---
description: Route Gemini CLI through an Access-protected AI Gateway custom domain.
title: Gemini CLI
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/integrations/coding-agents/gemini-cli/og.png?v=bfa3016cbc84b6de
---

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# Gemini CLI

Last updated Oct 6, 2026|Copy as Markdown| [View as Markdown](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/integrations/coding-agents/gemini-cli/index.md)| [Agent setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

[Gemini CLI ↗︎](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) supports a custom Google Gemini API base URL. Point it at an AI Gateway [custom domain](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/configuration/custom-domains/) protected by Cloudflare Access. Use `cloudflared` to generate a short-lived Access token before you start Gemini CLI.

Gemini CLI does not support an API key helper. You must refresh the token when the Access session expires.

## Prerequisites

Before you start, you need:

- An AI Gateway with a [custom domain](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/configuration/custom-domains/).
- Cloudflare Access enabled on the custom domain with a policy that allows your identity.
- Credentials for Google AI Studio. Use [Unified Billing](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/features/unified-billing/) credits or store a Google AI Studio key in AI Gateway with [BYOK (Store Keys)](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/configuration/bring-your-own-keys/).
- [`cloudflared`](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/downloads/) installed.
- [Gemini CLI ↗︎](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) installed and updated to the latest version.

1. Set the Google Gemini base URL to your AI Gateway custom domain. Replace `ai.example.com` with your custom domain.

   ```bash
   export GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL="https://ai.example.com/google-ai-studio"
   ```

2. Authenticate to Access and store the resulting token in `GEMINI_API_KEY`.

   ```bash
   export GEMINI_API_KEY="$(cloudflared access login -app https://ai.example.com)"
   ```

3. Start Gemini CLI and send a prompt. Requests now route through AI Gateway.

   ```bash
   gemini
   ```

Run the authentication command again when the Access token expires. You can also add these commands to a bootstrap script that starts Gemini CLI.

For more information about these environment variables, refer to [Gemini CLI configuration ↗︎](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/blob/main/docs/reference/configuration.md#environment-variables-and-env-files).

To confirm traffic reaches AI Gateway, refer to [Verify it works](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/integrations/coding-agents/#verify-it-works).

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