Gemini CLI Cheat Sheet

Your all-in-one reference for Google’s AI-powered terminal assistant.

🛠️ 1. Installation

Linux / macOS

# Install globally
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

# OR run without install
npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli

# Verify installation
gemini --version

💡 If you get permission errors, prepend sudo or install Node.js via nvm.

Windows (PowerShell / CMD)

# Global install
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

# One-time run
npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli

# Check version
gemini --version

⚠️ On Windows, ensure npm and node are in your PATH (node -v to verify).

🔐 2. First-Time Setup

Run and Configure

gemini

Then follow prompts:

Choose color theme.
Sign in with Google or paste API key.
Confirm workspace directory permissions.
Save settings (auto-created on first run).

Config file locations

OS	Config File Path
Linux	~/.gemini/settings.json
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/gemini/settings.json
Windows	C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\gemini\settings.json

🧩 Workspace settings override user-level configs (.gemini/settings.json inside project).

⚡ 3. Basic Usage

Start interactive session

gemini

One-off (non-interactive) prompt

gemini -p "Summarize this folder’s code structure"

Choose a specific model

gemini -m "gemini-2.5-pro"
gemini -m "gemini-2.5-flash"

🧠 Pro = higher accuracy / reasoning

⚡ Flash = faster, cheaper, lighter

💬 4. Everyday Commands

Action	Command / Example
Ask a question	> What does main.py do?
Generate code	> Create a REST API using Flask
Refactor	> Refactor login.js for async/await
Generate docs	> Write documentation for utils/
Generate tests	> Create Jest tests for helpers.js
Summarize files	> Summarize key modules in src/
Fix bug	> Find and fix undefined variable errors

🧰 5. Built-in Tools (Automated)

Tool	Description
read-file	Reads a single file
write-file	Edits / writes files
read-many-files	Scans multiple files
glob	Finds files by pattern
grep	Searches text patterns
shell	Runs terminal commands
memoryTool	Stores session memory
web-search	Looks up online info
web-fetch	Fetches URLs / APIs

Gemini automatically uses these tools when you give a natural-language command.

🧩 6. Slash Commands (Meta Controls)

Command	Purpose
/help	Show all commands
/tools	List available tools
/memory	View / clear memory
/stats	Check token & usage info
/theme	Change CLI theme
/mcp	Manage connected MCP servers
/quit or /exit	Leave session

🪄 7. Shell Integration

You can run native commands inside Gemini with a ! prefix:

Example	Description
!ls -al	List directory (Linux/macOS)
!dir	List directory (Windows)
!git status	Show Git changes
!npm test	Run tests
!python app.py	Run Python app

📂 8. Typical Workflow

cd ~/projects/myapp
gemini

Then inside CLI:

> Explain architecture of this repo
> Fix bug in src/api/order.js
> Generate README.md with project overview
> !git diff
> Add error logging to server.js

🧠 9. Useful Flags

Flag	Description	Example
-p	Run one-time prompt	gemini -p "Summarize this repo"
-m	Choose model	gemini -m gemini-2.5-flash
--help	Show help menu	gemini --help
--version	Check version	gemini --version

🧩 10. Config Customization

Edit .gemini/settings.json in your project for defaults:

{
  "model": "gemini-2.5-flash",
  "theme": "dark",
  "autoApproveToolUse": true,
  "maxTokens": 8192
}

🪶 You can also set autoApproveToolUse to false for manual control.

🧭 11. Troubleshooting Quick Fixes

Issue	Fix
Permission error (Linux/macOS)	Run with sudo or reinstall Node using nvm
Command not found	Add npm global bin to PATH
Login redirect fails	Retry or use API key from Google AI Studio
Quota exceeded	Wait 24h or upgrade your API key
Cannot find module	npm uninstall -g @google/gemini-cli && npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
Security prompt each time	Add "autoApproveToolUse": true to config

🧩 12. Pro Tips & Tricks

💾 Memory inspection: /memory show — view session context
💻 Use in scripts:

gemini -p "Generate release notes for v2.0" > changelog.txt

🪶 Quick file summary:

gemini -p "Summarize src/app.js"

🧩 Connect MCP server:

/mcp connect http://localhost:8080

🧠 Switch models mid-session:

/model gemini-2.5-pro

⚙️ View usage stats:

/stats

🔒 13. Security & Safe Use

Run in trusted directories only.
Review diffs before accepting file changes.
Use isolated environments for sensitive projects.
Stay updated — run:

npm update -g @google/gemini-cli

🌈 14. Bonus Shortcuts

Action	Linux/macOS	Windows
Clear terminal	Ctrl + L	Ctrl + L
Copy last output	Ctrl + Shift + C	Ctrl + C (PowerShell)
Paste command	Ctrl + Shift + V	Ctrl + V
Interrupt task	Ctrl + C	Ctrl + C

🧭 15. Quick Reference Summary

Category	Command
Launch	gemini
Prompt (inline)	gemini -p "..."
Model select	gemini -m "gemini-2.5-pro"
Help	/help
Tools list	/tools
Check stats	/stats
Quit	/quit
Shell inside	!ls, !git status
Update CLI	npm update -g @google/gemini-cli