| name | drive-gemini |
| description | Use when delegating a coding or research task to the Google Gemini CLI (`gemini`) from Claude Code. Covers non-interactive `-p`, approval modes, output formats, sessions, worktrees, and tmux interactive driving. Load delegate-to-agents first for the shared mechanism. |
Drive Gemini CLI
Delegate to the Gemini CLI,
Google's provider-agnostic-ish coding agent. Read delegate-to-agents first for
the shared Claude Code mechanism.
Flags verified against gemini 0.43.0 (gemini --help).
When to use
Coding, research, large-context analysis, or when you want Gemini's model
specifically. Strong for big-context reads.
Preflight
command -v gemini && gemini --version
- Auth: set
GEMINI_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY, or run gemini once
interactively to complete Google OAuth. If neither is present and there's no
cached OAuth, a headless -p run will fail — fall back accordingly.
One-shot / headless (PREFERRED): -p
Gemini defaults to interactive mode; a bare positional prompt opens the TUI.
For automation you MUST pass -p/--prompt.
If the working directory isn't trusted (a fresh dir, /tmp, etc.), even a
headless -p run is blocked by the trust gate. Add --skip-trust (or set
GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE=true). Already-trusted project dirs don't need it.
# headless, capture stdout
Bash(command="cd /repo && gemini -p 'Explain what src/server.ts does and list its exports'", timeout=300000)
# headless write task with auto-approved edits
Bash(command="cd /repo && gemini -p 'Add retry logic to the HTTP client and update tests' --approval-mode auto_edit", timeout=600000)
# stdin is appended to the -p prompt
Bash(command="git -C /repo diff | gemini -p 'Review this diff for bugs and security issues'", timeout=300000)
# long task: detach + log
Bash(command="cd /repo && gemini -p 'Refactor the data layer' --approval-mode auto_edit > /tmp/agent-gemini.log 2>&1", run_in_background=true)
Key flags
| Flag | Effect |
|---|
-p, --prompt <text> | Headless (non-interactive) run |
-i, --prompt-interactive <text> | Run the prompt, then stay interactive |
-m, --model <name> | Model override |
--approval-mode <mode> | default (prompt), auto_edit (auto-approve edits), yolo (auto-approve all), plan (read-only) |
-y, --yolo | Shorthand for approve-all |
-o, --output-format <fmt> | text (default), json, stream-json |
-s, --sandbox | Run tools in a sandbox |
--skip-trust | Trust the workspace for this session (avoids the trust prompt) |
-w, --worktree [name] | Start in a fresh git worktree |
--include-directories <dirs> | Add directories to the workspace (monorepos) |
-e, --extensions <list> | Restrict to specific extensions |
Sessions / resume
gemini --list-sessions # see sessions for this project
gemini -r latest -p 'Continue: now add tests' # resume most recent
gemini -r 5 -p '...' # resume by index
gemini --session-id <uuid> -p '...' # pin a session id
Interactive (tmux)
Bash(command="tmux new-session -d -s gem -x 200 -y 50")
Bash(command="tmux send-keys -t gem 'cd /repo && gemini --skip-trust' Enter")
Bash(command="sleep 6 && tmux capture-pane -t gem -p -S -40")
Bash(command="tmux send-keys -t gem 'Add a CLI subcommand for export' Enter")
Bash(command="sleep 25 && tmux capture-pane -t gem -p -S -80")
Bash(command="tmux kill-session -t gem")
--skip-trust avoids the workspace-trust prompt. Without it, answer the trust
dialog by capturing the pane and sending the right key.
Rules
- Always
-p for automation — without it, Gemini opens the TUI and hangs a
non-interactive Bash call.
- Pick the approval mode —
auto_edit for building, plan for read-only
review, default when you want it to ask.
--output-format json when you need to parse the result.--skip-trust (or pre-trust) in automation to avoid the trust prompt.- One worktree per parallel run; clean up tmux sessions and logs.
- Verify the diff and tests yourself before keeping changes.
