In a new move to enhance its position in the field of AI-powered programming tools, Google has announced the launch of a new open-source tool called Gemini CLI. It is an intelligent agent that operates directly via the command line and targets developers and programmers directly.
The tool allows users to perform various programming tasks in natural language, such as understanding complex code, suggesting new features, debugging, and running code commands locally, benefiting from its integration with 'Gemini' AI models and linking them to the local development environment.
Through this step, Google aims to compete with popular tools like OpenAI's Codex CLI and Anthropic's Claude Code, as the reliance on AI technologies to support developers continues to grow.
The tool is part of a comprehensive package that also includes Gemini Code Assist and the asynchronous code assistant Jules, as reported by TechCrunch.
While the primary use of Gemini CLI focuses on programming, Google revealed that the tool can perform additional tasks such as creating videos using the Veo 3 model, writing research reports, fetching live data from the internet, as well as connecting to external servers and databases using the MCP protocol.
In a move to encourage community innovation, Google has made the tool open-source under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing developers to contribute to its development via GitHub.
The tool also offers generous usage limits, where free users can send 60 requests per minute and 1000 requests per day, making it suitable for intensive usage experimentation.
However, despite this progress, concerns remain. A recent survey by Stack Overflow showed that only 43% of developers completely trust the accuracy of AI tools, due to the possibility of errors or their inability to detect security vulnerabilities.
With this step, Google continues its efforts to dominate the smart programming tools market, facing strong competition from other giants in the field, including OpenAI and Anthropic.