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

   • •Code review after writing code (different AI perspective)
   • •Security audit with alternative analysis
   • •Finding bugs Claude might have missed
2. •

   Google Search Grounding

   • •Questions requiring current internet information
   • •Latest library versions, API changes, documentation updates
   • •Current events or recent releases
3. •

   Codebase Architecture Analysis

   • •Use Gemini's codebase_investigator tool
   • •Understanding unfamiliar codebases
   • •Mapping cross-file dependencies
4. •

   Parallel Processing

   • •Offload tasks while continuing other work
   • •Run multiple code generations simultaneously
   • •Background documentation generation
5. •

   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:

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