Free and open source! Google Launches AI Programming Kingpin Gemini CLI, Hardcore Claude Code

Overnight.google Gemini CLI Thoroughly on fire.

It's an open-source, terminal-capable AI intelligence that users can execute directly on the terminal in the form of natural language commands. It also has the power of Google's Gemini Pro 2.5 -- and it's basically free.

Gemini CLI 最擅长编程，也可以用作聊天、内容创作、Deep Research 等用途。项目星标飞速上涨。

Project Address:https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/

In addition, Google has integrated Gemini CLI with Gemini Code Assist, Google's AI coding assistant, so that all developers, including free, standard and enterprise Code Assist packages, can experience a prompt-driven coding experience in both VS Code and Gemini CLI.

To enable the Gemini CLI, simply sign in with your Google personal account to get a free Gemini Code Assist license.

The free license not only supports Gemini 2.5 Pro models, but also opens up an amazing context window of 1 million tokens, meaning you can throw an entire codebase at it for context.

Usage limits are also the highest in the industry for free: the free version can send 60 model requests per minute, with a daily cap of 1,000 requests.

In fact, the Gemini CLI is not the first or only command-line AI tool; OpenAI Codex has a CLI version, and Anthropic has a Claude Code version. However, the Google Gemini CLI is very different from its two main commercial competitors because it is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.

It's worth noting that the Gemini CLI supports Windows natively, without the need for a WSL, a feature that surprised many developers.

Many netizens have already started to get their hands on it and say that it's probably the best competitor Claude Code has ever encountered. Besides, the latter also charges a fee.

Now that the Gemini CLI preview is available, write code, debug issues and optimize workflows using only natural language, from code understanding and file manipulation to command execution and dynamic troubleshooting.

The main reason why the Gemini CLI is so powerful stems from these built-in tools:

• Networked Search Enhancement: Web content is accessed through Google search to provide real-time external information to the model;
• Protocol Extension Support: Built-in MCP and expansion kits to continuously expand functional boundaries;
• Personalization: Adapt your prompts and commands so that Gemini can be precisely tailored to your work needs;
• Automated Integration: Automate tasks and integrate with existing workflows by invoking the Gemini CLI non-interactively in scripts.

The Gemini CLI can be used for a variety of tasks, including creating a short video of a cat's adventures in Australia using Veo and Imagen.

In addition, the Gemini CLI shares the same technology as Gemini Code Assist. In VS Code, users can type in any prompt in a chat window using smartbody mode, and Code Assist will write tests, fix bugs, build features, and even migrate code for you.

Based on your prompts, Code Assist's intelligence creates a multi-step plan, automatically recovers from failed implementation paths, and suggests solutions you may never have thought of.