Google has released Gemini CLI, a new open-source AI command-line interface that brings the full capabilities of its Gemini 2.5 Pro model directly into developers’ terminals. Designed for flexibility, transparency, and developer-first workflows, Gemini CLI provides high-performance, natural language AI assistance through a lightweight, locally accessible interface.
Gemini CLI is available today under the Apache 2.0 license, enabling developers to inspect, modify, and extend the source code. It features deep integration with Gemini Code Assist, allowing developers to seamlessly shift between IDE-based and terminal-based AI assistance using the same model backbone.
Key capabilities of Gemini CLI include:
- Support for Gemini 2.5 Pro with a 1 million token context window
- Prompt grounding with Google Search, enabling real-time web context integration
- Built-in support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and custom system prompts (via GEMINI.md)
- Non-interactive scripting mode, allowing terminal automation with AI as part of CI/CD workflows
Once authenticated with a personal Google account, developers can access Gemini CLI for free under a Gemini Code Assist license. Advanced users can alternatively configure Gemini CLI with API keys from Google AI Studio or Vertex AI for more control or higher-volume use cases.
Gemini CLI supports a range of developer workflows, including:
- Writing, refactoring, and debugging code
- Automating terminal tasks and shell scripting
- Researching technical topics or documentation
- Generating structured content or markdown
- Performing local file and system-level operations
The project is intended to evolve with community input, and contributions are encouraged via the Gemini CLI GitHub repository. Google highlights that this release continues the company’s shift toward open, extensible AI tooling aimed at democratizing access to powerful models across platforms.
However, initial user feedback points to areas that still need refinement. One developer commented:
Tried a bit just now; for my not-too-difficult task, it firstly searched a codebase for 4 minutes, then ended up asking to explore the code in another codebase, to which all calls were commented out. Doesn’t feel close to Claude Code yet.
Another Reddit user added:
Well, it is fine until 5 minutes into the session, when it switches the model to flash, which is entirely awful at coding.
For developers who prefer working in an IDE, Gemini Code Assist now shares agent technology with Gemini CLI. This includes multi-step planning, auto-recovery, and reasoning-based code generation in VS Code, offered free across all tiers.
Gemini CLI is available today at cli.gemini.dev and requires only a Google login to get started.
