Gemini CLI

Gemini Command Line Tool Tips and Tricks

Honghao Wang

22 Oct 2025 — 4 min read

Gemini CLI – Pro Tips & Complete Usage Guide

This guide is also available to star/follow on our GitHub repository.

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Introduction

Gemini CLI is an open-source AI assistant that brings the power of Google’s Gemini model directly into your terminal. It works as a conversational, agentic command-line tool — meaning it can:

Understand your requests
Choose and execute the right tools (shell commands, file edits, etc.)
Carry out multi-step plans to improve your development workflow

In practice, Gemini CLI acts like a highly capable pair programmer and command-line assistant. It excels at:

Coding tasks
Debugging
Generating content
Automating system operations

… all via natural language prompts.

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Example:

gemini "Write a Python script to scrape headlines from a news site"

Gemini CLI will generate the solution and can execute it — making it far more than just a static code generator.

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Getting Started

Installation

You can install Gemini CLI globally via npm:

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

Or run it without installation using `npx`:

npx @google/gemini-cli

Gemini CLI is built with Node.js/TypeScript and runs on all major platforms.

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Authentication

On first launch, you’ll need to authenticate. Two main options:

Google Account Login (Free Tier)
Use Gemini 2.5 Pro for free with generous limits (≈ 60 req/min, 1,000 req/day).
Sign in with your Google account — no billing required.
API Key (Paid / Higher-tier Access)
Obtain from Google AI Studio
Set it as an environment variable:

     export GEMINI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

🔹 Note: API key users may get higher quotas and enterprise data protections.

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Basic Usage

Interactive Mode
Run `gemini` with no arguments:
Gemini can then create files, install dependencies, run tests, etc.
One-shot Mode

  gemini -p "Summarize the main points of the attached file. @./report.txt"

  $ gemini
  gemini> Create a React recipe management app using SQLite

Piping Input

  echo "Count to 10" | gemini

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CLI Interface Highlights

Slash Commands (/) → control session, tools, settings
Bang Commands (!) → execute shell commands directly
Safe Mode → requires confirmation before making changes

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Power User Tips

Below are selected pro tips (this guide contains 28+). Each expands Gemini CLI’s functionality.

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Tip 1: Persistent Context via `GEMINI.md`

Stop repeating yourself — store project-specific context in `.gemini/GEMINI.md` so Gemini always remembers styles, architecture, or rules.

Example:

# Project Phoenix

## Coding Style
- ESLint + Prettier
- async/await > Promises

## Architecture
- Next.js + Tailwind + Prisma
- JWT auth on all API calls

Use `/memory show` to view current context; `/memory refresh` to reload after edits.

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Tip 2: Custom Slash Commands

Automate repetitive tasks via `.gemini/commands/*.toml` configs.

E.g., `/test:gen` to auto-generate Jest unit tests from descriptions.

description = "Generate a Jest unit test from requirement"
prompt = """
You are a test engineer. Write a Jest test based on:
Requirement: {{args}}
"""

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Tip 3: Extend with MCP Servers

Add Model Context Protocol servers for custom tools.

E.g., Figma MCP for design-to-code, Google Docs MCP for document reads.

gemini mcp add myserver --command "python3 my_mcp_server.py" --port 8080

List MCP tools: `/mcp`

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Tip 4: Memory Add & Recall

Store facts or configs across sessions:

/memory add "Staging RabbitMQ port is 5673"

View: `/memory show`

Refresh: `/memory refresh`

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Tip 5: Checkpointing & Restore

Snapshot files before tool changes:

gemini --checkpointing

Restore:

/restore list
/restore

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Tip 6: Read Google Docs & Sheets

With Workspace MCP integration, reference live docs:

@https://docs.google.com/document/d/

Gemini will pull content into your prompt context.

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Tip 7: Reference Files & Images (`@` syntax)

Attach exact content to prompts:

Explain this code: @./src/main.js

Works for files, directories, and images.

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Tip 8: On-the-Fly Tool Creation

Prompt Gemini to write helper scripts during a session, e.g., batch log analyzer.

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Tip 9: System Troubleshooting

Run in home dir to edit dotfiles (`@~/.bashrc`), check configs, or install tools.

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Tip 10: YOLO Mode

Auto-approve tool actions:

gemini --yolo

⚠️ Use with caution; skips confirmation prompts.

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Tip 11: Headless/Scripting Mode

Run single prompts in scripts:

gemini -p "Generate a blog outline"

Custom system prompt:

export GEMINI_SYSTEM_MD="/path/to/system.md"

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Tip 12: Save & Resume Chats

/chat save 
/chat resume

Continue multi-day conversations seamlessly.

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Tip 13: Multi-Directory Workspace

Include multiple folders in context:

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

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Tip 14: Organize Files

AI-assisted folder cleanup, categorization, and renaming using image content.

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Tip 15: Compress Long Conversations

Maintain relevance and stay within context limits:

/compress

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Tip 16: Shell Passthrough (`!`)

Run shell commands inline:

!ls -lh

Persistent shell mode: `!` (empty) then commands.

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Tip 17: Every CLI Tool is a Gemini Tool

Any tool in `$PATH` can be used — install helpful CLIs, restrict risky ones.

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Tip 18: Multimodal Input

Reference images/PDF/audio for analysis with model’s vision capabilities.

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Tip 19: Customize `$PATH`

Run Gemini with restricted tool availability:

PATH=/usr/bin gemini

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Tip 20: Token Caching & Stats

Reduce costs via API key caching; check usage:

/stats

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Tip 21: `/copy` to Clipboard

Copies last output directly to system clipboard.

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Tip 22: Ctrl+C Mastery

Once: abort current action
Twice: exit CLI

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Tip 23: Settings via `settings.json`

Change theme, tool permissions, directories:

{
  "theme": "dark",
  "sandbox": "docker"
}

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Tip 24: IDE Integration (VS Code)

Gemini can track open files/selection and show AI diffs in VS Code.

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Tip 25: GitHub Action Integration

Run Gemini CLI as a repo bot for PR reviews, issue triage.

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Tip 26: Telemetry

Enable OpenTelemetry for usage stats and performance monitoring.

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Tip 27: Follow the Roadmap

Upcoming: background agents for async tasks; engage via GitHub issues.

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Tip 28: Extensions

Install modular capabilities:

gemini extensions install

Examples: Cloud Run deployment, Figma design tools, payment APIs.

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Easter Egg: Corgi Mode 🐕

`/corgi` toggles animated ASCII corgi across your terminal.

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Conclusion

Gemini CLI is a Swiss army knife of AI capabilities in your terminal — from persistent memory, multimodal input, custom tooling, automation, and integration with IDEs, CI/CD, and external APIs.

Pairing Gemini CLI with content ecosystems like AiToEarn lets creators generate → publish → monetize across platforms including:

Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X (Twitter)

… consolidating AI-assisted development and cross-platform content strategies.

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Learn more:

Gemini CLI Repository
AiToEarn GitHub
Beyond the Command Line – book site with free resources

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Would you like me to prepare a condensed quick-reference cheat sheet summarizing these 28 tips for faster lookup? It would be a one-page markdown table.