Google has just released Gemini CLI, an open-source AI agent that brings the power of Gemini 2.5 Pro directly into developers’ terminals across Windows, macOS, and Linux. This tool enables developers to interact with Gemini models locally via the command line, allowing natural language requests to explain code, write new features, debug, run shell commands, manipulate files, and automate workflows within the terminal environment.
Key highlights of Gemini CLI include:
- Massive 1 million token context window, enabling it to query and edit large codebases or entire repositories, surpassing typical AI coding assistants.
- Multimodal capabilities, such as generating new applications from PDFs or sketches and integrating media generation tools like Imagen for images and Veo for video directly from the terminal.
- Built-in integration with Google Search for real-time context grounding and support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to extend functionality.
- Free usage tier offering up to 60 model requests per minute and 1,000 requests per day with a personal Google account, which is among the industry’s largest allowances for free AI coding tools.
- Open-source availability under the Apache 2.0 license, hosted on GitHub, inviting community contributions, bug reports, and feature requests.
Developers can install Gemini CLI with a single command and authenticate using their Google account to start using it immediately. For professional or enterprise use, higher limits and additional features are available via Google AI Studio or Vertex AI keys and Gemini Code Assist licenses.
This release marks a significant step by Google to embed its Gemini AI models directly into developers’ existing workflows, competing with tools like OpenAI’s Codex CLI and Anthropic’s Claude Code, while transforming the terminal into an AI-powered workspace beyond just code completion.