Gemini CLI is very easy to install, and has a very functional free tier. Below I describe the steps to install on Linux and Mac.

Step 1: Make sure you have Node.js version 18 or higher installed.

You can check by entering the following command:

node --version

If it is not installed, or you need to install a more recent version, go to this link:

https://nodejs.org/en/download

Step 2: Install Gemini CLI on the command line

Open up your terminal and enter the following:

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

Step 3: Run Gemini CLI for the first time to choose a color scheme

In your terminal type the following:

gemini

Step 4: Choose your color scheme

Step 5: Authenticate with your google account

Step 6: You’re set, start typing!

In this case, I asked “What is a microservice?”. You can use Gemini CLI for many things and it is really up to your imagination from here.