Fix Gemini CLI install and login errors

2026-10-19·Gemini CLI 0.64.0 · Node.js 24.22 · Ubuntu 24.04·8 steps

Install Gemini CLI, check the version, and work through common login blockers: auth errors, the org-subscription check, CI_ variables, and debug mode.

Install Gemini CLI, then go through the places where login usually fails.

[1] Check the Node.js version. The package requires Node 20 or later.

console

$ node -vv24.22.0

[2] Install. To run it once without installing, use npx @google/gemini-cli.

console

$ npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

command not found: gemini means the npm global bin directory is not in PATH. Add it, then reinstall with npm install -g @google/gemini-cli@latest.

[3] Check the version.

console

$ gemini --version0.64.0

[4] With no auth configured, a non-interactive (-p) run prints the message below and exits with code 41. This is expected before you sign in.

console

$ gemini -p "hi" </dev/nullPlease set an Auth method in your ~/.gemini/settings.json or specify one of the following environment variables before running: GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI, GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_GCA$ echo $?41

[5] Run gemini and choose "Sign in with Google"; it opens a browser. The browser must be on a machine that can talk to the terminal running the CLI (doc).

[6] Match the error text to a cause. These are from the official troubleshooting doc (doc).

You must be a named user on your organization's Gemini Code Assist Standard edition subscription to use this service. — If GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT or GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT_ID is set, the CLI runs an organization subscription check. On a personal account, remove both from your shell config files and any .env files. If that fails, try a different Google account.

Failed to sign in. Message: Request contains an invalid argument — Google Workspace accounts, or Google Cloud accounts tied to Gmail, may be unable to activate the free tier. For a Google Cloud account, set GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT to the project ID, or use a Gemini API key from Google AI Studio.

Failed to sign in. Message: Your current account is not eligible... because it is not currently available in your location.

— Your location is not supported.

UNABLE_TO_GET_ISSUER_CERT_LOCALLY / unable to get local issuer certificate — A corporate firewall is inspecting TLS. Set NODE_USE_SYSTEM_CA=1 first; if that fails, set NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS to the absolute path of your corporate root CA file.

[7] If the interactive screen does not appear, look for a variable named CI or CONTINUOUS_INTEGRATION, or one starting with CI_. Any of these makes the CLI treat the environment as non-interactive. Drop it for that one command if you do not need it.

console

$ env | grep '^CI'$ env -u CI_TOKEN gemini

[8] If the cause is still unclear, run with --debug. In interactive mode, press F12 to open the debug console.

console

$ gemini --debug -p "hi" </dev/null

DEBUG and DEBUG_MODE are not loaded from a project .env file. To use DEBUG_MODE=true, put it in ~/.gemini/.env, or adjust advanced.excludedEnvVars.

Tested scope: on 0.64.0 only the install, the version check, and the -p run without auth (exit code 41) were run. Sign-in (account required) and the step 6 messages follow the official docs; for step 7 I could not reproduce the CI_ behavior with CI_TOKEN=x alone (the same start screen appeared).

#gemini-cli#troubleshooting

Fix Gemini CLI install and login errors

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