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Coding Open Source
Gemini CLI
Google’s open-source terminal agent powered by Gemini.
Our take
The open-source terminal agent that broke out in 2026 — a real Claude Code rival with a free quota.
What it is
Gemini CLI is Google’s open-source terminal agent powered by Gemini. It can read files, edit code, run shell commands, and integrate with Google Cloud. It ships with a generous free tier via the Gemini API, which made it an overnight favorite for developers who want a Claude Code alternative without a Pro subscription.
Best for
- Terminal coding agent with a generous free tier
- Quick code edits and shell scripting help
- Google Cloud workflows and APIs
Pros
- Open-source (Apache-2.0)
- Best-in-class free tier of any terminal agent
- First-class Google Cloud integration
Cons
- Newer — smaller community than Claude Code or Aider
- Gemini models still trail Claude on some coding tasks
Quick start
- Install: `npm install -g @google/gemini-cli` (or `brew install gemini-cli` on macOS).
- Run `gemini` in any directory → first run opens a Google OAuth flow for free Gemini API access.
- Free tier: 60 requests / minute, 1,000 requests / day on Gemini 2.5 Flash — no credit card required.
- Type `gemini "explain this repo and add a Vitest suite for src/orders.ts"`. It reads files, edits code, runs shell.
- For Google Cloud Workflows / Firebase: `gemini extensions install <name>` adds first-party integrations.
Sample input / output
Input
"Refactor src/db/connection.ts to use a connection pool with PgBouncer-compatible settings, and add retry-with-backoff around query errors."Output
Gemini CLI:
- Reads src/db/connection.ts
- Proposes pgbouncer-friendly pool + exponential backoff helper
- Writes the patch in-place
- Runs `pnpm test` to verify (uses Gemini Pro if the patch is non-trivial)
Patch diff + test output. Free-tier request counter ticks.Benchmarks
GitHub stars 35,000+ — github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli, May 2026
License Apache-2.0
Default model Gemini 2.5 Pro / 2.0 Flash
Free tier 60 req/min, 1,000 req/day on Gemini 2.5 Flash (no credit card)
Context window Up to 1M tokens on Gemini 2.5 Pro — biggest in the open-source CLI space
Pricing
Free; generous free tier via Gemini API
Underlying models
Should you pick this?
Pick it if You want a real terminal agent that's free out of the box, with the largest context window in the OSS CLI space and direct Google Cloud integration — Gemini CLI is the new default for many.
Skip it if You live exclusively in Claude or other frontier models and don't need Google Cloud — Claude Code will feel sharper on most coding tasks today. Gemini models still trail Claude on long reasoning, so verify on your own workload.