Gemini CLI for AI Agents

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Introduction

CLIs are eating MCPs. The industry is converging on the very same idea. MCPs for all their merit can be token hungry, slow, and unreliable for complex tool chaining. However, coding agents have become incredibly good at working with CLIs, and in fact they are far more comfortable working with CLI tools than MCP.

With Composio's Universal CLI, your coding agents can talk to over 850+ SaaS applications. With Gemini, agents can summarize this research article in 100 words, generate a creative image of a futuristic city, create a 30-second video based on this script, and more — all without worrying about authentication.

This guide walks you through Composio Universal CLI and explains how you can connect it with coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, etc, for end-to-end Gemini automation.

Also integrate Gemini with

What is Universal CLI and why use it?

The idea behind building the universal CLI is to give agents a single command interface to interact with all your external applications. Here's what you'll get with it:

  • Agent-friendly: Coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode can use CLI tools natively — no MCP setup required.
  • Authentication handled: Connect once via OAuth or API Key, and all CLI commands work with your credentials automatically.
  • Tool discovery: Search, inspect, and execute 20,000+ tools across 850+ apps from one interface.
  • Trigger support: Use triggers to listen for events across your apps, powered by real-time webhooks or polling under the hood.
  • Type generation: Generate typed schemas for autocomplete and type safety in your projects.

Prerequisites

Install the Composio CLI, authenticate, and initialize your project:

bash
# Install the Composio CLI
curl -fsSL https://composio.dev/install | bash

# Authenticate with Composio
composio login

During login you'll be redirected to sign in page, finish the complete flow and you're all set.

Composio CLI authentication flow

Connecting Gemini to Coding Agents via Universal CLI

Once it is installed, it's essentially done. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, or any other agent will be able to access the CLI. A few steps to give agents access to your apps.

  1. Launch your Coding Agent — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, anything you prefer.
  2. Prompt it to "Authenticate with Gemini"
  3. Complete the authentication and authorization flow and your Gemini integration is all set.
  4. Start asking anything you want.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Count Tokens (Gemini)Counts the number of tokens in text using gemini tokenization.
Download Video (Veo)Downloads a generated veo video to local storage.
Embed Content (Gemini)Generates text embeddings using gemini embedding models.
Generate Content (Gemini)Generates text content from prompts using gemini models.
Generate Image (Gemini 2.5 Flash)Generates images from text prompts using gemini 2.
Generate Videos (Veo)Generates videos from text prompts using google's veo models.
Get Videos Operation (Veo)Checks the status of a veo video generation operation.
List Models (Gemini API)Lists available gemini and veo models with their capabilities and limits.
Wait For Video (Veo)Polls a veo video generation operation until completion or timeout.

Universal CLI Commands for Gemini

You can also manually execute CLI commands to interact with your Gemini.

Connect your Gemini account

Link your Gemini account and verify the connection:

bash
# Connect your Gemini account (opens OAuth flow)
composio connected-accounts link gemini

# Verify the connection
composio connected-accounts list --toolkits gemini

Discover Gemini tools

Search and inspect available Gemini tools:

bash
# List all available Gemini tools
composio tools list --toolkit gemini

# Search for Gemini tools by action
composio tools search "gemini"

# Inspect a tool's input schema
composio tools info GEMINI_COUNT_TOKENS

Common Gemini Actions

Count Tokens (Gemini)Counts the number of tokens in text using gemini tokenization

bash
composio tools execute GEMINI_COUNT_TOKENS \
  --text "<string>"

Download Video (Veo)Downloads a generated veo video to local storage

bash
composio tools execute GEMINI_DOWNLOAD_VIDEO \
  --video_uri "<string>" \
  --download_path "<string>"

Embed Content (Gemini)Generates text embeddings using gemini embedding models

bash
composio tools execute GEMINI_EMBED_CONTENT \
  --text "<string>"

Generate Content (Gemini)Generates text content from prompts using gemini models

bash
composio tools execute GEMINI_GENERATE_CONTENT \
  --prompt "<string>"

Generate Type Definitions

Generate typed schemas for Gemini tools to get autocomplete and type safety in your project:

bash
# Auto-detect language
composio generate --toolkits gemini

# TypeScript
composio ts generate --toolkits gemini

# Python
composio py generate --toolkits gemini

Tips & Tricks

  • Always inspect a tool's input schema before executing: composio tools info <TOOL_NAME>
  • Pipe output with jq for better readability: composio tools execute TOOL_NAME -d '{}' | jq
  • Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY as an environment variable for CI/CD pipelines
  • Use composio dev logs tools to inspect execution logs and debug issues

Next Steps

  • Try asking your coding agent to perform various Gemini operations
  • Explore cross-app workflows by connecting more toolkits
  • Set up triggers for real-time automation
  • Use composio generate for typed schemas in your projects

How to build Gemini MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What is the Composio Universal CLI?

The Composio Universal CLI is a single command-line interface that lets coding agents and developers interact with 850+ SaaS applications. It handles authentication, tool discovery, action execution, and trigger setup — all from the terminal, without needing to configure MCP servers.

Which coding agents work with the Composio CLI?

Any coding agent that can run shell commands works with the Composio CLI — including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, and others. Once the CLI is installed, agents automatically discover and use the composio commands to interact with Gemini and other connected apps.

How is the CLI different from using an MCP server for Gemini?

MCP servers require configuration and can be token-heavy for complex workflows. The CLI gives agents a direct, lightweight interface — no server setup needed. Agents simply call composio commands like any other shell tool. It's faster to set up, more reliable for multi-step tool chaining, and works natively with how coding agents already operate.

How safe is my Gemini data when using the Composio CLI?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Gemini data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials for full control.

Used by agents from

Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai
Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai
Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai

Never worry about agent reliability

We handle tool reliability, observability, and security so you never have to second-guess an agent action.