> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.remoteagent.chat/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# gemini

> Use Google Gemini CLI as the AI runner. Free tier available — no credit card required.

The `gemini` runner invokes the Google Gemini CLI binary as a subprocess. This is the easiest way to get started without any API costs — Google's free tier provides a generous number of requests per day with no credit card required.

<Warning>
  The Gemini runner is currently in **beta**. Output parsing edge cases may
  exist. If you encounter unexpected behavior or formatting issues, please open
  an issue on the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/remoteagent).
</Warning>

## Requirements

* The `gemini` CLI installed globally:

  ```bash theme={null}
  npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
  ```

* A Google account for authentication. The free tier does not require a credit card.

Verify the binary:

```bash theme={null}
gemini --version
```

## Authentication

The Gemini CLI uses Google OAuth for authentication. On first run, it opens a browser window to complete the login flow:

```bash theme={null}
gemini auth login
```

After authenticating, credentials are cached locally. The agent uses these cached credentials when invoking the Gemini CLI — no API key needs to be entered during `remoteagent init`.

## Setup

```bash theme={null}
remoteagent init --runner gemini
```

Or choose `gemini` when prompted by the interactive wizard. Since no API key is required for the free tier, the wizard will skip the API key prompt.

## How it works

The runner executes:

```bash theme={null}
gemini "<prompt>"
```

Output is captured from stdout and forwarded to Telegram progressively as it arrives.

## Free tier limits

Google's free tier for Gemini CLI provides a daily quota of requests. For most development tasks — reviewing a file, fixing a bug, writing tests — you are unlikely to hit the limit during normal usage.

If you need higher throughput or want to use Gemini via an API key (for the Gemini API), you can set the `GEMINI_API_KEY` environment variable before starting the agent. The `gemini` CLI will use the API key instead of the OAuth flow.

## Pros and cons

| Pros                                | Cons                                                               |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Free tier — no credit card required | Beta status — some output parsing edge cases                       |
| No API key to manage for free usage | Daily rate limits on the free tier                                 |
| Access to Gemini 2.x models         | Subprocess overhead per invocation                                 |
| —                                   | Less capable than Claude for complex coding tasks (varies by task) |

## Updating the binary

```bash theme={null}
npm update -g @google/gemini-cli
gemini --version
```

Restart the agent after updating:

```bash theme={null}
remoteagent start
```