For developers, the command line interface (CLI) is more than just a tool—it’s home base. With its efficiency, portability, and powerful extensibility, the terminal remains the go-to environment for getting things done. As AI technology advances, more developers want intelligent assistance right in their terminal. Gemini CLI is built for exactly that purpose: a fully open-source, free, powerful, and flexible AI command-line assistant that puts Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro model at your fingertips.
1. What is Gemini CLI?
Gemini CLI is an open-source AI terminal tool from Google, powered by the Gemini 2.5 Pro model. It enables developers to interact with AI directly from the command line. Not only does it excel at code generation, understanding, and debugging, but it’s also adept at content creation, knowledge retrieval, workflow automation, and more. Lightweight, extensible, and capable of running locally, Gemini CLI is a major upgrade for any developer’s daily workflow.
2. Key Highlights
1. Generous Free Quota for Individual Developers
- Free to Use: Simply log in with your personal Google account to get a free Gemini Code Assist license.
- Powerful Model: The free tier grants direct access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, with a massive 1 million token context window.
- Industry-Leading Limits: 60 requests per minute and 1,000 requests per day for free—far exceeding similar tools, so you rarely worry about hitting limits.
2. Powerful AI Capabilities in Your Terminal
- Code Understanding & Editing: Query, modify, and summarize large codebases with ease.
- File Operations & Command Execution: Use natural language to manipulate files, run scripts, and automate routine tasks.
- Google Search Integration: Enhance AI responses with real-time, external information via built-in Google Search.
- Multimodal Support: Leverage Gemini’s multimodal abilities, such as generating apps from PDFs or sketches.
3. Open Source & Extensible
- Fully Open Source (Apache 2.0): Transparent code, secure and auditable; community contributions are welcome.
- Extensible: Supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) and various plugins and tool integrations.
- Personalized Configuration: Customize your workflow with GEMINI.md, settings, and more for both individuals and teams.
4. Deep Integration with Gemini Code Assist
Gemini CLI shares its core technology with Google’s Gemini Code Assist (AI coding assistant), enabling seamless collaboration. Whether you’re in the terminal or VS Code, you get the same powerful AI coding assistant, supporting multi-step reasoning, auto-recovery, intelligent planning, and more advanced features.
3. How to Get Started Quickly
Prerequisites
- Node.js version 18 or higher is required.
Installation & Running
Run Without Global Installation:
npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli Install Globally:
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli First-Time Authentication
- Sign in with your Google account when prompted to unlock the free quota.
Advanced Usage
- For higher limits or specific models, generate an API key from Google AI Studio and set it as an environment variable:
export GEMINI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY" 4. Usage Examples
Starting a New Project
cd new-project/
gemini
> Write me a Gemini Discord bot that answers questions using a FAQ.md file I will provide Codebase Analysis
git clone https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
cd gemini-cli
gemini
> Summarize all changes merged yesterday Automating Operations
> Make a slide deck showing git history from the last 7 days, grouped by feature and team member
> Convert all images in this directory to png and rename them using exif date Multimodal Generation
> Create a short video with Veo and Imagen about a ginger cat’s adventures around Australia 5. More Resources & Community
6. Summary
Gemini CLI brings AI directly into the developer’s terminal, dramatically boosting productivity and unlocking new possibilities. Whether you’re a student, solo developer, or part of an enterprise team, you can now access a top-tier AI assistant right in your local terminal. Try Gemini CLI today and supercharge your command line experience!
In a nutshell: Gemini CLI is your AI super-assistant for the terminal—free, open source, powerful, and flexible. Every developer should give it a try!