Home Community Insights Google Launches Gemini CLI: A Powerful Agentic Tool to Challenge OpenAI and Anthropic in Developer Workflows

Google Launches Gemini CLI: A Powerful Agentic Tool to Challenge OpenAI and Anthropic in Developer Workflows

Google Launches Gemini CLI: A Powerful Agentic Tool to Challenge OpenAI and Anthropic in Developer Workflows

Google has unveiled Gemini CLI, a new agentic AI tool designed to bring the power of its Gemini models directly to developers’ terminals.

Unlike OpenAI’s Codex CLI, which operates in a more restricted environment, and Anthropic’s Claude Code, which emphasizes safety and a 200,000-token context window, Gemini CLI stands out with its open-source Apache 2.0 license and no initial paywall, fostering community-driven innovation.

The open-source utility allows users to execute natural language commands for tasks such as writing code, debugging, feature creation, and streamlining workflows all from the command line. However, while its free tier is robust, enterprise users requiring features like parallel agents or specific governance may need a paid API key.

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Now available in preview, Gemini CLI connects locally to developers’ codebases and provides seamless access to Gemini 2.5 Pro. It boasts a 1 million token context window.

Speaking on the launch, CEO of Google Cloud Thomas Kurian said,

“Today, we introduced Gemini CLI, an open-source AI agent that empowers developers with a versatile, local utility that can be directly accessed from the terminal. From code to content, deep research to task management, Gemini CLI is built for cross-platform compatibility with extensibility through MCP bringing the power of Gemini to your terminal.”

Gemini CLI is part of Google’s broader effort to win developer mindshare and promote its AI models in programming environments. It joins tools like Gemini Code Assist and the asynchronous coding assistant Jules, but Gemini CLI marks a more direct competitor to terminal-based tools such as OpenAI’s Codex CLI and Anthropic’s Claude Code.

Beyond coding, Gemini CLI extends its capabilities into other productivity domains. Developers can use it to:

  • Create videos via Google’s Veo 3 model
  • Generate detailed reports using the Deep Research agent
  • Fetch real-time data via Google Search
  • Connect to external databases through MCP servers

With the launch of Gemini CLI, several users have praised its accessibility and power.

A user on X @rishabincloud wrote,

“Gemini CLI is here! An open-source AI agent that brings the power of Gemini directly into your terminal. With unmatched usage limits free of charge excited to try it! Especially because of the 60 model requests per minute and 1,000 requests per day at no charge.”

@MervinPraison wrote,

“Just tried Google’s Gemini CLI and I’m blown away. Built a complete URL shortener with one prompt. FREE 1M token context window means you can feed your entire codebase, and it understands everything This could be a serious competitor to Claude Code”

@Ben Jacobson wrote,

“Ok, so the Gemini CLI is very good. Might even be better than Claude Code output. and faster. Truly wild times we live in”.

As part of its rollout strategy and to encourage adoption, Google is open-sourcing Gemini CLI under the Apache 2.0 license, which is typically considered one of the most permissive. The company says it expects a network of developers to contribute to the project on GitHub. Also, the tech giant is offering generous usage limits: up to 60 model requests per minute and 1,000 per day at no cost.

Since the launch of Gemini 2.5 Pro in April, Google AI models have become a favorite among developers. With the rising popularity of Gemini 2.5 Pro among developers already driving usage of tools like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, Google is positioning Gemini CLI as a central tool to deepen direct engagement with the developer community.

The command-line interface provides a streamlined, high-performance gateway for leveraging Gemini’s capabilities across diverse technical workflows. Google’s move signals an aggressive push to dominate developer workflows, leveraging free access and integration to challenge rivals.

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