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For power users and many developers, the command line is the foundational interface for controlling a system and its applications.
Also sometimes referred to as a terminal, the command line interface (CLI) is how users issue commands and build applications as an alternative, or as a complement, to an integrated developer environment (IDE) tool. While it might seem almost anachronistic that a text-only interface accessible with a keyboard (CLI doesn’t even use a mouse) can be modern, it remains a mainstay of developers around the world. In the modern era of generative AI, it’s becoming more powerful too.
Today Google announced its open-source Gemini-CLI that brings natural language command execution directly to developer terminals. Beyond natural language, it brings the power of Google’s Gemini Pro 2.5 — and it does it mostly for free.
The free tier provides 60 model requests per minute and 1,000 requests per day at no charge, limits that Google deliberately set above typical developer usage patterns. Google first measured its own developers’ usage patterns, then doubled that number to set the 1,000 limit.
“To be very clear, for the vast majority of developers, Gemini CLI will be completely free of charge,” Ryan J. Salva, senior director for product management at Google, said in response to a question from VentureBeat during a press briefing. “We do not want you having to watch that token meter like it’s a taxi meter and holding back on your creativity.”
How Google Gemini CLI disrupts the enterprise AI market
Gemini CLI is far from being the first or only AI tool for the command line. OpenAI Codex has a CLI version, as does Anthropic with Claude Code.
Google Gemini CLI, however, is quite different from its two primary commercial rivals in that the tool is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. Then, of course, is the cost. While Gemini CLI is mostly free, OpenAI and Anthropic’s tools are …