot ->
+      val result = installZedMcpServer(projectRoot = projectRoot)
+      val configFile = File(projectRoot, ".zed/settings.json")
       val content = configFile.readText()
 
       assertThat(result is McpInstallResult.Installed).isTrue()
@@ -713,6 +719,21 @@ class CliTest {
     }
   }
 
+  @Test
+  fun `findGradleProjectRoot walks up to settings file`() {
+    withTempDir { projectRoot ->
+      File(projectRoot, "settings.gradle.kts").writeText("""pluginManagement {}""")
+      val nested = File(projectRoot, "feature/chat/src").apply { mkdirs() }
+
+      assertThat(findGradleProjectRoot(nested)).isEqualTo(projectRoot.absoluteFile)
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun `findGradleProjectRoot returns null outside a Gradle project`() {
+    withTempDir { targetDir -> assertThat(findGradleProjectRoot(targetDir)).isNull() }
+  }
+
   @Test
   fun `findAndroidStudioConfigDirectory selects latest mac config directory`() {
     withTempDir { homeDir ->
@@ -739,60 +760,6 @@ class CliTest {
     }
   }
 
-  @Test
-  fun `installZedMcpServer uses mac global settings path`() {
-    withTempDir { homeDir ->
-      withOsName("Mac OS X") {
-        withUserHome(homeDir.absolutePath) {
-          val result = installZedMcpServer()
-
-          assertThat(result.configFile).isEqualTo(File(homeDir, ".zed/settings.json"))
-          assertThat(result.configFile).exists()
-        }
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  fun `installZedMcpServer uses linux global settings path`() {
-    withTempDir { homeDir ->
-      withOsName("Linux") {
-        withUserHome(homeDir.absolutePath) {
-          val result = installZedMcpServer()
-
-          assertThat(result.configFile).isEqualTo(File(homeDir, ".config/zed/settings.json"))
-          assertThat(result.configFile).exists()
-        }
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  fun `defaultZedSettingsFile uses windows appdata path`() {
-    withTempDir { homeDir ->
-      withOsName("Windows 11") {
-        withUserHome(homeDir.absolutePath) {
-          val appDataDir = File(homeDir, "AppData/Roaming")
-
-          assertThat(defaultZedSettingsFile(appDataPath = appDataDir.absolutePath))
-              .isEqualTo(File(appDataDir, "Zed/settings.json"))
-        }
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  fun `defaultZedSettingsFile uses windows home fallback when appdata is missing`() {
-    withTempDir { homeDir ->
-      withOsName("Windows 11") {
-        withUserHome(homeDir.absolutePath) {
-          assertThat(defaultZedSettingsFile(appDataPath = null))
-              .isEqualTo(File(homeDir, "AppData/Roaming/Zed/settings.json"))
-        }
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
   private fun withTempDir(block: (File) -> Unit) {
     val dir = Files.createTempDirectory("composables-cli-test").toFile()
     try {
diff --git a/settings.gradle.kts b/settings.gradle.kts
index 0a7d6ac..101d3ca 100644
--- a/settings.gradle.kts
+++ b/settings.gradle.kts
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+import org.apache.tools.ant.DirectoryScanner
+
+DirectoryScanner.removeDefaultExclude("**/.gitignore")
+
 enableFeaturePreview("TYPESAFE_PROJECT_ACCESSORS")
 
 rootProject.name = "composables-cli"