For a year, Gemini CLI was the easiest free AI coding agent around: sign in with a Google account and get up to 1,000 requests a day at no cost. That changed on June 18, 2026, when Google moved consumer users, including free Code Assist accounts, Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra, to its new Antigravity CLI. If you type gemini today with a personal account and it no longer works the way it used to, this is why. Below I explain who can still use Gemini CLI, what the limits are, how to install Antigravity CLI (the agy command), which models you get on each plan, and how to move your setup across.
- Personal Google accounts, AI Pro and AI Ultra: no longer served by Gemini CLI since June 18, 2026. Use Antigravity CLI instead.
- Still on Gemini CLI: paid Gemini API keys, Vertex AI and enterprise licenses. A free AI Studio key is still documented at 250 requests a day (Flash only), but Google no longer promises it.
- Antigravity CLI: install with one command, run
agy, sign in with Google. Free accounts get a weekly quota; Pro and Ultra get 5-hour refills up to a weekly cap. - Models in agy: Gemini 3.8 Flash on every plan, Gemini 4 Argon on paid plans, plus Claude and GPT-OSS options.
- Gemini CLI is still open source; Antigravity CLI’s public repo has docs and examples, but its license status is unclear.
What Changed on June 18, 2026
Google announced Antigravity CLI in spring 2026 as the terminal companion to its Antigravity 2.0 desktop app. It is written in Go, runs several agents in the background, and shares its agent harness with the desktop app. At the same time Google said Gemini CLI and the Gemini Code Assist IDE extensions would stop serving consumer requests on June 18, 2026. Google’s README now says: “Unpaid tier and Google One users: Gemini CLI was replaced by Antigravity CLI.”
At launch, skills, hooks, subagents and extensions carried over, with Gemini CLI extensions coming back as Antigravity plugins. Not everyone was happy: a common complaint is that the change merged usage pools, so Pro subscribers lost a separate Gemini CLI quota they had valued.
Who Can Still Use Gemini CLI (and Limits)
| Sign-in method | Status in November 2026 | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Google account (free Code Assist) | Moved to Antigravity CLI | Was 1,000 requests/day |
| Google AI Pro | Moved to Antigravity CLI | Was 1,500 requests/day |
| Google AI Ultra | Moved to Antigravity CLI | Was 2,000 requests/day |
| Free Gemini API key (AI Studio) | Still documented, not guaranteed | 250 requests/day, Flash models only |
| Paid Gemini API key | Supported | Pay per token; tier limits apply |
| Vertex AI | Supported | Varies by account; express mode free for up to 90 days |
| Code Assist Standard / Enterprise | Supported for existing customers | 1,500 / 2,000 requests/day; no new purchases since October 9, 2026 |
On a paid key, Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens until December 31, 2026, then $1.50 and $7.50 from January 1. For every Gemini model price and free tier detail, see my Gemini API pricing guide.
How to Install Antigravity CLI
# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://antigravity.google/cli/install.sh | bash
# Windows PowerShell
irm https://antigravity.google/cli/install.ps1 | iex
# check the install
agy --version
# start in your project
cd my-project
agyThe first run opens a browser to sign in. You can choose:
- Personal Google account (Free, Pro or Ultra) – the normal choice.
- Gemini API key – pay per token.
- Gemini Enterprise through Google Cloud OAuth, API key or Application Default Credentials (marked preview). Since v1.4.11 you can pick subscription or pay-as-you-go billing here.
Antigravity CLI Models by Plan
Model availability as listed in Google’s overview, checked October 31, 2026 (some entries were listed only through November 2, so check /model in your install):
| Model | Plans |
|---|---|
| Gemini 4 Argon | AI Pro (paid or trial on eligible devices), Ultra, Enterprise |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | Free, AI Plus, Pro, Ultra, Enterprise |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 | AI Pro (not trial), Ultra, Enterprise |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.6 | Free, AI Plus, Pro (listed through November 2) |
| GPT-OSS 120B (Medium) | Free, AI Plus, Pro, Ultra (listed through November 2) |
| Gemini 3.7 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3.1 Pro | Enterprise only |
Having Claude models inside a Google CLI is unusual and a real plus for Pro subscribers. If you are deciding between Google’s plans, my ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok comparison covers the consumer tiers.
Antigravity CLI Quotas
- Free accounts get a weekly baseline quota.
- AI Pro and Ultra get higher quotas that refill every five hours until a weekly limit is reached, and can buy AI credits for overages.
- Google does not publish a fixed number of prompts, because usage depends on how much work the agent does per task. A one-line question costs far less than “refactor this module and run the tests.”
- Check where you stand with
/usage(alias/quota).
That lack of a published number is the biggest practical change. With Gemini CLI you knew you had 1,000 requests a day; now you have to watch /usage.
Key Antigravity CLI Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/model |
Choose a model |
/plan [task] |
Draft a plan you can review before changes |
/goal <objective> |
Work autonomously until the goal is verified |
/usage or /quota |
Check remaining quota |
/mcp |
Manage MCP servers |
/agents, /tasks, /hooks |
Subagents, background tasks, hooks |
/skills, /permissions |
Manage skills and tool permissions |
/resume, /clear (/new), /compact |
Session management |
/help |
Full list (Google’s reference lists 43 slash commands) |
Migrating From Gemini CLI
- Settings: Antigravity CLI keeps the old
~/.gemini/directory and stores its own settings at~/.gemini/antigravity-cli/settings.json. - MCP servers: global config at
~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json, project config at.agents/mcp_config.json. Copy yourmcpServersentries across and run/mcpto check they connect. - Extensions: they return as Antigravity plugins; reinstall the ones you need.
- Skills, hooks and subagents carried over at launch.
- GEMINI.md project files: the guides I checked do not document how they map in Antigravity CLI, so test whether your project instructions are picked up and copy them into the project’s agent instructions if not.
Need MCP servers worth adding? See my best MCP servers list.
Keeping Gemini CLI With an API Key
If you prefer the open-source Gemini CLI, it still works with a paid Gemini API key or Vertex AI:
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key"
geminiUse /stats model inside Gemini CLI to see token use and limits. Paid Tier 1 needs a linked billing account; watch spend limits on new accounts.
Which Should You Use?
- You have a personal account or Google AI Pro/Ultra: use Antigravity CLI. It is the only consumer route now, and Pro gets Gemini 4 Argon plus Claude models.
- You want predictable costs or open source: Gemini CLI with a paid API key.
- You want something fully free and offline: a local model with Ollama and an agent like Cline. See my best Ollama models guide.
- Comparing with other agents: my Cursor vs Windsurf vs Claude Code vs Cline, OpenAI Codex guide and Claude Code cheat sheet.
Troubleshooting Gemini CLI and Antigravity CLI
Since the June 18 switch, most problems people hit are either a consumer account still pointed at Gemini CLI, or a fresh agy install that the shell cannot find. Here are the common ones with fixes from Google’s docs.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini CLI login with a personal Google account fails or stops working | Free, Google One, AI Pro and AI Ultra accounts are no longer served by Gemini CLI | Install Antigravity CLI and run agy, or switch Gemini CLI to a paid API key or Vertex AI. |
agy: command not found |
The installer puts the binary in ~/.local/bin, which is not on your PATH |
Add export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc, run source on it, then agy --version. On Windows, check which folder holds agy.exe and add that folder to Path. |
| “secret keyring is locked” or agy hangs at sign-in | Antigravity CLI stores tokens in the OS keychain, which is locked or missing (common over SSH) | Unlock your keychain or keyring. On a headless Linux box, start a D-Bus session with export $(dbus-launch) first. |
| Quota or 429 errors in agy | You used up the current window of your plan’s quota | Run /usage. Pro and Ultra refill every five hours up to a weekly cap; free accounts wait for the weekly reset or upgrade. |
| 429 “quota exceeded” in Gemini CLI on an API key | Your key hit its tier’s per-minute or per-day limit | Check /stats model, slow down, switch to a Flash model, or move to a higher paid tier in AI Studio. |
Gemini CLI ignores your GEMINI_API_KEY |
The key is set in a different shell, or a different .env file is loaded first |
Export it in the same terminal, or put it in .gemini/.env. Gemini CLI loads only the first .env it finds, starting from the current folder, then ~/.gemini/.env, then ~/.env. Use /auth to switch from Google login to the API key. |
| Gemini CLI complains about an organization or project | Leftover GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT variables from a work setup |
As a personal API key user, unset GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT_ID. |
| agy warns another updater is already active | A stale update lock file | Delete ~/.gemini/antigravity-cli/updater/update.lock and start agy again. |
If your MCP servers vanish after moving to agy, remember the config lives in a new place (~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json globally), so copy the entries over as described in the migration section and check them with /mcp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gemini CLI still free in 2026?
The software is free and open source, but free Google-account access ended on June 18, 2026. A free AI Studio API key is still documented at 250 requests a day for Flash models, but Google no longer guarantees it. Free users should switch to Antigravity CLI.
Why is Gemini CLI not working with my Google account?
Because personal accounts, AI Pro and AI Ultra were moved to Antigravity CLI. Install it and run agy.
What is the Antigravity CLI command?
agy. Check the install with agy --version.
How many requests does Antigravity CLI give for free?
Google does not publish a fixed number. Free accounts get a weekly quota; use /usage to see what is left.
Is Antigravity CLI open source?
Google’s public Antigravity CLI repository has documentation, examples and a demo, but that alone does not make the CLI itself open source. Gemini CLI remains open source.
Why does agy say command not found after installing?
The binary lands in ~/.local/bin on macOS and Linux, and many shells do not include that folder in PATH by default. Add it to your shell profile, open a new terminal, and run agy --version to confirm.
Can I use both Gemini CLI and Antigravity CLI on the same machine?
Yes. They are separate commands (gemini and agy) and Antigravity CLI keeps its settings in its own subfolder of ~/.gemini/. A common setup is agy with your Google account for daily work and Gemini CLI with a paid API key for scripts.
Sources
- Gemini CLI docs: Quotas and pricing
- Sharkly: Is Gemini CLI still free? What changed on June 18 (October 29, 2026)
- Gradually AI: Antigravity CLI commands (checked October 31, 2026, v1.4.12)
- AlternativeTo: Google urges developers to switch from Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI (May 2026)
- Google: Gemini CLI
