Gemini CLI marks the third main launch in a wave of AI-powered terminal brokers. It began with Claude Code in February, adopted by OpenAI’s CLI-based Codex in April. Now, in June, Google has entered the world with Gemini CLI. With this, all three main AI labs i.e. Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google have launched their very own tackle what’s rising as the following large factor: a “terminal agent”—a command-line software that may intelligently learn, write, and execute information or shell instructions in your behalf.
We’re introducing Gemini CLI, an open-source AI agent that brings the ability of Gemini immediately into your terminal. It offers light-weight entry to Gemini, supplying you with probably the most direct path out of your immediate to our mannequin. Whereas it excels at coding, we constructed Gemini CLI to take action rather more. — Gemini CLI launch weblog
Let’s discover!
Gemini CLI begin up display screen.
What’s Gemini CLI?
Gemini CLI is an open-source AI agent that brings the ability of Gemini immediately into your terminal. It offers light-weight entry to Gemini, supplying you with probably the most direct path from immediate to mannequin. Whereas it excels at coding, Gemini CLI can do rather more. It’s a flexible, native utility you need to use for a variety of duties, from content material technology and downside fixing to deep analysis and process administration.
Gemini CLI is on the market for builders to preview beginning at this time, and it’s presently free to make use of by way of a free Gemini Code Help license that may be obtained through a private Google account.
With the Gemini CLI you may:
- Question and edit giant codebases in and past Gemini’s 1M token context window.
- Generate new apps from PDFs or sketches by utilizing Gemini’s multimodal capabilities.
- Automate operational duties, resembling querying pull requests or dealing with complicated rebases.
- Use instruments and MCP servers to attach new capabilities, together with media technology with Imagen, Veo or Lyria
- Floor your queries with the Google Search software, inbuilt to Gemini.
How To Get Began?
npm set up -g @google/gemini-cli
- You now have Gemini CLI put in, run it utilizing the
gemini
command:
gemini
Or set up it with:
npm set up -g @google/gemini-cli
gemini
- Decide a colour theme
- When prompted, register along with your private Google account.
You at the moment are prepared to make use of the Gemini CLI!
For Superior Use or Elevated Capability
If you want to use a particular mannequin or require a better request capability, you need to use an API key:
- Generate a key from Google AI Studio.
- Set it as an setting variable in your terminal. Change
YOUR_API_KEY
along with your generated key.
export GEMINI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
For different authentication strategies, together with Google Workspace accounts, see the authentication information.
Unmatched Free-Tier Limits Tailor-made for Particular person Use

To make use of Gemini CLI free-of-charge, you may merely login with a private Google account and get a free Gemini Code Help license. Gemini CLI makes use of Google’s Gemini 2.5 Professional reasoning mannequin, which presently helps a 1 million token context window (the quantity of knowledge that an AI mannequin can perceive). To make sure you not often, if ever, hit a restrict throughout this preview, Gemini CLI presents the trade’s largest allowance: 60 mannequin requests per minute and 1,000 requests per day at no cost.
Deliver AI Energy to Your Terminal
Now in preview, Gemini CLI places superior AI immediately in your command line. It could possibly perceive your code, edit information, run instructions, and enable you to troubleshoot issues, all by way of easy pure language prompts. Whether or not you’re writing new code or debugging a difficult situation, Gemini CLI transforms the best way you’re employed within the terminal, making your workflow sooner, smarter, and extra environment friendly.
What makes Gemini CLI actually highly effective is the set of instruments it comes with. These instruments allow you to:
- Use Google Search to boost your prompts, giving the AI entry to real-time internet content material for higher, extra knowledgeable responses
- Broaden its capabilities utilizing the Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) or by way of built-in extensions
- Customise the way it responds by adjusting prompts and directions to match your distinctive duties or workflows
- Automate repetitive work by calling Gemini CLI immediately out of your scripts—no guide enter wanted
Ultimate Ideas
Gemini CLI isn’t simply one other AI software BUT it’s a severe improve to how builders work. With deep code understanding, good command execution, real-time internet entry, and beneficiant free utilization limits, it brings the total energy of Google’s Gemini mannequin proper into your terminal.
Whether or not you’re debugging, automating, or constructing one thing from scratch, Gemini CLI helps you progress sooner, keep targeted, and get extra executed… with much less friction.