---
title: Gemini CLI
description: How ClawMetry observes Gemini CLI — where its data lives, the environment variables that move it, what cost data is real, and the traps in its store.
eyebrow: Runtime reference
---

# Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI records chat unconditionally — there is no setting to opt into — so any real user has sessions on disk. It shares the `~/.gemini` tree with Antigravity, and ClawMetry keeps the two apart by data root.

| | |
|---|---|
| **Runtime id** | `gemini_cli` |
| **Category** | Terminal coding agent |
| **Vendor** | Google |
| **Tier** | Paid tier (Starter and up) |
| **Upstream** | [github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) |

## Where the data comes from

ClawMetry reads these locations, in order, and never writes to any of them.

- `~/.gemini/tmp/<project-dir>/chats/session-<ts>-<id8>.jsonl` — main
- `~/.gemini/tmp/<project-dir>/chats/<parentSessionId>/<id>.jsonl` — subagent
- `~/.gemini/tmp/<project-dir>/.project_root` — the real cwd for that dir
- `~/.gemini/projects.json` — project root to directory map

**Format.** Append log with upsert semantics: a metadata first line, `$set` patches, then messages.

## Environment variables

| Variable | Effect |
|---|---|
| `GEMINI_CLI_HOME` | points at the dir that *contains* `.gemini` |
| `CLAWMETRY_GEMINI_CLI_HOME` | ClawMetry-side override |

See [Environment variables](/docs/config/environment/) for the variables that apply to every runtime.

## Tokens and cost

**Tokens.** Real: input, output, cached, thoughts, tool and total per message.

**Cost.** Derived from the token split and model.

:::note Why this section exists
Runtimes differ enormously in what they persist. Rather than showing a plausible number everywhere, ClawMetry reports what the store actually contains and marks the rest unknown. A cost of `$0.00` and a cost of *unknown* mean different things, and the dashboard keeps them different.
:::

## Sub-agents and delegation

Sub-agent sessions are JSONL files nested under the parent session id.

## Things worth knowing

- `GEMINI_CLI_HOME` points at the *parent* of `.gemini`, while Qwen's `QWEN_HOME` points at the data dir itself. Getting that backwards silently reads nothing.
- The upsert trap: a turn is written once when its text lands and again once its tool calls resolve, with the same token block both times. Summing line by line double-counts every tool-using turn, so ClawMetry de-duplicates by message id, last write wins.
- `<project-dir>` is the project root's basename, not the sha256. The hash exists but lives *inside* the file as `projectHash`.

## Verify it is being read

```bash
# Is this runtime detected, and would this install unlock it?
clawmetry runtimes --json | jq '.runtimes[] | select(.id=="gemini_cli")'

# Why is it locked, if it is?
clawmetry runtimes --why gemini_cli

# Any sessions ingested yet?
curl -s 'http://localhost:8900/api/local/sessions?limit=5' \
  | jq '.rows[] | {session_id, agent_id, events, cost_usd}'
```

If detection succeeds but no sessions appear, work through [Troubleshooting](/docs/ops/troubleshooting/) — the usual causes are a relocated data directory (set the override above), a session limit that is hiding older runs, or a runtime that simply has not written anything yet.