If you’ve just started exploring the Gemini CLI, you might have noticed it feels more like chatting with a smart AI assistant right from your terminal. But there’s a lot more power hidden inside — especially through its CLI commands.

This guide will help you understand all the built-in commands (like /, @, and ! commands), what they do, and how you can use them with examples — even if you’ve never used a CLI before.

🧭 What Are Gemini CLI Commands?

Gemini CLI has special commands that let you:

• Control your session

• Manage memory and files

• Interact with local directories

• Run shell commands

• And even talk to external tools

These commands make Gemini more than just an AI chat — it becomes your coding partner, file explorer, and terminal assistant.

There are 3 types of commands:

Let’s explore each of them step by step 👇

⚡ Slash Commands (/)

Slash commands give you meta control over Gemini CLI — they don’t go to the AI model, they control the environment.

Here are the most useful ones:

🐞 /bug

Purpose: File an issue about Gemini CLI directly to GitHub.

Example:

➡ This creates a bug report titled “Output not showing in dark mode”.

💬 /chat

Save, list, or resume conversation checkpoints.

• Save current chat:

   

  /chat save mysession

• List saved sessions:

   

  /chat list

• Resume from a tag:

   

  /chat resume mysession

🧠 Tip: Checkpoints are saved in:

• Linux/macOS → ~/.gemini/tmp/<project_hash>/

• Windows → C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.gemini\tmp\<project_hash>\

🧹 /clear

Clears your screen instantly.

Shortcut: Ctrl + L
Perfect when your terminal feels cluttered.

🧠 /memory

Lets you view or modify what Gemini “remembers” in your project.

• Add something to memory:

   

  /memory add Always summarize my answers in points

• See current memory:

   

  /memory show

• Reload memory from GEMINI.md:

   

  /memory refresh

💡 This is especially useful if your project uses custom instructions in GEMINI.md.

🪄 /compress

Summarizes your chat so far into a short context — keeps things light and saves tokens.

📋 /copy

Copies the last AI response to your clipboard.

Works with pbcopy (macOS), clip (Windows), or xclip/xsel (Linux).

🗂️ /directory or /dir

Manage directories linked to your workspace.

• Add new directory:

   

  /directory add ./src, ./tests

• Show added directories:

   

  /directory show

⚙️ /settings

Opens a settings editor inside CLI.

You can change:

• Themes

• Authentication

• Performance settings
  without manually editing ~/.gemini/settings.json.

💡 /model

Choose which Gemini model to use interactively.

🔐 /auth

Change your authentication method — e.g., switch from API key to OAuth.

🎨 /theme

Change the CLI’s color theme right inside the terminal.

🧩 /tools

Shows all available tools Gemini CLI can access.

• Just list tools:

   

  /tools

• Show detailed descriptions:

   

  /tools desc

🖋️ /vim

If you love Vim, this one’s for you!

Toggle Vim mode:

You’ll get normal and insert modes with full navigation like h, j, k, l, and editing shortcuts like dd, cw, etc.

🔄 /restore

Undo file edits made by Gemini tools.

Example:

Lists checkpoints to restore from.

💬 /help

Shows help for all available commands.

🔚 /quit or /exit

Exit Gemini CLI safely.

📎 At Commands (@)

At commands are used to inject file or folder content into your query.

Think of it as saying:

“Hey Gemini, look at this file and explain it!”

💡 Example 1: Include a file

Gemini will read the file and give you a clear summary.

💡 Example 2: Include a folder

Gemini scans the folder (ignoring git-ignored files like node_modules/).

🔎 Quick Tips

• Paths with spaces must be escaped:

   

  @My\ Documents/notes.txt

• Works only with text-based files (not binaries like .jpg or .exe).

• You’ll see a “read_many_files” message confirming what files were processed.

🧨 Shell Commands (!)

This is where Gemini CLI becomes truly powerful.

Anything starting with ! is a shell command, executed directly on your system.

⚙️ Example 1:

Lists files in your directory — without leaving Gemini CLI.

⚙️ Example 2:

Runs Git commands inside Gemini.

🔁 Toggle Shell Mode

Typing just ! puts you into shell mode.

Now every line you type acts as a terminal command.

Exit shell mode by typing exit or pressing Ctrl+C.

⚠️ Caution

Commands in shell mode have full system access — they’re as powerful as your terminal commands.

⌨️ Input Shortcuts

🧾 Summary — Remember These Key Points

1. Slash (/) → Control Gemini CLI (save chat, clear screen, manage memory, etc.)

2. At (@) → Include file or directory contents into your prompt.

3. Exclamation (!) → Run shell/system commands directly.

4. Vim Mode → /vim toggles vim-style editing.

5. Settings & Themes → /settings and /theme personalize your experience.

6. Chat Checkpoints → /chat save, /chat resume let you continue from past sessions.

7. Memory → /memory add and /memory refresh manage AI instructions easily.

🧠 Try It Yourself

Here’s a small exercise:

1. Open Gemini CLI.

2. Type these one by one:

    

   1. 1. /clear 
      2. /theme
      3. /model
      4. /chat
      5. save first-session
      6. @README.md Summarize this file.
      7. !ls

3. Observe how each command behaves!

You’ll get a hands-on feel for how powerful — yet simple — Gemini CLI really is.

🎯 Final Thoughts

Gemini CLI is not just an AI chat — it’s your interactive AI workspace.
With /, @, and ! commands, you can blend AI conversations, project context, and system commands all in one smooth workflow.

It’s the future of command-line productivity — simple, smart, and super powerful.