Yes, Gemini CLI is fully open source and released under the Apache 2.0 license. This open-source approach allows developers to inspect the code to understand how it works and verify its security implications. The Apache 2.0 license is considered one of the most permissive open-source licenses, which means developers have significant freedom to use, modify, and distribute the software for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. The source code is available on GitHub at github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli, where developers can access the complete codebase.
Google actively encourages community participation and welcomes a global community of developers to contribute to the project. Contributors can participate by reporting bugs, suggesting features, continuously improving security practices, and submitting code improvements. The project maintains active channels for community engagement, including GitHub issues for bug reports and GitHub discussions for feature suggestions and general ideas. This collaborative approach ensures that the tool evolves based on real developer needs and community feedback rather than solely corporate direction.
The open-source nature of Gemini CLI is a key differentiator from its commercial competitors like OpenAI’s Codex CLI and Anthropic’s Claude Code. This transparency allows security teams to audit the code, developers to understand exactly how their data is handled, and organizations to customize the tool for their specific needs. The extensible architecture built on emerging standards like MCP (Model Context Protocol), system prompts via GEMINI.md, and configurable settings for both personal and team use reflects the open-source philosophy of building tools that can be adapted and extended by the community. This approach not only ensures transparency but also fosters innovation as developers can build upon the foundation that Google has provided, creating a rich ecosystem of extensions and integrations.