agent safety

Agent safety answer

gemini-cli is an AI CLI that can combine model access with local files and tool calls.

Credential access

Reads model API credentials, environment variables, and files included in prompts.

Remote mutation

Can drive local commands or API calls if granted tool access.

Publish/artifact risk

Can generate code and release commands that become artifacts.

Recommended control

Run in containment and gate all secret-backed or mutating commands.

Agent-use guidance

Limit file scope and require approval before exposing secrets or running deployment tools.

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install gemini-cli

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install gemini-cli

MacPorts ports tree · llm/gemini-cli/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#gemini-cli

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ge/gemini-cli/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S gemini-cli

Arch Linux sync databases · gemini-cli · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install gemini-cli

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · gemini-cli · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Interact with Google Gemini AI models from the command-line

Project links

Commands and aliases

gemini

history

Project history and usage

Gemini CLI is Google's open-source terminal agent for interacting with Gemini models from the command line. It became significant quickly because Google launched it as an Apache-2.0 project with free individual access, Code Assist integration, built-in tools, and package-manager distribution through npm and Homebrew.

Project history

Google announced Gemini CLI on June 25, 2025 as an open-source AI agent that brings Gemini into developers' terminals. The launch positioned the CLI as a local utility for coding, content generation, research, problem solving, and task management rather than only as a chat wrapper.

The public repository developed around a terminal-first workflow: installation through npm or Homebrew, documented release channels, configuration through settings files and `GEMINI.md`, support for non-interactive invocation, and integration points such as MCP servers and extensions.

Adoption history

Gemini CLI's adoption path was tied to Google's Gemini Code Assist product line. The launch article stated that the tool shared technology with Gemini Code Assist, giving developers prompt-driven AI help in both VS Code and the terminal.

Package-manager adoption followed the developer-tool pattern: the README documents global npm installation, `npx` execution, Homebrew installation, and MacPorts packaging. That made the CLI visible both to JavaScript users and to developers who expect AI tools to install like ordinary command-line utilities.

How it is used

Practitioners use Gemini CLI inside source trees to ask questions about code, edit files, run shell commands, debug failures, generate applications from multimodal inputs, and automate tasks from scripts. The tool also supports Google Search grounding, file operations, web fetching, conversation checkpointing, and project-specific context files.

Teams use the CLI alongside Gemini Code Assist and GitHub workflows, while individual users often treat it as a terminal-native coding assistant that can operate without leaving the shell.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, Gemini CLI is a marker of AI coding tools becoming ordinary CLI packages. It is distributed through language-package tooling and system package managers, has documented stable, preview, and nightly release channels, and exposes configuration paths that matter for reproducible developer environments.

Timeline

2025-06-25: Google announces Gemini CLI as an open-source AI agent for the terminal.
2025: The repository publishes early preview, stable, and nightly release-channel tags.
2025: Homebrew, MacPorts, npm, and other package-manager entries make the tool installable through common developer workflows.

Related projects

Gemini CLI is related to Gemini Code Assist, Google AI Studio, Vertex AI, MCP servers, and the broader family of terminal AI agents used for code navigation and automation.

Sources

approval gates

Human review metadata for risky commands

The local approval-gate seed includes 5 rules for gemini-cli. Covered entrypoints: gemini. Severity labels: critical, high, medium. Coverage: partial, reviewed 2026-05-21.

Example gated actions

Send a prompt to a remote Gemini model.
Include broad workspace file context in a Gemini session.
Run with reduced approval prompts or automatic tool execution.
Enable checkpointing that writes session state to disk.
Configure or use MCP servers from the Gemini CLI.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Linux: ~/.gemini/settings.json.gemini/settings.json/etc/gemini-cli/settings.json/etc/gemini-cli/system-defaults.json
macOS: ~/.gemini/settings.json.gemini/settings.json/Library/Application Support/GeminiCli/settings.json/Library/Application Support/GeminiCli/system-defaults.json
Windows: ~/.gemini/settings.json.gemini/settings.jsonC:\ProgramData\gemini-cli\settings.jsonC:\ProgramData\gemini-cli\system-defaults.json

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`gemini`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-07

manager version0.46.0

manager updated2026-06-15

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://geminicli.com

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://geminicli.comnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:gemini-cli
Version	0.46.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/gemini-cli
Homepage	https://geminicli.com
Repository	https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
Upstream docs	https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/blob/main/docs/cli/cli-reference.md
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://registry.npmjs.org/@google/gemini-cli/-/gemini-cli-0.46.0.tgz
Last updated	2026-06-15T10:20:17-04:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	node
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	gemini-cli
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	yes
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

gemini-cli

nix profile install nixpkgs#gemini-cli

normalized package name match
Matched by: Gemini Cli

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ge/gemini-cli/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

pacman95%

gemini-cli 1:0.45.2-1

Open-source AI agent that brings the power of Gemini directly into your terminal

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

sudo pacman -S gemini-cli

License: Apache-2.0
Architecture: x86_64
6 dependencies
4 optional deps
normalized package name match
Matched by: Gemini Cli

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: gemini-cli from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

zypper95%

gemini-cli 0.45.2-1.1

An AI agent that brings the power of Gemini directly into your terminal

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

sudo zypper install gemini-cli

License: Apache-2.0
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: gemini-cli
7 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Gemini Cli

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: gemini-cli from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

gemini-cli

sudo port install gemini-cli

normalized package name match
Matched by: Gemini Cli

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: llm/gemini-cli/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/gemini-cli.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
approval-gate seed metadata
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated agent safety answer
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install gemini-cli with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper