Google Launches Gemini CLI, Bringing Gemini to the Terminal
Google has announced Gemini CLI, an open-source tool designed to bring its AI models directly into the developer's terminal. The Mountain View giant isn't the first company to think about bringing an AI assistant to the command line. We've seen similar projects from Google competitors in this space, such as OpenAI with its Codex CLI and Anthropic with Claude Code (released last February).
What seems to be Google's main advantage here is its usage limits, which are surprisingly generous for a free service. Logging in with a personal Google account allows users to make up to 60 model requests per minute, and a total of 1,000 free requests per day. This access is directly tied to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google's powerful model known for its massive context window of up to 1 million tokens, giving individual developers plenty of room to experiment and build without hitting a paywall.
If you're a professional developer who needs to run multiple agents at once or want to use specific models beyond the defaults, Google has other options. You can use Google AI Studio or Vertex AI keys for pay-as-you-go billing, or just purchase the Gemini Code Assist Standard/Enterprise license to unlock additional power.
Here's what you can do with the CLI:
- Align commands (Ground prompts) with Google Search to retrieve web pages and provide real-time external context to the model
- Extend the capabilities of the Gemini CLI through built-in support for the Model Context Protocol - (MCP) or packaged extensions
- Customize prompts and instructions to tailor Gemini to your specific needs and workflow
- Automate tasks and integrate with existing workflows by calling the Gemini CLI non-interactively in your scripts
Installation is simple, assuming you're already set up for modern web development. To install the Gemini CLI, you'll first need to make sure you have Node.js 18 or higher installed. From there, you can run it directly with npx like this:
npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
Or set it globally for easier access later:
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
Since the tool is open source, anyone can review the source code (hosted on GitHub) to understand exactly how it works or verify its behavior. Powered by Yargs and licensed under Apache 2.0, the tool will be familiar to anyone who has built CLI applications with Node.js, making it easy to contribute.
The CLI also shares technology with Google's Code Assist IDE plugin. This creates a more unified experience for developers using Google's AI tools, whether they're working in VS Code or directly in the terminal. This integration works for free tier users and developers subscribed to the Standard or Enterprise plans.
You can find more information in Google's official announcement post .
