The personal Google account free tier is 1000 requests/day and it is open-source/forkable — the default choice for long-context (2M) and self-hosted use.

For headless automation use `gemini -p -o json` with --approval-mode=yolo (preferred over the deprecated -y) for unattended tasks.

Write build/test commands into GEMINI.md; Gemini auto-loads it each session — more stable than repeating prompts. Use .geminiignore to block .env etc.

Past the 2M ceiling use /compress to keep going; use /save + /restore to preserve sessions across days.

Gemini CLI Cheatsheet - Google Terminal AI Agent Full Reference

All Gemini CLI terminal AI agent commands in one place — from install & auth to headless exec, approval modes, and MCP/extensions — organized by scenario. Copy and go.

AI CLI·55 commands·Last updated 2026-08-05

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Install & Auth 6

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli⧉

Install globally via npm (Node 20+ required)

gemini --version⧉

Verify install and show version

gemini⧉

First run triggers browser OAuth sign-in

gemini --auth-method=api-key⧉

Switch to API-key auth

export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key"⧉

Set API key env var (servers/CI)

export GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=true⧉

Enterprise / Vertex AI auth

Run Modes 8

gemini⧉

Launch the interactive TUI agent (default)

gemini "Refactor the user-auth module"⧉

Launch the TUI seeded with a prompt

gemini -p "Explain this function"⧉

Headless mode: print and exit (--prompt)

gemini -i "Implement the cache first"⧉

Seed a prompt then stay interactive (--prompt-interactive)

gemini mcp⧉

Manage MCP servers

gemini extensions⧉

Manage Gemini CLI extensions

gemini skills⧉

Manage agent skills (install/link/list)

gemini gemma⧉

Local Gemma model routing (setup/start/stop/status)

Global Flags 15

gemini -m gemini-2.5-pro "task"⧉

Override the model for one invocation (-m/--model)

gemini -y "Refactor the whole module"⧉

Auto-approve all actions (--yolo; prefer --approval-mode=yolo)

gemini --approval-mode plan "Explore architecture"⧉

Read-only plan mode (default/auto_edit/yolo/plan)

gemini -w feat/login⧉

Run in a fresh git worktree (--worktree)

gemini -s⧉

Run tool calls in the configured sandbox (Docker/Podman)

gemini --skip-trust⧉

Trust the current workspace for this session only

gemini --checkpointing⧉

Enable per-edit snapshots, restorable via /restore

gemini -r latest⧉

Resume the previous session (--resume, latest or index)

gemini --list-sessions⧉

Print sessions for the current project and exit

gemini --delete-session 2⧉

Delete a session by index

gemini --include-directories ../backend,../frontend⧉

Add directories to the workspace map

gemini -o json "task"⧉

Output format text/json/stream-json (json for scripting)

gemini -e context7⧉

Restrict the active extension set (--extensions)

gemini -l⧉

List installed extensions and exit (--list-extensions)

gemini --debug⧉

Verbose debug logging (--debug/-d)

Session Slash Commands 14

/help⧉

List all available commands

/model⧉

Switch the active model (Pro/Flash, etc.)

/context⧉

Show current conversation token usage

/compress⧉

Summarize the conversation to free context (past 2M)

/clear⧉

Reset the conversation

/save⧉

Save the conversation to a checkpoint

/restore⧉

Resume a saved conversation

/yolo⧉

Skip all confirmation prompts (use with caution)

/mcp list⧉

List configured MCP servers

/tools⧉

List all available tools

/init⧉

Generate a GEMINI.md for the project

/memory list⧉

View loaded context files

/memory refresh⧉

Reload GEMINI.md without restarting

/quit⧉

Exit

MCP & Extensions 7

gemini mcp add <name> <url>⧉

Add an MCP server

gemini mcp remove <name>⧉

Remove an MCP server

gemini mcp list⧉

List MCP servers

gemini mcp enable <name>⧉

Enable an MCP server

gemini mcp disable <name>⧉

Disable an MCP server

gemini extensions install <name>⧉

Install a Gemini CLI extension

gemini mcp add --url https://example.com/mcp⧉

Add an HTTP MCP server

GEMINI.md & Config 5

echo "Build: make build\nTest: go test ./..." > GEMINI.md⧉

Write GEMINI.md at repo root, auto-loaded each session

@./docs/architecture.md⧉

Inject a file/directory into the prompt with @

!git status⧉

Run a shell command directly inside Gemini with !

echo ".env\nnode_modules/" > .geminiignore⧉

Keep the agent away from secrets and large dirs

cat ~/.gemini/settings.json⧉

Inspect user-level config (model/MCP/tool perms)

💡 Tips

The personal Google account free tier is 1000 requests/day and it is open-source/forkable — the default choice for long-context (2M) and self-hosted use.
For headless automation use `gemini -p -o json` with --approval-mode=yolo (preferred over the deprecated -y) for unattended tasks.
Write build/test commands into GEMINI.md; Gemini auto-loads it each session — more stable than repeating prompts. Use .geminiignore to block .env etc.
Past the 2M ceiling use /compress to keep going; use /save + /restore to preserve sessions across days.

Official References

Commands are compiled from the official docs below. Click to verify the latest usage.

Gemini CLI GitHub

Maintained by LaoHand

Publicly updated on Aug 5, 2026, continuously proofread against official docs.

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Wrong command or description? Open an issue to help us fix it.

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Install & Auth 6

Run Modes 8

Global Flags 15

Session Slash Commands 14

MCP & Extensions 7

GEMINI.md & Config 5

💡 Tips

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Official References

Maintained by LaoHand

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