# Gemini CLI configuration

> **Note on configuration format, 9/17/25:** The format of the `settings.json`
> file has been updated to a new, more organized structure.
>
> - The new format will be supported in the stable release starting
>   **[09/10/25]**.
> - Automatic migration from the old format to the new format will begin on
>   **[09/17/25]**.
>
> For details on the previous format, please see the
> [v1 Configuration documentation](./configuration-v1.md).

Gemini CLI offers several ways to configure its behavior, including environment
variables, command-line arguments, and settings files. This document outlines
the different configuration methods and available settings.

## Configuration layers

Configuration is applied in the following order of precedence (lower numbers are
overridden by higher numbers):

1.  **Default values:** Hardcoded defaults within the application.
2.  **System defaults file:** System-wide default settings that can be
    overridden by other settings files.
3.  **User settings file:** Global settings for the current user.
4.  **Project settings file:** Project-specific settings.
5.  **System settings file:** System-wide settings that override all other
    settings files.
6.  **Environment variables:** System-wide or session-specific variables,
    potentially loaded from `.env` files.
7.  **Command-line arguments:** Values passed when launching the CLI.

## Settings files

Gemini CLI uses JSON settings files for persistent configuration. There are four
locations for these files:

> **Tip:** JSON-aware editors can use autocomplete and validation by pointing to
> the generated schema at `schemas/settings.schema.json` in this repository.
> When working outside the repo, reference the hosted schema at
> `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/main/schemas/settings.schema.json`.

- **System defaults file:**
  - **Location:** `/etc/gemini-cli/system-defaults.json` (Linux),
    `C:\ProgramData\gemini-cli\system-defaults.json` (Windows) or
    `/Library/Application Support/GeminiCli/system-defaults.json` (macOS). The
    path can be overridden using the `GEMINI_CLI_SYSTEM_DEFAULTS_PATH`
    environment variable.
  - **Scope:** Provides a base layer of system-wide default settings. These
    settings have the lowest precedence and are intended to be overridden by
    user, project, or system override settings.
- **User settings file:**
  - **Location:** `~/.gemini/settings.json` (where `~` is your home directory).
  - **Scope:** Applies to all Gemini CLI sessions for the current user. User
    settings override system defaults.
- **Project settings file:**
  - **Location:** `.gemini/settings.json` within your project's root directory.
  - **Scope:** Applies only when running Gemini CLI from that specific project.
    Project settings override user settings and system defaults.
- **System settings file:**
  - **Location:** `/etc/gemini-cli/settings.json` (Linux),
    `C:\ProgramData\gemini-cli\settings.json` (Windows) or
    `/Library/Application Support/GeminiCli/settings.json` (macOS). The path can
    be overridden using the `GEMINI_CLI_SYSTEM_SETTINGS_PATH` environment
    variable.
  - **Scope:** Applies to all Gemini CLI sessions on the system, for all users.
    System settings act as overrides, taking precedence over all other settings
    files. May be useful for system administrators at enterprises to have
    controls over users' Gemini CLI setups.

**Note on environment variables in settings:** String values within your
`settings.json` and `gemini-extension.json` files can reference environment
variables using either `$VAR_NAME` or `${VAR_NAME}` syntax. These variables will
be automatically resolved when the settings are loaded. For example, if you have
an environment variable `MY_API_TOKEN`, you could use it in `settings.json` like
this: `"apiKey": "$MY_API_TOKEN"`. Additionally, each extension can have its own
`.env` file in its directory, which will be loaded automatically.

> **Note for Enterprise Users:** For guidance on deploying and managing Gemini
> CLI in a corporate environment, please see the
> [Enterprise Configuration](../cli/enterprise.md) documentation.

### The `.gemini` directory in your project

In addition to a project settings file, a project's `.gemini` directory can
contain other project-specific files related to Gemini CLI's operation, such as:

- [Custom sandbox profiles](#sandboxing) (e.g.,
  `.gemini/sandbox-macos-custom.sb`, `.gemini/sandbox.Dockerfile`).

### Available settings in `settings.json`

Settings are organized into categories. All settings should be placed within
their corresponding top-level category object in your `settings.json` file.

<!-- SETTINGS-AUTOGEN:START -->

#### `general`

- **`general.preferredEditor`** (string):
  - **Description:** The preferred editor to open files in.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`general.vimMode`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable Vim keybindings
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`general.devtools`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable DevTools inspector on launch.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`general.enableAutoUpdate`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable automatic updates.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`general.enableAutoUpdateNotification`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable update notification prompts.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`general.checkpointing.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable session checkpointing for recovery
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`general.enablePromptCompletion`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable AI-powered prompt completion suggestions while
    typing.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`general.retryFetchErrors`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Retry on "exception TypeError: fetch failed sending
    request" errors.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`general.debugKeystrokeLogging`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable debug logging of keystrokes to the console.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`general.sessionRetention.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable automatic session cleanup
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`general.sessionRetention.maxAge`** (string):
  - **Description:** Maximum age of sessions to keep (e.g., "30d", "7d", "24h",
    "1w")
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`general.sessionRetention.maxCount`** (number):
  - **Description:** Alternative: Maximum number of sessions to keep (most
    recent)
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`general.sessionRetention.minRetention`** (string):
  - **Description:** Minimum retention period (safety limit, defaults to "1d")
  - **Default:** `"1d"`

#### `output`

- **`output.format`** (enum):
  - **Description:** The format of the CLI output. Can be `text` or `json`.
  - **Default:** `"text"`
  - **Values:** `"text"`, `"json"`

#### `ui`

- **`ui.theme`** (string):
  - **Description:** The color theme for the UI. See the CLI themes guide for
    available options.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`ui.autoThemeSwitching`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Automatically switch between default light and dark themes
    based on terminal background color.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.terminalBackgroundPollingInterval`** (number):
  - **Description:** Interval in seconds to poll the terminal background color.
  - **Default:** `60`

- **`ui.customThemes`** (object):
  - **Description:** Custom theme definitions.
  - **Default:** `{}`

- **`ui.hideWindowTitle`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the window title bar
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`ui.inlineThinkingMode`** (enum):
  - **Description:** Display model thinking inline: off or full.
  - **Default:** `"off"`
  - **Values:** `"off"`, `"full"`

- **`ui.showStatusInTitle`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show Gemini CLI model thoughts in the terminal window title
    during the working phase
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.dynamicWindowTitle`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Update the terminal window title with current status icons
    (Ready: ◇, Action Required: ✋, Working: ✦)
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.showHomeDirectoryWarning`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show a warning when running Gemini CLI in the home
    directory.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`ui.hideTips`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide helpful tips in the UI
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.hideBanner`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the application banner
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.hideContextSummary`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the context summary (GEMINI.md, MCP servers) above the
    input.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.footer.hideCWD`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the current working directory path in the footer.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.footer.hideSandboxStatus`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the sandbox status indicator in the footer.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.footer.hideModelInfo`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the model name and context usage in the footer.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.footer.hideContextPercentage`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hides the context window remaining percentage.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.hideFooter`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Hide the footer from the UI
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.showMemoryUsage`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Display memory usage information in the UI
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.showLineNumbers`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show line numbers in the chat.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.showCitations`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show citations for generated text in the chat.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.showModelInfoInChat`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show the model name in the chat for each model turn.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`ui.showUserIdentity`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show the logged-in user's identity (e.g. email) in the UI.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.useAlternateBuffer`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Use an alternate screen buffer for the UI, preserving shell
    history.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`ui.useBackgroundColor`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Whether to use background colors in the UI.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.incrementalRendering`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable incremental rendering for the UI. This option will
    reduce flickering but may cause rendering artifacts. Only supported when
    useAlternateBuffer is enabled.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`ui.showSpinner`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show the spinner during operations.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`ui.customWittyPhrases`** (array):
  - **Description:** Custom witty phrases to display during loading. When
    provided, the CLI cycles through these instead of the defaults.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`ui.accessibility.enableLoadingPhrases`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable loading phrases during operations.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`ui.accessibility.screenReader`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Render output in plain-text to be more screen reader
    accessible
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `ide`

- **`ide.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable IDE integration mode.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`ide.hasSeenNudge`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Whether the user has seen the IDE integration nudge.
  - **Default:** `false`

#### `privacy`

- **`privacy.usageStatisticsEnabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable collection of usage statistics
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `model`

- **`model.name`** (string):
  - **Description:** The Gemini model to use for conversations.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`model.maxSessionTurns`** (number):
  - **Description:** Maximum number of user/model/tool turns to keep in a
    session. -1 means unlimited.
  - **Default:** `-1`

- **`model.summarizeToolOutput`** (object):
  - **Description:** Enables or disables summarization of tool output. Configure
    per-tool token budgets (for example {"run_shell_command": {"tokenBudget":
    2000}}). Currently only the run_shell_command tool supports summarization.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`model.compressionThreshold`** (number):
  - **Description:** The fraction of context usage at which to trigger context
    compression (e.g. 0.2, 0.3).
  - **Default:** `0.5`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`model.disableLoopDetection`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Disable automatic detection and prevention of infinite
    loops.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`model.skipNextSpeakerCheck`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Skip the next speaker check.
  - **Default:** `true`

#### `modelConfigs`

- **`modelConfigs.aliases`** (object):
  - **Description:** Named presets for model configs. Can be used in place of a
    model name and can inherit from other aliases using an `extends` property.
  - **Default:**

    ```json
    {
      "base": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "temperature": 0,
            "topP": 1
          }
        }
      },
      "chat-base": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "thinkingConfig": {
              "includeThoughts": true
            },
            "temperature": 1,
            "topP": 0.95,
            "topK": 64
          }
        }
      },
      "chat-base-2.5": {
        "extends": "chat-base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "thinkingConfig": {
              "thinkingBudget": 8192
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "chat-base-3": {
        "extends": "chat-base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "thinkingConfig": {
              "thinkingLevel": "HIGH"
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "gemini-3-pro-preview": {
        "extends": "chat-base-3",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-3-pro-preview"
        }
      },
      "gemini-3-flash-preview": {
        "extends": "chat-base-3",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-3-flash-preview"
        }
      },
      "gemini-2.5-pro": {
        "extends": "chat-base-2.5",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-pro"
        }
      },
      "gemini-2.5-flash": {
        "extends": "chat-base-2.5",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash"
        }
      },
      "gemini-2.5-flash-lite": {
        "extends": "chat-base-2.5",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite"
        }
      },
      "gemini-2.5-flash-base": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash"
        }
      },
      "classifier": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "maxOutputTokens": 1024,
            "thinkingConfig": {
              "thinkingBudget": 512
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "prompt-completion": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "temperature": 0.3,
            "maxOutputTokens": 16000,
            "thinkingConfig": {
              "thinkingBudget": 0
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "edit-corrector": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "thinkingConfig": {
              "thinkingBudget": 0
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "summarizer-default": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "maxOutputTokens": 2000
          }
        }
      },
      "summarizer-shell": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "maxOutputTokens": 2000
          }
        }
      },
      "web-search": {
        "extends": "gemini-2.5-flash-base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "tools": [
              {
                "googleSearch": {}
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      "web-fetch": {
        "extends": "gemini-2.5-flash-base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "generateContentConfig": {
            "tools": [
              {
                "urlContext": {}
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      "web-fetch-fallback": {
        "extends": "gemini-2.5-flash-base",
        "modelConfig": {}
      },
      "loop-detection": {
        "extends": "gemini-2.5-flash-base",
        "modelConfig": {}
      },
      "loop-detection-double-check": {
        "extends": "base",
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-pro"
        }
      },
      "llm-edit-fixer": {
        "extends": "gemini-2.5-flash-base",
        "modelConfig": {}
      },
      "next-speaker-checker": {
        "extends": "gemini-2.5-flash-base",
        "modelConfig": {}
      },
      "chat-compression-3-pro": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-3-pro-preview"
        }
      },
      "chat-compression-3-flash": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-3-flash-preview"
        }
      },
      "chat-compression-2.5-pro": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-pro"
        }
      },
      "chat-compression-2.5-flash": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash"
        }
      },
      "chat-compression-2.5-flash-lite": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite"
        }
      },
      "chat-compression-default": {
        "modelConfig": {
          "model": "gemini-2.5-pro"
        }
      }
    }
    ```

- **`modelConfigs.customAliases`** (object):
  - **Description:** Custom named presets for model configs. These are merged
    with (and override) the built-in aliases.
  - **Default:** `{}`

- **`modelConfigs.customOverrides`** (array):
  - **Description:** Custom model config overrides. These are merged with (and
    added to) the built-in overrides.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`modelConfigs.overrides`** (array):
  - **Description:** Apply specific configuration overrides based on matches,
    with a primary key of model (or alias). The most specific match will be
    used.
  - **Default:** `[]`

#### `agents`

- **`agents.overrides`** (object):
  - **Description:** Override settings for specific agents, e.g. to disable the
    agent, set a custom model config, or run config.
  - **Default:** `{}`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `context`

- **`context.fileName`** (string | string[]):
  - **Description:** The name of the context file or files to load into memory.
    Accepts either a single string or an array of strings.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`context.importFormat`** (string):
  - **Description:** The format to use when importing memory.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

- **`context.discoveryMaxDirs`** (number):
  - **Description:** Maximum number of directories to search for memory.
  - **Default:** `200`

- **`context.includeDirectories`** (array):
  - **Description:** Additional directories to include in the workspace context.
    Missing directories will be skipped with a warning.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`context.loadMemoryFromIncludeDirectories`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Controls how /memory refresh loads GEMINI.md files. When
    true, include directories are scanned; when false, only the current
    directory is used.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`context.fileFiltering.respectGitIgnore`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Respect .gitignore files when searching.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`context.fileFiltering.respectGeminiIgnore`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Respect .geminiignore files when searching.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`context.fileFiltering.enableRecursiveFileSearch`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable recursive file search functionality when completing
    @ references in the prompt.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`context.fileFiltering.enableFuzzySearch`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable fuzzy search when searching for files.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`context.fileFiltering.customIgnoreFilePaths`** (array):
  - **Description:** Additional ignore file paths to respect. These files take
    precedence over .geminiignore and .gitignore. Files earlier in the array
    take precedence over files later in the array, e.g. the first file takes
    precedence over the second one.
  - **Default:** `[]`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `tools`

- **`tools.sandbox`** (boolean | string):
  - **Description:** Sandbox execution environment. Set to a boolean to enable
    or disable the sandbox, or provide a string path to a sandbox profile.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.shell.enableInteractiveShell`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Use node-pty for an interactive shell experience. Fallback
    to child_process still applies.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.shell.pager`** (string):
  - **Description:** The pager command to use for shell output. Defaults to
    `cat`.
  - **Default:** `"cat"`

- **`tools.shell.showColor`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show color in shell output.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`tools.shell.inactivityTimeout`** (number):
  - **Description:** The maximum time in seconds allowed without output from the
    shell command. Defaults to 5 minutes.
  - **Default:** `300`

- **`tools.shell.enableShellOutputEfficiency`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable shell output efficiency optimizations for better
    performance.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`tools.approvalMode`** (enum):
  - **Description:** The default approval mode for tool execution. 'default'
    prompts for approval, 'auto_edit' auto-approves edit tools, and 'plan' is
    read-only mode. 'yolo' is not supported yet.
  - **Default:** `"default"`
  - **Values:** `"default"`, `"auto_edit"`, `"plan"`

- **`tools.core`** (array):
  - **Description:** Restrict the set of built-in tools with an allowlist. Match
    semantics mirror tools.allowed; see the built-in tools documentation for
    available names.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.allowed`** (array):
  - **Description:** Tool names that bypass the confirmation dialog. Useful for
    trusted commands (for example ["run_shell_command(git)",
    "run_shell_command(npm test)"]). See shell tool command restrictions for
    matching details.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.exclude`** (array):
  - **Description:** Tool names to exclude from discovery.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.discoveryCommand`** (string):
  - **Description:** Command to run for tool discovery.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.callCommand`** (string):
  - **Description:** Defines a custom shell command for invoking discovered
    tools. The command must take the tool name as the first argument, read JSON
    arguments from stdin, and emit JSON results on stdout.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.useRipgrep`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Use ripgrep for file content search instead of the fallback
    implementation. Provides faster search performance.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`tools.truncateToolOutputThreshold`** (number):
  - **Description:** Maximum characters to show when truncating large tool
    outputs. Set to 0 or negative to disable truncation.
  - **Default:** `40000`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`tools.disableLLMCorrection`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Disable LLM-based error correction for edit tools. When
    enabled, tools will fail immediately if exact string matches are not found,
    instead of attempting to self-correct.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `mcp`

- **`mcp.serverCommand`** (string):
  - **Description:** Command to start an MCP server.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`mcp.allowed`** (array):
  - **Description:** A list of MCP servers to allow.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`mcp.excluded`** (array):
  - **Description:** A list of MCP servers to exclude.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `useWriteTodos`

- **`useWriteTodos`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable the write_todos tool.
  - **Default:** `true`

#### `security`

- **`security.disableYoloMode`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Disable YOLO mode, even if enabled by a flag.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.enablePermanentToolApproval`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable the "Allow for all future sessions" option in tool
    confirmation dialogs.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`security.blockGitExtensions`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Blocks installing and loading extensions from Git.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.allowedExtensions`** (array):
  - **Description:** List of Regex patterns for allowed extensions. If nonempty,
    only extensions that match the patterns in this list are allowed. Overrides
    the blockGitExtensions setting.
  - **Default:** `[]`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.folderTrust.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Setting to track whether Folder trust is enabled.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.environmentVariableRedaction.allowed`** (array):
  - **Description:** Environment variables to always allow (bypass redaction).
  - **Default:** `[]`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.environmentVariableRedaction.blocked`** (array):
  - **Description:** Environment variables to always redact.
  - **Default:** `[]`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.environmentVariableRedaction.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable redaction of environment variables that may contain
    secrets.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.auth.selectedType`** (string):
  - **Description:** The currently selected authentication type.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.auth.enforcedType`** (string):
  - **Description:** The required auth type. If this does not match the selected
    auth type, the user will be prompted to re-authenticate.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`security.auth.useExternal`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Whether to use an external authentication flow.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `advanced`

- **`advanced.autoConfigureMemory`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Automatically configure Node.js memory limits
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`advanced.dnsResolutionOrder`** (string):
  - **Description:** The DNS resolution order.
  - **Default:** `undefined`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`advanced.excludedEnvVars`** (array):
  - **Description:** Environment variables to exclude from project context.
  - **Default:**

    ```json
    ["DEBUG", "DEBUG_MODE"]
    ```

- **`advanced.bugCommand`** (object):
  - **Description:** Configuration for the bug report command.
  - **Default:** `undefined`

#### `experimental`

- **`experimental.enableAgents`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable local and remote subagents. Warning: Experimental
    feature, uses YOLO mode for subagents
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`experimental.extensionManagement`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable extension management features.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`experimental.extensionConfig`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable requesting and fetching of extension settings.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`experimental.extensionReloading`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enables extension loading/unloading within the CLI session.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`experimental.jitContext`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable Just-In-Time (JIT) context loading.
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`experimental.useOSC52Paste`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Use OSC 52 sequence for pasting instead of clipboardy
    (useful for remote sessions).
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`experimental.plan`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable planning features (Plan Mode and tools).
  - **Default:** `false`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `skills`

- **`skills.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Enable Agent Skills.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`skills.disabled`** (array):
  - **Description:** List of disabled skills.
  - **Default:** `[]`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

#### `hooksConfig`

- **`hooksConfig.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Canonical toggle for the hooks system. When disabled, no
    hooks will be executed.
  - **Default:** `true`
  - **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`hooksConfig.disabled`** (array):
  - **Description:** List of hook names (commands) that should be disabled.
    Hooks in this list will not execute even if configured.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooksConfig.notifications`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** Show visual indicators when hooks are executing.
  - **Default:** `true`

#### `hooks`

- **`hooks.BeforeTool`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute before tool execution. Can intercept,
    validate, or modify tool calls.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.AfterTool`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute after tool execution. Can process
    results, log outputs, or trigger follow-up actions.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.BeforeAgent`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute before agent loop starts. Can set up
    context or initialize resources.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.AfterAgent`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute after agent loop completes. Can perform
    cleanup or summarize results.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.Notification`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute on notification events (errors,
    warnings, info). Can log or alert on specific conditions.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.SessionStart`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute when a session starts. Can initialize
    session-specific resources or state.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.SessionEnd`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute when a session ends. Can perform cleanup
    or persist session data.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.PreCompress`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute before chat history compression. Can
    back up or analyze conversation before compression.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.BeforeModel`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute before LLM requests. Can modify prompts,
    inject context, or control model parameters.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.AfterModel`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute after LLM responses. Can process
    outputs, extract information, or log interactions.
  - **Default:** `[]`

- **`hooks.BeforeToolSelection`** (array):
  - **Description:** Hooks that execute before tool selection. Can filter or
    prioritize available tools dynamically.
  - **Default:** `[]`

#### `admin`

- **`admin.secureModeEnabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** If true, disallows yolo mode from being used.
  - **Default:** `false`

- **`admin.extensions.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** If false, disallows extensions from being installed or
    used.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`admin.mcp.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** If false, disallows MCP servers from being used.
  - **Default:** `true`

- **`admin.mcp.config`** (object):
  - **Description:** Admin-configured MCP servers.
  - **Default:** `{}`

- **`admin.skills.enabled`** (boolean):
  - **Description:** If false, disallows agent skills from being used.
  - **Default:** `true`
  <!-- SETTINGS-AUTOGEN:END -->

#### `mcpServers`

Configures connections to one or more Model-Context Protocol (MCP) servers for
discovering and using custom tools. Gemini CLI attempts to connect to each
configured MCP server to discover available tools. If multiple MCP servers
expose a tool with the same name, the tool names will be prefixed with the
server alias you defined in the configuration (e.g.,
`serverAlias__actualToolName`) to avoid conflicts. Note that the system might
strip certain schema properties from MCP tool definitions for compatibility. At
least one of `command`, `url`, or `httpUrl` must be provided. If multiple are
specified, the order of precedence is `httpUrl`, then `url`, then `command`.

- **`mcpServers.<SERVER_NAME>`** (object): The server parameters for the named
  server.
  - `command` (string, optional): The command to execute to start the MCP server
    via standard I/O.
  - `args` (array of strings, optional): Arguments to pass to the command.
  - `env` (object, optional): Environment variables to set for the server
    process.
  - `cwd` (string, optional): The working directory in which to start the
    server.
  - `url` (string, optional): The URL of an MCP server that uses Server-Sent
    Events (SSE) for communication.
  - `httpUrl` (string, optional): The URL of an MCP server that uses streamable
    HTTP for communication.
  - `headers` (object, optional): A map of HTTP headers to send with requests to
    `url` or `httpUrl`.
  - `timeout` (number, optional): Timeout in milliseconds for requests to this
    MCP server.
  - `trust` (boolean, optional): Trust this server and bypass all tool call
    confirmations.
  - `description` (string, optional): A brief description of the server, which
    may be used for display purposes.
  - `includeTools` (array of strings, optional): List of tool names to include
    from this MCP server. When specified, only the tools listed here will be
    available from this server (allowlist behavior). If not specified, all tools
    from the server are enabled by default.
  - `excludeTools` (array of strings, optional): List of tool names to exclude
    from this MCP server. Tools listed here will not be available to the model,
    even if they are exposed by the server. **Note:** `excludeTools` takes
    precedence over `includeTools` - if a tool is in both lists, it will be
    excluded.

#### `telemetry`

Configures logging and metrics collection for Gemini CLI. For more information,
see [Telemetry](../cli/telemetry.md).

- **Properties:**
  - **`enabled`** (boolean): Whether or not telemetry is enabled.
  - **`target`** (string): The destination for collected telemetry. Supported
    values are `local` and `gcp`.
  - **`otlpEndpoint`** (string): The endpoint for the OTLP Exporter.
  - **`otlpProtocol`** (string): The protocol for the OTLP Exporter (`grpc` or
    `http`).
  - **`logPrompts`** (boolean): Whether or not to include the content of user
    prompts in the logs.
  - **`outfile`** (string): The file to write telemetry to when `target` is
    `local`.
  - **`useCollector`** (boolean): Whether to use an external OTLP collector.

### Example `settings.json`

Here is an example of a `settings.json` file with the nested structure, new as
of v0.3.0:

```json
{
  "general": {
    "vimMode": true,
    "preferredEditor": "code",
    "sessionRetention": {
      "enabled": true,
      "maxAge": "30d",
      "maxCount": 100
    }
  },
  "ui": {
    "theme": "GitHub",
    "hideBanner": true,
    "hideTips": false,
    "customWittyPhrases": [
      "You forget a thousand things every day. Make sure this is one of ’em",
      "Connecting to AGI"
    ]
  },
  "tools": {
    "sandbox": "docker",
    "discoveryCommand": "bin/get_tools",
    "callCommand": "bin/call_tool",
    "exclude": ["write_file"]
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "mainServer": {
      "command": "bin/mcp_server.py"
    },
    "anotherServer": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["mcp_server.js", "--verbose"]
    }
  },
  "telemetry": {
    "enabled": true,
    "target": "local",
    "otlpEndpoint": "http://localhost:4317",
    "logPrompts": true
  },
  "privacy": {
    "usageStatisticsEnabled": true
  },
  "model": {
    "name": "gemini-1.5-pro-latest",
    "maxSessionTurns": 10,
    "summarizeToolOutput": {
      "run_shell_command": {
        "tokenBudget": 100
      }
    }
  },
  "context": {
    "fileName": ["CONTEXT.md", "GEMINI.md"],
    "includeDirectories": ["path/to/dir1", "~/path/to/dir2", "../path/to/dir3"],
    "loadFromIncludeDirectories": true,
    "fileFiltering": {
      "respectGitIgnore": false
    }
  },
  "advanced": {
    "excludedEnvVars": ["DEBUG", "DEBUG_MODE", "NODE_ENV"]
  }
}
```

## Shell history

The CLI keeps a history of shell commands you run. To avoid conflicts between
different projects, this history is stored in a project-specific directory
within your user's home folder.

- **Location:** `~/.gemini/tmp/<project_hash>/shell_history`
  - `<project_hash>` is a unique identifier generated from your project's root
    path.
  - The history is stored in a file named `shell_history`.

## Environment variables and `.env` files

Environment variables are a common way to configure applications, especially for
sensitive information like API keys or for settings that might change between
environments. For authentication setup, see the
[Authentication documentation](./authentication.md) which covers all available
authentication methods.

The CLI automatically loads environment variables from an `.env` file. The
loading order is:

1.  `.env` file in the current working directory.
2.  If not found, it searches upwards in parent directories until it finds an
    `.env` file or reaches the project root (identified by a `.git` folder) or
    the home directory.
3.  If still not found, it looks for `~/.env` (in the user's home directory).

**Environment variable exclusion:** Some environment variables (like `DEBUG` and
`DEBUG_MODE`) are automatically excluded from being loaded from project `.env`
files to prevent interference with gemini-cli behavior. Variables from
`.gemini/.env` files are never excluded. You can customize this behavior using
the `advanced.excludedEnvVars` setting in your `settings.json` file.

- **`GEMINI_API_KEY`**:
  - Your API key for the Gemini API.
  - One of several available [authentication methods](./authentication.md).
  - Set this in your shell profile (e.g., `~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`) or an `.env`
    file.
- **`GEMINI_MODEL`**:
  - Specifies the default Gemini model to use.
  - Overrides the hardcoded default
  - Example: `export GEMINI_MODEL="gemini-3-flash-preview"`
- **`GEMINI_CLI_HOME`**:
  - Specifies the root directory for Gemini CLI's user-level configuration and
    storage.
  - By default, this is the user's system home directory. The CLI will create a
    `.gemini` folder inside this directory.
  - Useful for shared compute environments or keeping CLI state isolated.
  - Example: `export GEMINI_CLI_HOME="/path/to/user/config"`
- **`GOOGLE_API_KEY`**:
  - Your Google Cloud API key.
  - Required for using Vertex AI in express mode.
  - Ensure you have the necessary permissions.
  - Example: `export GOOGLE_API_KEY="YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY"`.
- **`GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT`**:
  - Your Google Cloud Project ID.
  - Required for using Code Assist or Vertex AI.
  - If using Vertex AI, ensure you have the necessary permissions in this
    project.
  - **Cloud Shell note:** When running in a Cloud Shell environment, this
    variable defaults to a special project allocated for Cloud Shell users. If
    you have `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` set in your global environment in Cloud
    Shell, it will be overridden by this default. To use a different project in
    Cloud Shell, you must define `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` in a `.env` file.
  - Example: `export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="YOUR_PROJECT_ID"`.
- **`GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS`** (string):
  - **Description:** The path to your Google Application Credentials JSON file.
  - **Example:**
    `export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/your/credentials.json"`
- **`GOOGLE_GENAI_API_VERSION`**:
  - Specifies the API version to use for Gemini API requests.
  - When set, overrides the default API version used by the SDK.
  - Example: `export GOOGLE_GENAI_API_VERSION="v1"`
- **`OTLP_GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT`**:
  - Your Google Cloud Project ID for Telemetry in Google Cloud
  - Example: `export OTLP_GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="YOUR_PROJECT_ID"`.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_ENABLED`**:
  - Set to `true` or `1` to enable telemetry. Any other value is treated as
    disabling it.
  - Overrides the `telemetry.enabled` setting.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_TARGET`**:
  - Sets the telemetry target (`local` or `gcp`).
  - Overrides the `telemetry.target` setting.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_OTLP_ENDPOINT`**:
  - Sets the OTLP endpoint for telemetry.
  - Overrides the `telemetry.otlpEndpoint` setting.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_OTLP_PROTOCOL`**:
  - Sets the OTLP protocol (`grpc` or `http`).
  - Overrides the `telemetry.otlpProtocol` setting.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_LOG_PROMPTS`**:
  - Set to `true` or `1` to enable or disable logging of user prompts. Any other
    value is treated as disabling it.
  - Overrides the `telemetry.logPrompts` setting.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_OUTFILE`**:
  - Sets the file path to write telemetry to when the target is `local`.
  - Overrides the `telemetry.outfile` setting.
- **`GEMINI_TELEMETRY_USE_COLLECTOR`**:
  - Set to `true` or `1` to enable or disable using an external OTLP collector.
    Any other value is treated as disabling it.
  - Overrides the `telemetry.useCollector` setting.
- **`GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION`**:
  - Your Google Cloud Project Location (e.g., us-central1).
  - Required for using Vertex AI in non-express mode.
  - Example: `export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION="YOUR_PROJECT_LOCATION"`.
- **`GEMINI_SANDBOX`**:
  - Alternative to the `sandbox` setting in `settings.json`.
  - Accepts `true`, `false`, `docker`, `podman`, or a custom command string.
- **`GEMINI_SYSTEM_MD`**:
  - Replaces the built‑in system prompt with content from a Markdown file.
  - `true`/`1`: Use project default path `./.gemini/system.md`.
  - Any other string: Treat as a path (relative/absolute supported, `~`
    expands).
  - `false`/`0` or unset: Use the built‑in prompt. See
    [System Prompt Override](../cli/system-prompt.md).
- **`GEMINI_WRITE_SYSTEM_MD`**:
  - Writes the current built‑in system prompt to a file for review.
  - `true`/`1`: Write to `./.gemini/system.md`. Otherwise treat the value as a
    path.
  - Run the CLI once with this set to generate the file.
- **`SEATBELT_PROFILE`** (macOS specific):
  - Switches the Seatbelt (`sandbox-exec`) profile on macOS.
  - `permissive-open`: (Default) Restricts writes to the project folder (and a
    few other folders, see
    `packages/cli/src/utils/sandbox-macos-permissive-open.sb`) but allows other
    operations.
  - `strict`: Uses a strict profile that declines operations by default.
  - `<profile_name>`: Uses a custom profile. To define a custom profile, create
    a file named `sandbox-macos-<profile_name>.sb` in your project's `.gemini/`
    directory (e.g., `my-project/.gemini/sandbox-macos-custom.sb`).
- **`DEBUG` or `DEBUG_MODE`** (often used by underlying libraries or the CLI
  itself):
  - Set to `true` or `1` to enable verbose debug logging, which can be helpful
    for troubleshooting.
  - **Note:** These variables are automatically excluded from project `.env`
    files by default to prevent interference with gemini-cli behavior. Use
    `.gemini/.env` files if you need to set these for gemini-cli specifically.
- **`NO_COLOR`**:
  - Set to any value to disable all color output in the CLI.
- **`CLI_TITLE`**:
  - Set to a string to customize the title of the CLI.
- **`CODE_ASSIST_ENDPOINT`**:
  - Specifies the endpoint for the code assist server.
  - This is useful for development and testing.

### Environment variable redaction

To prevent accidental leakage of sensitive information, Gemini CLI automatically
redacts potential secrets from environment variables when executing tools (such
as shell commands). This "best effort" redaction applies to variables inherited
from the system or loaded from `.env` files.

**Default Redaction Rules:**

- **By Name:** Variables are redacted if their names contain sensitive terms
  like `TOKEN`, `SECRET`, `PASSWORD`, `KEY`, `AUTH`, `CREDENTIAL`, `PRIVATE`, or
  `CERT`.
- **By Value:** Variables are redacted if their values match known secret
  patterns, such as:
  - Private keys (RSA, OpenSSH, PGP, etc.)
  - Certificates
  - URLs containing credentials
  - API keys and tokens (GitHub, Google, AWS, Stripe, Slack, etc.)
- **Specific Blocklist:** Certain variables like `CLIENT_ID`, `DB_URI`,
  `DATABASE_URL`, and `CONNECTION_STRING` are always redacted by default.

**Allowlist (Never Redacted):**

- Common system variables (e.g., `PATH`, `HOME`, `USER`, `SHELL`, `TERM`,
  `LANG`).
- Variables starting with `GEMINI_CLI_`.
- GitHub Action specific variables.

**Configuration:**

You can customize this behavior in your `settings.json` file:

- **`security.allowedEnvironmentVariables`**: A list of variable names to
  _never_ redact, even if they match sensitive patterns.
- **`security.blockedEnvironmentVariables`**: A list of variable names to
  _always_ redact, even if they don't match sensitive patterns.

```json
{
  "security": {
    "allowedEnvironmentVariables": ["MY_PUBLIC_KEY", "NOT_A_SECRET_TOKEN"],
    "blockedEnvironmentVariables": ["INTERNAL_IP_ADDRESS"]
  }
}
```

## Command-line arguments

Arguments passed directly when running the CLI can override other configurations
for that specific session.

- **`--model <model_name>`** (**`-m <model_name>`**):
  - Specifies the Gemini model to use for this session.
  - Example: `npm start -- --model gemini-3-pro-preview`
- **`--prompt <your_prompt>`** (**`-p <your_prompt>`**):
  - Used to pass a prompt directly to the command. This invokes Gemini CLI in a
    non-interactive mode.
  - For scripting examples, use the `--output-format json` flag to get
    structured output.
- **`--prompt-interactive <your_prompt>`** (**`-i <your_prompt>`**):
  - Starts an interactive session with the provided prompt as the initial input.
  - The prompt is processed within the interactive session, not before it.
  - Cannot be used when piping input from stdin.
  - Example: `gemini -i "explain this code"`
- **`--output-format <format>`**:
  - **Description:** Specifies the format of the CLI output for non-interactive
    mode.
  - **Values:**
    - `text`: (Default) The standard human-readable output.
    - `json`: A machine-readable JSON output.
    - `stream-json`: A streaming JSON output that emits real-time events.
  - **Note:** For structured output and scripting, use the
    `--output-format json` or `--output-format stream-json` flag.
- **`--sandbox`** (**`-s`**):
  - Enables sandbox mode for this session.
- **`--debug`** (**`-d`**):
  - Enables debug mode for this session, providing more verbose output. Open the
    debug console with F12 to see the additional logging.

- **`--help`** (or **`-h`**):
  - Displays help information about command-line arguments.
- **`--yolo`**:
  - Enables YOLO mode, which automatically approves all tool calls.
- **`--approval-mode <mode>`**:
  - Sets the approval mode for tool calls. Available modes:
    - `default`: Prompt for approval on each tool call (default behavior)
    - `auto_edit`: Automatically approve edit tools (replace, write_file) while
      prompting for others
    - `yolo`: Automatically approve all tool calls (equivalent to `--yolo`)
    - `plan`: Read-only mode for tool calls (requires experimental planning to
      be enabled).
      > **Note:** This mode is currently under development and not yet fully
      > functional.
  - Cannot be used together with `--yolo`. Use `--approval-mode=yolo` instead of
    `--yolo` for the new unified approach.
  - Example: `gemini --approval-mode auto_edit`
- **`--allowed-tools <tool1,tool2,...>`**:
  - A comma-separated list of tool names that will bypass the confirmation
    dialog.
  - Example: `gemini --allowed-tools "ShellTool(git status)"`
- **`--extensions <extension_name ...>`** (**`-e <extension_name ...>`**):
  - Specifies a list of extensions to use for the session. If not provided, all
    available extensions are used.
  - Use the special term `gemini -e none` to disable all extensions.
  - Example: `gemini -e my-extension -e my-other-extension`
- **`--list-extensions`** (**`-l`**):
  - Lists all available extensions and exits.
- **`--resume [session_id]`** (**`-r [session_id]`**):
  - Resume a previous chat session. Use "latest" for the most recent session,
    provide a session index number, or provide a full session UUID.
  - If no session_id is provided, defaults to "latest".
  - Example: `gemini --resume 5` or `gemini --resume latest` or
    `gemini --resume a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890` or `gemini --resume`
  - See [Session Management](../cli/session-management.md) for more details.
- **`--list-sessions`**:
  - List all available chat sessions for the current project and exit.
  - Shows session indices, dates, message counts, and preview of first user
    message.
  - Example: `gemini --list-sessions`
- **`--delete-session <identifier>`**:
  - Delete a specific chat session by its index number or full session UUID.
  - Use `--list-sessions` first to see available sessions, their indices, and
    UUIDs.
  - Example: `gemini --delete-session 3` or
    `gemini --delete-session a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890`
- **`--include-directories <dir1,dir2,...>`**:
  - Includes additional directories in the workspace for multi-directory
    support.
  - Can be specified multiple times or as comma-separated values.
  - 5 directories can be added at maximum.
  - Example: `--include-directories /path/to/project1,/path/to/project2` or
    `--include-directories /path/to/project1 --include-directories /path/to/project2`
- **`--screen-reader`**:
  - Enables screen reader mode, which adjusts the TUI for better compatibility
    with screen readers.
- **`--version`**:
  - Displays the version of the CLI.
- **`--experimental-acp`**:
  - Starts the agent in ACP mode.
- **`--allowed-mcp-server-names`**:
  - Allowed MCP server names.
- **`--fake-responses`**:
  - Path to a file with fake model responses for testing.
- **`--record-responses`**:
  - Path to a file to record model responses for testing.

## Context files (hierarchical instructional context)

While not strictly configuration for the CLI's _behavior_, context files
(defaulting to `GEMINI.md` but configurable via the `context.fileName` setting)
are crucial for configuring the _instructional context_ (also referred to as
"memory") provided to the Gemini model. This powerful feature allows you to give
project-specific instructions, coding style guides, or any relevant background
information to the AI, making its responses more tailored and accurate to your
needs. The CLI includes UI elements, such as an indicator in the footer showing
the number of loaded context files, to keep you informed about the active
context.

- **Purpose:** These Markdown files contain instructions, guidelines, or context
  that you want the Gemini model to be aware of during your interactions. The
  system is designed to manage this instructional context hierarchically.

### Example context file content (e.g., `GEMINI.md`)

Here's a conceptual example of what a context file at the root of a TypeScript
project might contain:

```markdown
# Project: My Awesome TypeScript Library

## General Instructions:

- When generating new TypeScript code, please follow the existing coding style.
- Ensure all new functions and classes have JSDoc comments.
- Prefer functional programming paradigms where appropriate.
- All code should be compatible with TypeScript 5.0 and Node.js 20+.

## Coding Style:

- Use 2 spaces for indentation.
- Interface names should be prefixed with `I` (e.g., `IUserService`).
- Private class members should be prefixed with an underscore (`_`).
- Always use strict equality (`===` and `!==`).

## Specific Component: `src/api/client.ts`

- This file handles all outbound API requests.
- When adding new API call functions, ensure they include robust error handling
  and logging.
- Use the existing `fetchWithRetry` utility for all GET requests.

## Regarding Dependencies:

- Avoid introducing new external dependencies unless absolutely necessary.
- If a new dependency is required, please state the reason.
```

This example demonstrates how you can provide general project context, specific
coding conventions, and even notes about particular files or components. The
more relevant and precise your context files are, the better the AI can assist
you. Project-specific context files are highly encouraged to establish
conventions and context.

- **Hierarchical loading and precedence:** The CLI implements a sophisticated
  hierarchical memory system by loading context files (e.g., `GEMINI.md`) from
  several locations. Content from files lower in this list (more specific)
  typically overrides or supplements content from files higher up (more
  general). The exact concatenation order and final context can be inspected
  using the `/memory show` command. The typical loading order is:
  1.  **Global context file:**
      - Location: `~/.gemini/<configured-context-filename>` (e.g.,
        `~/.gemini/GEMINI.md` in your user home directory).
      - Scope: Provides default instructions for all your projects.
  2.  **Project root and ancestors context files:**
      - Location: The CLI searches for the configured context file in the
        current working directory and then in each parent directory up to either
        the project root (identified by a `.git` folder) or your home directory.
      - Scope: Provides context relevant to the entire project or a significant
        portion of it.
  3.  **Sub-directory context files (contextual/local):**
      - Location: The CLI also scans for the configured context file in
        subdirectories _below_ the current working directory (respecting common
        ignore patterns like `node_modules`, `.git`, etc.). The breadth of this
        search is limited to 200 directories by default, but can be configured
        with the `context.discoveryMaxDirs` setting in your `settings.json`
        file.
      - Scope: Allows for highly specific instructions relevant to a particular
        component, module, or subsection of your project.
- **Concatenation and UI indication:** The contents of all found context files
  are concatenated (with separators indicating their origin and path) and
  provided as part of the system prompt to the Gemini model. The CLI footer
  displays the count of loaded context files, giving you a quick visual cue
  about the active instructional context.
- **Importing content:** You can modularize your context files by importing
  other Markdown files using the `@path/to/file.md` syntax. For more details,
  see the [Memory Import Processor documentation](../core/memport.md).
- **Commands for memory management:**
  - Use `/memory refresh` to force a re-scan and reload of all context files
    from all configured locations. This updates the AI's instructional context.
  - Use `/memory show` to display the combined instructional context currently
    loaded, allowing you to verify the hierarchy and content being used by the
    AI.
  - See the [Commands documentation](../cli/commands.md#memory) for full details
    on the `/memory` command and its sub-commands (`show` and `refresh`).

By understanding and utilizing these configuration layers and the hierarchical
nature of context files, you can effectively manage the AI's memory and tailor
the Gemini CLI's responses to your specific needs and projects.

## Sandboxing

The Gemini CLI can execute potentially unsafe operations (like shell commands
and file modifications) within a sandboxed environment to protect your system.

Sandboxing is disabled by default, but you can enable it in a few ways:

- Using `--sandbox` or `-s` flag.
- Setting `GEMINI_SANDBOX` environment variable.
- Sandbox is enabled when using `--yolo` or `--approval-mode=yolo` by default.

By default, it uses a pre-built `gemini-cli-sandbox` Docker image.

For project-specific sandboxing needs, you can create a custom Dockerfile at
`.gemini/sandbox.Dockerfile` in your project's root directory. This Dockerfile
can be based on the base sandbox image:

```dockerfile
FROM gemini-cli-sandbox

# Add your custom dependencies or configurations here
# For example:
# RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y some-package
# COPY ./my-config /app/my-config
```

When `.gemini/sandbox.Dockerfile` exists, you can use `BUILD_SANDBOX`
environment variable when running Gemini CLI to automatically build the custom
sandbox image:

```bash
BUILD_SANDBOX=1 gemini -s
```

## Usage statistics

To help us improve the Gemini CLI, we collect anonymized usage statistics. This
data helps us understand how the CLI is used, identify common issues, and
prioritize new features.

**What we collect:**

- **Tool calls:** We log the names of the tools that are called, whether they
  succeed or fail, and how long they take to execute. We do not collect the
  arguments passed to the tools or any data returned by them.
- **API requests:** We log the Gemini model used for each request, the duration
  of the request, and whether it was successful. We do not collect the content
  of the prompts or responses.
- **Session information:** We collect information about the configuration of the
  CLI, such as the enabled tools and the approval mode.

**What we DON'T collect:**

- **Personally identifiable information (PII):** We do not collect any personal
  information, such as your name, email address, or API keys.
- **Prompt and response content:** We do not log the content of your prompts or
  the responses from the Gemini model.
- **File content:** We do not log the content of any files that are read or
  written by the CLI.

**How to opt out:**

You can opt out of usage statistics collection at any time by setting the
`usageStatisticsEnabled` property to `false` under the `privacy` category in
your `settings.json` file:

```json
{
  "privacy": {
    "usageStatisticsEnabled": false
  }
}
```
