Gemini CLI for ecommerce: run your online store from the terminal

In short: Gemini CLI is Google's open-source AI agent for the terminal. You install it with npm install -g @google/gemini-cli (Node.js 20 or newer), and with the CloudCart extension and a PAT token it runs your online store from plain English sentences. Since 18 June 2026, Gemini CLI works with a paid Gemini API key, Vertex AI or a Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise licence.

What is Gemini CLI, and how is it different from the Gemini chat?

Gemini CLI is an AI agent from Google that runs in the terminal on your computer and completes tasks with the Gemini models. It is open source (Apache 2.0), starts with the command gemini, and new stable versions come out every week in the official Gemini CLI repository.

The Gemini chat can write a product description, but it cannot save it to your store. Gemini CLI runs commands and connects to outside systems through MCP servers. Connected to CloudCart, the sentence "take 15% off everything in the Winter category" becomes a real change in your store.

	Gemini (chat)	Gemini CLI	Antigravity CLI
Where it runs	Browser and app	Terminal, command gemini	Terminal, command agy
Carries out tasks	No	Yes: files, commands, MCP	Yes, several agents at once
Which account	Any Google account	Paid Gemini API key, Vertex AI or a Code Assist Standard/Enterprise licence	Personal Google account, Google AI Pro and Ultra, Google Cloud
Connection to CloudCart	None	Official extension with skills and MCP	Not covered separately in the CloudCart instructions

What changed in 2026: Gemini CLI or Antigravity CLI?

Since 18 June 2026, unpaid personal access (Gemini Code Assist for individuals) and the Google AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions have moved from Gemini CLI to the new Antigravity CLI. Gemini CLI stays for Code Assist Standard or Enterprise licences and for paid Gemini API keys or Vertex AI. Google calls the API key and Vertex AI sign-in "legacy", so watch the repository's announcements.

Your account	Does Gemini CLI work after 18 June 2026?	What to do
Personal Google account, no subscription	No	Create a paid API key in Google AI Studio, or use another agent
Google AI Pro or Ultra (Google One)	No	Use Antigravity CLI, or add a paid API key
Paid Gemini API key (Google AI Studio)	Yes	Set the key in GEMINI_API_KEY and pay per use
Code Assist Standard/Enterprise licence	Yes, unchanged	Sign in with Google and set the project in GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
Vertex AI on Google Cloud	Yes	Set the key and GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=true

Gemini CLI is not tuned for the Gemini 4 series, so you work with Gemini 3 models and switch with /model.

Note: the official CloudCart instructions cover Gemini CLI, Claude Code, ChatGPT Codex, Cursor and VS Code, not Antigravity CLI separately. With only Google AI Pro and no API budget, connect your store to Claude Code or Codex instead (guides below).

How much does Gemini CLI cost? (Gemini CLI pricing)

Installing Gemini CLI and connecting it to CloudCart cost nothing. You pay for model usage: per token with an API key, or through a Code Assist licence.

An example from the Gemini API price list, in US dollars: Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens until 31 December 2026, and both prices double from 1 January 2027. So 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens cost $1.50. Paid-tier content is not used to improve Google's products.

The second cost is your CloudCart plan. Excluding VAT and billed annually: Baby Pack €14, Starter Pack €33, CC Pro €83 and CC Master €249 a month, all with 0% commission on your sales. Every feature by plan is on the CloudCart pricing page.

What do you need before you install Gemini CLI?

• A computer. Google recommends macOS 15+, Windows 11 24H2+ or Ubuntu 20.04+ and 4 to 16 GB of RAM (Gemini CLI system requirements). You also need to be in one of the locations Gemini Code Assist supports.
• Node.js 20 or newer, and git. The assistant installs them during setup where it can.
• A Gemini API key with billing on, or an organisation's Code Assist licence. You create the key in Google AI Studio.
• A CloudCart store and owner access. Only the store owner can create PAT tokens.

How to install Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI installs with one command; these come from Google's official repository.

1. Open the terminal: Terminal on macOS, PowerShell on Windows.
2. Install the program. With npm on any system: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli. On macOS and Linux you can also use Homebrew: brew install gemini-cli. To try it without installing: npx @google/gemini-cli.
3. Set your API key. On macOS and Linux: export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key". In Windows PowerShell: $env:GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key". To keep it, add the line to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc.
4. Start Gemini CLI from your store folder. Create a folder such as ~/my-store, go into it and type gemini.

How to update Gemini CLI to the latest version

You update with the install command plus @latest: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli@latest, or brew upgrade gemini-cli if you used Homebrew (with npx @google/gemini-cli@latest there is nothing to update). Check with gemini --version. Use the stable latest version for your store, since preview and nightly are for testing. Then update the CloudCart extension with /extensions update --all.

How to connect Gemini CLI to your CloudCart online store

Connecting a CloudCart store takes one sentence and one key from the admin; the assistant does the installing.

1. Paste the connection sentence into Gemini CLI and press Enter:
   Fetch and follow the instructions at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cloudcart/ai-toolkit/main/prompt.md to set up my AI agent for CloudCart
2. Answer two questions: your language, and whether the connection is for running the store (the default) or development.
3. Approve the commands. The assistant checks for Node.js 20+ and git and runs gemini extensions install https://github.com/cloudcart/ai-toolkit. This adds the CloudCart skills and MCP servers, then the CloudCart CLI. Read each command before you confirm.
4. Create an access key in the admin. Open Settings → PAT Tokens (or the bottom-left user menu → "PAT Tokens") and click Create Token. Name it "Gemini CLI" and choose the access level.
5. Copy the key straight away. It starts with cc_pat_ and is shown only once; a lost key is deleted and recreated.
6. Give it the key and your store address. The assistant signs in with cloudcart auth login and checks the connection with cloudcart auth status.
7. Start with a question: "Which were my 10 best-selling products last month?"

The sentence and manual command are also on the Gemini CLI integration with CloudCart page. Selling in several EU countries with a separate store per country, each with its own language and currency? Create a key in each store and tell Gemini CLI which store a task is for; see multilanguage, multicurrency and multistore selling.

Gemini MCP: what the CloudCart extension installs

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to outside systems. An MCP server is the program that tells the assistant which tools exist and how to call them. The CloudCart extension for Gemini CLI bundles them, so one command installs everything.

Part	What it does	Touches store data?
CloudCart CLI	Carries every real read and change, and keeps your sign-in with your PAT token	Yes, only this part
Dev MCP	Searches the Admin GraphQL API schema and checks every request before it runs	No
Platform reference	Over 2,500 pages on how CloudCart works, downloaded on first use	No
CloudCart skills	Preview, confirmation and backup before bulk changes	No
Storefront MCP	The Storefront API schema for a custom Nitrogen storefront, only with the development profile	No

The CloudCart Admin GraphQL API has more than 1,100 operations, with a limit of 300 requests a minute per store. Check that everything loaded with /extensions list, /mcp list and /skills list.

The Gemini CLI commands you will use in your store

You talk in plain English; slash commands save time and tokens:

Command	What it does
/plan	Read-only mode: the assistant makes a plan and changes nothing
/init	Creates a GEMINI.md file with standing instructions for the folder
/stats model	Shows tokens used and quota
/compress	Replaces a long conversation with a short summary
/clear	Starts a new conversation with an empty memory
@file	Gives the assistant a file's contents

GEMINI.md is the most useful file. Gemini CLI reads it at the start of every conversation. Example: "Write in British English. Save new products as drafts only. Prices include VAT. Do not touch the Sale category without my confirmation. Descriptions are 3 sentences, using only facts from the product."

Note: /rewind (Esc twice) rolls back the conversation and local files, not changes already saved to your store. The way back there is the CSV backup the CloudCart skills create before a big change.

8 Gemini CLI tasks that bring in sales

Start with the jobs that take hours in the admin. Gemini CLI shows what it will do and waits for your confirmation.

Goal	What you write to Gemini CLI
1. Weekly report	"Show sales, orders and average order value for the last 7 days against the 7 before."
2. Abandoned carts	"Which products are left most often in abandoned carts? Write the email text for them."
3. Email campaign	"Build a segment of customers with at least 2 orders who have not ordered in 90 days, and a draft campaign for them."
4. Google Ads	"@google-ads.csv Compare spend per campaign with sales from Google Ads in my store."
5. Search Console	"@search-console.csv Which product pages have many impressions and few clicks? Suggest new SEO titles."
6. Slow sellers	"Which in-stock products have not sold in 60 days? Suggest 15% off until Sunday."
7. Shopping feed	"Check which products have no brand, product code or photo."
8. Stock	"Which weekly sellers are below 5 units? Make me a supplier order table."

Gemini CLI reads your CloudCart data by itself. Ad and Search Console data is not in the store, so you give it as a CSV export with @; the store recognises ad clicks by gclid and ttclid, and UTM tracking is in CC Pro and CC Master. A Read Only key is safest for reports. More: the 10 KPIs an AI agent calculates for you, an email campaign in CloudCart step by step, Google Ads for an online store and Google Search Console for an online store. Another 30 ready prompts are in the article on prompts for your AI agent.

Which metrics to ask Gemini CLI about every week

The growth metrics are in the CloudCart analytics dashboard, and Gemini CLI reads them through your key and compares periods in one answer.

• Sessions and conversion rate, split by phone and desktop: "What is the conversion rate on phone and on desktop for 30 days?"
• Average order value and abandoned carts: "How did average order value change after the promotion, and which products are left in carts?"
• Returning customers: "How many customers placed a second order in the last 90 days?"
• Sales by source and landing page: "Which source and which 5 landing pages brought the most sales this month?" Ad clicks are recognised by gclid, fbclid and ttclid.

"Phone conversion dropped while abandoned carts grew" is a conclusion from two screens that Gemini CLI draws by itself. Normal values are in the guide to online store conversion rate.

What you gain by running your store through Gemini CLI

An AI agent saves time wherever the admin needs many clicks or manual sums:

• One sentence instead of many screens. In the dabov.coffee store, one sentence finds 3 House Blend coffees, shows the prices at −20% and saves them (see the AI integration with CloudCart page).
• Bulk changes with checks. SEO titles for 500 products take minutes at 300 requests a minute; see bulk changes to prices, stock and SEO text.
• You stay in control. The key sets what the agent can do, and at 10 or more products it waits for your "yes".

The hours it saves are worked out in AI agent for an online store: the hours and money it saves.

Is it safe to give Gemini CLI a PAT token?

Yes, if the key has only the permissions the task needs: Gemini CLI works with the key you created and within its limits.

Access level	What it allows	When to choose it
Read Only (recommended)	Sees everything, changes nothing	Reports and your first days
Full Access	Reads and changes everything	Building and running the store
Custom Permissions	Selected areas: products, orders, customers, inventory, discounts, blog, settings, webhooks	Work in part of the store

• Expiry, IPs and stopping: an end date, up to 20 allowed addresses or networks, and a toggle or delete that stops access at once.
• A key per task: up to 100 per store, each with its last successful use.
• Bulk changes. At 10 or more products the skills show the count and the first 5 and wait; they always ask before deleting, and at 100 or more rows they save a CSV backup and do a dry run first.

The data Gemini CLI reads from your store is processed by Google under the terms of your API key or licence. Under the GDPR, applicable since 25 May 2018, your store is responsible for its customers' personal data, and Article 28 requires a contract with any processor handling it for you. To keep that data out of the assistant, give it a key with Custom Permissions without Customers and Orders. See also GDPR, cookies and the legal pages of an online store.

Gemini CLI, Claude Code or Codex: which AI agent should you choose?

The CloudCart connection sentence is the same for every agent. Gemini CLI and Claude Code both get the CloudCart skills (Gemini through gemini extensions install, Claude Code through cloudcart-plugin), while Codex gets Dev MCP and standing instructions in a file. Choose Gemini CLI if you already pay Google for the API or Code Assist, Claude Code for the fullest CloudCart connection, and Codex if you already pay for ChatGPT.

Guides for the other agents: Claude Code for an online store and an online store with ChatGPT and Codex.

What can't Gemini CLI do for you?

• Contracts. The assistant sets up couriers and payments in the admin, but you sign with the courier companies and payment providers.
• Product facts. The model can invent a size or an ingredient. Check descriptions, especially for food, cosmetics and children's products.
• Sending campaigns. An email campaign stays a draft until you send it yourself from Marketing Suite.
• Decisions: what you sell, at what price and to whom.

Checklist for your first week with Gemini CLI

• A paid Gemini API key or an organisation's Code Assist licence, checked with /about.
• A separate folder for the store and a GEMINI.md file with your rules.
• A Read Only key for reports, and a separate Full Access key for changes.
• An expiry date on each key, and an IP address if you work from one place.
• New products as drafts, reviewed, then made active.
• SEO titles on your 20 best sellers.
• A look at /stats model at the end of the week, so you know what you spent.

Create a store for €1 and connect Gemini CLI to it. Questions: support@cloudcart.com.

Frequently asked questions