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

Second Opinion / Cross-Validation

• Code review after writing code (different AI perspective)

• Security audit with alternative analysis

• Finding bugs Claude might have missed

Google Search Grounding

• Questions requiring current internet information

• Latest library versions, API changes, documentation updates

• Current events or recent releases

Codebase Architecture Analysis

• Use Gemini's codebase_investigator tool

• Understanding unfamiliar codebases

• Mapping cross-file dependencies

Parallel Processing

• Offload tasks while continuing other work

• Run multiple code generations simultaneously

• Background documentation generation

Specialized Generation

• Test suite generation

• JSDoc/documentation generation

• 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:

• google_web_search - Real-time internet search via Google

• codebase_investigator - Deep architectural analysis

• 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