name: gemini-cli
description: Wield Google's Gemini CLI as a powerful auxiliary tool for code generation, review, analysis, and web research. Use when tasks benefit from a second AI perspective, current web information via Google Search, codebase architecture analysis, or parallel code generation. Also use when user explicitly requests Gemini operations.
allowed-tools:
- Bash
- Read
- Write
- Grep
- Glob

Gemini CLI Integration Skill

This skill enables Claude Code to effectively orchestrate Gemini CLI (v0.16.0+) with Gemini 3 Pro for code generation, review, analysis, and specialized tasks.

When to Use This Skill

Ideal Use Cases

1. Second Opinion / Cross-Validation
2. Code review after writing code (different AI perspective)
3. Security audit with alternative analysis

4. Finding bugs Claude might have missed

5. Google Search Grounding

6. Questions requiring current internet information
7. Latest library versions, API changes, documentation updates

8. Current events or recent releases

9. Codebase Architecture Analysis

10. Use Gemini's codebase_investigator tool
11. Understanding unfamiliar codebases

12. Mapping cross-file dependencies

13. Parallel Processing

14. Offload tasks while continuing other work
15. Run multiple code generations simultaneously

16. Background documentation generation

17. Specialized Generation

18. Test suite generation
19. JSDoc/documentation generation
20. Code translation between languages

When NOT to Use

• Simple, quick tasks (overhead not worth it)
• Tasks requiring immediate response (rate limits cause delays)
• When context is already loaded and understood
• Interactive refinement requiring conversation

Core Instructions

1. Verify Installation

command -v gemini || which gemini

2. Basic Command Pattern

gemini "[prompt]" --yolo -o text 2>&1

Key flags:
- --yolo or -y: Auto-approve all tool calls
- -o text: Human-readable output
- -o json: Structured output with stats
- -m gemini-2.5-flash: Use faster model for simple tasks

3. Critical Behavioral Notes

YOLO Mode Behavior: Auto-approves tool calls but does NOT prevent planning prompts. Gemini may still present plans and ask "Does this plan look good?" Use forceful language:
- "Apply now"
- "Start immediately"
- "Do this without asking for confirmation"

Rate Limits: Free tier has 60 requests/min, 1000/day. CLI auto-retries with backoff. Expect messages like "quota will reset after Xs".

4. Output Processing

For JSON output (-o json), parse:

{
  "response": "actual content",
  "stats": {
    "models": { "tokens": {...} },
    "tools": { "byName": {...} }
  }
}

Quick Reference Commands

Code Generation

gemini "Create [description] with [features]. Output complete file content." --yolo -o text

Code Review

gemini "Review [file] for: 1) features, 2) bugs/security issues, 3) improvements" -o text

Bug Fixing

gemini "Fix these bugs in [file]: [list]. Apply fixes now." --yolo -o text

Test Generation

gemini "Generate [Jest/pytest] tests for [file]. Focus on [areas]." --yolo -o text

Documentation

gemini "Generate JSDoc for all functions in [file]. Output as markdown." --yolo -o text

Architecture Analysis

gemini "Use codebase_investigator to analyze this project" -o text

Web Research

gemini "What are the latest [topic]? Use Google Search." -o text

Faster Model (Simple Tasks)

gemini "[prompt]" -m gemini-2.5-flash -o text

Error Handling

Rate Limit Exceeded

• CLI auto-retries with backoff
• Use -m gemini-2.5-flash for lower priority tasks
• Run in background for long operations

Command Failures

• Check JSON output for detailed error stats
• Verify Gemini is authenticated: gemini --version
• Check ~/.gemini/settings.json for config issues

Validation After Generation

Always verify Gemini's output:
- Check for security vulnerabilities (XSS, injection)
- Test functionality matches requirements
- Review code style consistency
- Verify dependencies are appropriate

Integration Workflow

Standard Generate-Review-Fix Cycle

# 1. Generate
gemini "Create [code]" --yolo -o text

# 2. Review (Gemini reviews its own work)
gemini "Review [file] for bugs and security issues" -o text

# 3. Fix identified issues
gemini "Fix [issues] in [file]. Apply now." --yolo -o text

Background Execution

For long tasks, run in background and monitor:

gemini "[long task]" --yolo -o text 2>&1 &
# Monitor with BashOutput tool

Gemini's Unique Capabilities

These tools are available only through Gemini:

1. google_web_search - Real-time internet search via Google
2. codebase_investigator - Deep architectural analysis
3. save_memory - Cross-session persistent memory

Configuration

Project Context (Optional)

Create .gemini/GEMINI.md in project root for persistent context that Gemini will automatically read.

Session Management

List sessions: gemini --list-sessions
Resume session: echo "follow-up" | gemini -r [index] -o text

See Also

• reference.md - Complete command and flag reference
• templates.md - Prompt templates for common operations
• patterns.md - Advanced integration patterns
• tools.md - Gemini's built-in tools documentation