Gemini CLI Commands

 Gemini CLI supports several built-in commands to help you manage your session, customize the interface, and control its behavior. These commands are prefixed with a forward slash (/), an at symbol (@), or an exclamation mark (!).

Slash commands (/)

Slash commands provide meta-level control over the CLI itself.

Built-in Commands

• /bug

  • Description: File an issue about Gemini CLI. By default, the issue is filed within the GitHub repository for Gemini CLI. The string you enter after /bug will become the headline for the bug being filed. The default /bug behavior can be modified using the bugCommand setting in your .gemini/settings.json files.

• /chat

  • Description: Save and resume conversation history for branching conversation state interactively, or resuming a previous state from a later session.
  • Sub-commands:
    • save
      • Description: Saves the current conversation history. You must add a <tag> for identifying the conversation state.
      • Usage: /chat save <tag>
      • Details on Checkpoint Location: The default locations for saved chat checkpoints are:
        • Linux/macOS: ~/.config/google-generative-ai/checkpoints/
        • Windows: C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\google-generative-ai\checkpoints\
        • When you run /chat list, the CLI only scans these specific directories to find available checkpoints.
        • Note: These checkpoints are for manually saving and resuming conversation states. For automatic checkpoints created before file modifications, see the Checkpointing documentation.
    • resume
      • Description: Resumes a conversation from a previous save.
      • Usage: /chat resume <tag>
    • list
      • Description: Lists available tags for chat state resumption.

• /clear

  • Description: Clear the terminal screen, including the visible session history and scrollback within the CLI. The underlying session data (for history recall) might be preserved depending on the exact implementation, but the visual display is cleared.
  • Keyboard shortcut: Press Ctrl+L at any time to perform a clear action.

• /compress

  • Description: Replace the entire chat context with a summary. This saves on tokens used for future tasks while retaining a high level summary of what has happened.

• /copy

  • Description: Copies the last output produced by Gemini CLI to your clipboard, for easy sharing or reuse.

• /directory (or /dir)

  • Description: Manage workspace directories for multi-directory support.
  • Sub-commands:
    • add:
      • Description: Add a directory to the workspace. The path can be absolute or relative to the current working directory. Moreover, the reference from home directory is supported as well.
      • Usage: /directory add <path1>,<path2>
      • Note: Disabled in restrictive sandbox profiles. If you're using that, use --include-directories when starting the session instead.
    • show:
      • Description: Display all directories added by /direcotry add and --include-directories.
      • Usage: /directory show

• /editor

  • Description: Open a dialog for selecting supported editors.

• /extensions

  • Description: Lists all active extensions in the current Gemini CLI session. See Gemini CLI Extensions.

• /help (or /?)

  • Description: Display help information about Gemini CLI, including available commands and their usage.

• /mcp

  • Description: List configured Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, their connection status, server details, and available tools.
  • Sub-commands:
    • desc or descriptions:
      • Description: Show detailed descriptions for MCP servers and tools.
    • nodesc or nodescriptions:
      • Description: Hide tool descriptions, showing only the tool names.
    • schema:
      • Description: Show the full JSON schema for the tool's configured parameters.
  • Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl+T at any time to toggle between showing and hiding tool descriptions.

• /memory

  • Description: Manage the AI's instructional context (hierarchical memory loaded from GEMINI.md files).
  • Sub-commands:
    • add:
      • Description: Adds the following text to the AI's memory. Usage: /memory add <text to remember>
    • show:
      • Description: Display the full, concatenated content of the current hierarchical memory that has been loaded from all GEMINI.md files. This lets you inspect the instructional context being provided to the Gemini model.
    • refresh:
      • Description: Reload the hierarchical instructional memory from all GEMINI.md files found in the configured locations (global, project/ancestors, and sub-directories). This command updates the model with the latest GEMINI.md content.
    • Note: For more details on how GEMINI.md files contribute to hierarchical memory, see the CLI Configuration documentation.

• /restore

  • Description: Restores the project files to the state they were in just before a tool was executed. This is particularly useful for undoing file edits made by a tool. If run without a tool call ID, it will list available checkpoints to restore from.
  • Usage: /restore [tool_call_id]
  • Note: Only available if the CLI is invoked with the --checkpointing option or configured via settings. See Checkpointing documentation for more details.

• /stats

  • Description: Display detailed statistics for the current Gemini CLI session, including token usage, cached token savings (when available), and session duration. Note: Cached token information is only displayed when cached tokens are being used, which occurs with API key authentication but not with OAuth authentication at this time.

• /theme

  • Description: Open a dialog that lets you change the visual theme of Gemini CLI.

• /auth

  • Description: Open a dialog that lets you change the authentication method.

• /about

  • Description: Show version info. Please share this information when filing issues.

• /tools

  • Description: Display a list of tools that are currently available within Gemini CLI.
  • Sub-commands:
    • desc or descriptions:
      • Description: Show detailed descriptions of each tool, including each tool's name with its full description as provided to the model.
    • nodesc or nodescriptions:
      • Description: Hide tool descriptions, showing only the tool names.

• /privacy

  • Description: Display the Privacy Notice and allow users to select whether they consent to the collection of their data for service improvement purposes.

• /quit (or /exit)

  • Description: Exit Gemini CLI.

• /vim

  • Description: Toggle vim mode on or off. When vim mode is enabled, the input area supports vim-style navigation and editing commands in both NORMAL and INSERT modes.
  • Features:
    • NORMAL mode: Navigate with h, j, k, l; jump by words with w, b, e; go to line start/end with 0, $, ^; go to specific lines with G (or gg for first line)
    • INSERT mode: Standard text input with escape to return to NORMAL mode
    • Editing commands: Delete with x, change with c, insert with i, a, o, O; complex operations like dd, cc, dw, cw
    • Count support: Prefix commands with numbers (e.g., 3h, 5w, 10G)
    • Repeat last command: Use . to repeat the last editing operation
    • Persistent setting: Vim mode preference is saved to ~/.gemini/settings.json and restored between sessions
  • Status indicator: When enabled, shows [NORMAL] or [INSERT] in the footer

• /init

  • Description: To help users easily create a GEMINI.md file, this command analyzes the current directory and generates a tailored context file, making it simpler for them to provide project-specific instructions to the Gemini agent.

Custom Commands

For a quick start, see the example below.

Custom commands allow you to save and reuse your favorite or most frequently used prompts as personal shortcuts within Gemini CLI. You can create commands that are specific to a single project or commands that are available globally across all your projects, streamlining your workflow and ensuring consistency.

File Locations & Precedence

Gemini CLI discovers commands from two locations, loaded in a specific order:

1. User Commands (Global): Located in ~/.gemini/commands/. These commands are available in any project you are working on.
2. Project Commands (Local): Located in <your-project-root>/.gemini/commands/. These commands are specific to the current project and can be checked into version control to be shared with your team.

If a command in the project directory has the same name as a command in the user directory, the project command will always be used. This allows projects to override global commands with project-specific versions.

Naming and Namespacing

The name of a command is determined by its file path relative to its commands directory. Subdirectories are used to create namespaced commands, with the path separator (/ or \) being converted to a colon (:).

• A file at ~/.gemini/commands/test.toml becomes the command /test.
• A file at <project>/.gemini/commands/git/commit.toml becomes the namespaced command /git:commit.

TOML File Format (v1)

Your command definition files must be written in the TOML format and use the .toml file extension.

Required Fields

• prompt (String): The prompt that will be sent to the Gemini model when the command is executed. This can be a single-line or multi-line string.

Optional Fields

• description (String): A brief, one-line description of what the command does. This text will be displayed next to your command in the /help menu. If you omit this field, a generic description will be generated from the filename.

Handling Arguments

Custom commands support two powerful, low-friction methods for handling arguments. The CLI automatically chooses the correct method based on the content of your command's prompt.

1. Shorthand Injection with {{args}}

If your prompt contains the special placeholder {{args}}, the CLI will replace that exact placeholder with all the text the user typed after the command name. This is perfect for simple, deterministic commands where you need to inject user input into a specific place in a larger prompt template.

Example (git/fix.toml):

# In: ~/.gemini/commands/git/fix.toml
# Invoked via: /git:fix "Button is misaligned on mobile"

description = "Generates a fix for a given GitHub issue."
prompt = "Please analyze the staged git changes and provide a code fix for the issue described here: {{args}}."

The model will receive the final prompt: Please analyze the staged git changes and provide a code fix for the issue described here: "Button is misaligned on mobile".

2. Default Argument Handling

If your prompt does not contain the special placeholder {{args}}, the CLI uses a default behavior for handling arguments.

If you provide arguments to the command (e.g., /mycommand arg1), the CLI will append the full command you typed to the end of the prompt, separated by two newlines. This allows the model to see both the original instructions and the specific arguments you just provided.

If you do not provide any arguments (e.g., /mycommand), the prompt is sent to the model exactly as it is, with nothing appended.

Example (changelog.toml):

This example shows how to create a robust command by defining a role for the model, explaining where to find the user's input, and specifying the expected format and behavior.

# In: <project>/.gemini/commands/changelog.toml
# Invoked via: /changelog 1.2.0 added "Support for default argument parsing."

description = "Adds a new entry to the project's CHANGELOG.md file."
prompt = """
# Task: Update Changelog

You are an expert maintainer of this software project. A user has invoked a command to add a new entry to the changelog.

**The user's raw command is appended below your instructions.**

Your task is to parse the `<version>`, `<change_type>`, and `<message>` from their input and use the `write_file` tool to correctly update the `CHANGELOG.md` file.

## Expected Format
The command follows this format: `/changelog <version> <type> <message>`
- `<type>` must be one of: "added", "changed", "fixed", "removed".

## Behavior
1. Read the `CHANGELOG.md` file.
2. Find the section for the specified `<version>`.
3. Add the `<message>` under the correct `<type>` heading.
4. If the version or type section doesn't exist, create it.
5. Adhere strictly to the "Keep a Changelog" format.
"""

When you run /changelog 1.2.0 added "New feature", the final text sent to the model will be the original prompt followed by two newlines and the command you typed.

3. Executing Shell Commands with !{...}

You can make your commands dynamic by executing shell commands directly within your prompt and injecting their output. This is ideal for gathering context from your local environment, like reading file content or checking the status of Git.

When a custom command attempts to execute a shell command, Gemini CLI will now prompt you for confirmation before proceeding. This is a security measure to ensure that only intended commands can be run.

How It Works:

1. Inject Commands: Use the !{...} syntax in your prompt to specify where the command should be run and its output injected.
2. Confirm Execution: When you run the command, a dialog will appear listing the shell commands the prompt wants to execute.
3. Grant Permission: You can choose to:
   • Allow once: The command(s) will run this one time.
   • Allow always for this session: The command(s) will be added to a temporary allowlist for the current CLI session and will not require confirmation again.
   • No: Cancel the execution of the shell command(s).

The CLI still respects the global excludeTools and coreTools settings. A command will be blocked without a confirmation prompt if it is explicitly disallowed in your configuration.

Example (git/commit.toml):

This command gets the staged git diff and uses it to ask the model to write a commit message.

# In: <project>/.gemini/commands/git/commit.toml
# Invoked via: /git:commit

description = "Generates a Git commit message based on staged changes."

# The prompt uses !{...} to execute the command and inject its output.
prompt = """
Please generate a Conventional Commit message based on the following git diff:

```diff
!{git diff --staged}

"""

When you run `/git:commit`, the CLI first executes `git diff --staged`, then replaces `!{git diff --staged}` with the output of that command before sending the final, complete prompt to the model.

---

#### Example: A "Pure Function" Refactoring Command

Let's create a global command that asks the model to refactor a piece of code.

**1. Create the file and directories:**

First, ensure the user commands directory exists, then create a `refactor` subdirectory for organization and the final TOML file.

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.gemini/commands/refactor
touch ~/.gemini/commands/refactor/pure.toml

2. Add the content to the file:

Open ~/.gemini/commands/refactor/pure.toml in your editor and add the following content. We are including the optional description for best practice.

# In: ~/.gemini/commands/refactor/pure.toml
# This command will be invoked via: /refactor:pure

description = "Asks the model to refactor the current context into a pure function."

prompt = """
Please analyze the code I've provided in the current context.
Refactor it into a pure function.

Your response should include:
1. The refactored, pure function code block.
2. A brief explanation of the key changes you made and why they contribute to purity.
"""

3. Run the Command:

That's it! You can now run your command in the CLI. First, you might add a file to the context, and then invoke your command:

> @my-messy-function.js
> /refactor:pure

Gemini CLI will then execute the multi-line prompt defined in your TOML file.

At commands (@)

At commands are used to include the content of files or directories as part of your prompt to Gemini. These commands include git-aware filtering.

• @<path_to_file_or_directory>

  • Description: Inject the content of the specified file or files into your current prompt. This is useful for asking questions about specific code, text, or collections of files.
  • Examples:
    • @path/to/your/file.txt Explain this text.
    • @src/my_project/ Summarize the code in this directory.
    • What is this file about? @README.md
  • Details:
    • If a path to a single file is provided, the content of that file is read.
    • If a path to a directory is provided, the command attempts to read the content of files within that directory and any subdirectories.
    • Spaces in paths should be escaped with a backslash (e.g., @My\ Documents/file.txt).
    • The command uses the read_many_files tool internally. The content is fetched and then inserted into your query before being sent to the Gemini model.
    • Git-aware filtering: By default, git-ignored files (like node_modules/, dist/, .env, .git/) are excluded. This behavior can be changed via the fileFiltering settings.
    • File types: The command is intended for text-based files. While it might attempt to read any file, binary files or very large files might be skipped or truncated by the underlying read_many_files tool to ensure performance and relevance. The tool indicates if files were skipped.
  • Output: The CLI will show a tool call message indicating that read_many_files was used, along with a message detailing the status and the path(s) that were processed.

• @ (Lone at symbol)

  • Description: If you type a lone @ symbol without a path, the query is passed as-is to the Gemini model. This might be useful if you are specifically talking about the @ symbol in your prompt.

Error handling for @ commands

• If the path specified after @ is not found or is invalid, an error message will be displayed, and the query might not be sent to the Gemini model, or it will be sent without the file content.
• If the read_many_files tool encounters an error (e.g., permission issues), this will also be reported.

Shell mode & passthrough commands (!)

The ! prefix lets you interact with your system's shell directly from within Gemini CLI.

• !<shell_command>

  • Description: Execute the given <shell_command> using bash on Linux/macOS or cmd.exe on Windows. Any output or errors from the command are displayed in the terminal.
  • Examples:
    • !ls -la (executes ls -la and returns to Gemini CLI)
    • !git status (executes git status and returns to Gemini CLI)

• ! (Toggle shell mode)

  • Description: Typing ! on its own toggles shell mode.
    • Entering shell mode:
      • When active, shell mode uses a different coloring and a "Shell Mode Indicator".
      • While in shell mode, text you type is interpreted directly as a shell command.
    • Exiting shell mode:
      • When exited, the UI reverts to its standard appearance and normal Gemini CLI behavior resumes.

• Caution for all ! usage: Commands you execute in shell mode have the same permissions and impact as if you ran them directly in your terminal.

• Environment Variable: When a command is executed via ! or in shell mode, the GEMINI_CLI=1 environment variable is set in the subprocess's environment. This allows scripts or tools to detect if they are being run from within the Gemini CLI.