Claude Code Max runs $200/month. For solo developers and indie hackers who want the same agentic coding workflow without the subscription, Gemini CLI is a direct alternative worth evaluating right now.
Step 1: Install Gemini CLI
Run the following in your terminal:
bash
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
This installs the agent globally. You need Node.js 18 or higher. Confirm it worked:
bash
gemini --version
Step 2: Authenticate with Your Google Account
Run:
bash
gemini auth login
This opens a browser prompt. Sign in with any personal Google account. No API key, no billing setup, no credit card. The free tier (1,000 requests/day, 1M token context window) activates automatically.
Read the rest. Free.
One short email a week. Drop yours and the full guide unlocks below — instantly.
- The n8n workflow you can import
- The SQL schema you can paste
- Step-by-step setup
One short email a week. Unsubscribe anytime.
Already subscribed? Drop your email above (skip the name) — we'll let you back in instantly.
Want bespoke AI automation built for your business?
Book a free 30-min discovery call — we'll map the workflows worth automating, the tools that fit, and tell you straight up where the wins are.
Book a discovery call