Project Structure

Understanding the codebase organization and architecture of Gemini CLI

ArchitectureStructure

Project Overview

Gemini CLI is organized as a monorepo with multiple interconnected packages

Gemini CLI is a Lerna-based monorepo project that modularizes functionality into independent packages for easier development, testing, and maintenance.

Package Structure

Core packages that make up the Gemini CLI ecosystem

CLI Package

packages/cli

Main command-line interface and user-facing commands

Key Responsibilities:

  • Command parsing and routing
  • User interface and interaction
  • Configuration management
  • Error handling and reporting
  • Help and documentation display

Core Package

packages/core

Core functionality and business logic

Key Responsibilities:

  • API client implementations
  • Model interactions
  • Tool management system
  • MCP protocol handling
  • State management

Tools Package

packages/tools

Built-in tools and utilities

Key Responsibilities:

  • File system operations
  • Shell command execution
  • Web requests and searches
  • Memory management
  • Tool registration

Extensions Package

packages/extensions

Extension system and plugin management

Key Responsibilities:

  • Extension loading and management
  • Plugin registry
  • Extension API
  • Lifecycle management
  • Dependency resolution

Development Workflow

How to work with the codebase effectively

Global Commands

npm run bootstrap

Install and link all packages

npm run build

Build all packages

npm run test

Run all tests

npm run lint

Lint all packages

Package-specific Commands

lerna run build --scope @gemini/cli

Build specific package

lerna run test --scope @gemini/core

Test specific package

lerna add lodash packages/core

Add dependency to package

Architecture Principles

Key principles guiding the project structure

Modular Design

Each package has a single responsibility

  • Clear separation of concerns
  • Minimal inter-package dependencies
  • Well-defined interfaces
  • Independent testing

Extensible Architecture

Built for extensibility and customization

  • Plugin-based architecture
  • Tool registration system
  • Event-driven communication
  • Configuration-driven behavior

Next Steps

Continue your development journey with these resources

Build and Test

Building, testing, and debugging the project

Development Setup

Setting up local development environment and dependencies

Core API

Explore the core API documentation

Back to Documentation