Gemini CLI UI is a VS Code extension that brings the power of the Gemini CLI directly into your editor. It provides a real PTY-backed terminal experience within a dedicated sidebar chat or a full editor panel.
Features
Sidebar Chat View: Access the Gemini CLI from a convenient sidebar, allowing you to chat without leaving your code.
PTY-Backed Terminal: Uses node-pty and xterm.js for a authentic terminal experience, supporting interactive commands and full-color output.
Smart Node.js Detection: Automatically finds the best Node.js version on your system (supporting NVM, Volta, fnm, etc.) to run the CLI.
Cross-Platform: Works on Windows (PowerShell), macOS, and Linux (Bash).
Responsive Design: UI scales perfectly for both the sidebar and full editor views.
Requirements
Node.js: Version 20 or higher.
Gemini CLI: The extension will automatically try to use your global gemini installation or run it via npx @google/gemini-cli.
Installation
Open VS Code.
Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X).
Search for Gemini CLI UI (or install from VSIX).
Click Install.
Usage
Sidebar Chat
Click on the Gemini icon in the Activity Bar.
The Gemini CLI will automatically start.
Type your prompts and interact with the CLI as you would in a normal terminal.
Editor Terminal
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).
Run the command Gemini: Open Gemini CLI UI.
A new editor tab will open with the Gemini terminal.
Development
If you want to contribute or build the extension from source:
Setup
# Install dependencies
npm install
Build
# Compile the extension
npm run compile
# Watch for changes
npm run watch
Run
Press F5 in VS Code to open a new window with the extension loaded.
Run your commands in the [Extension Development Host] window.
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
