Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Why Context Matters
  • Context Stack at a Glance
• Gemini CLI Context Layers
  • Layer 1: Environment & Workspace State
  • Layer 2: Project Memory
  • Layer 3: Tooling & System Persona
  • Request/Response Timeline
  • Layer 4: Active IDE Context
  • Layer 5: Conversation Management
  • Layer 6: Subagents in the Same Ecosystem
• Context Refresh & Unload
• Design Takeaways

Introduction

Written against repository Gemini CLI at revision dc0e0b416592860bdc0846aed0386e1a9637a51e.

Why Context Matters

This guide is aimed at engineers and architects who build or operate LLM-powered developer tools. Gemini CLI is more than a chat wrapper. It assembles environment facts, project knowledge, user memory, IDE state, and agent-specific instructions into a cohesive context bundle—the structured payload that accompanies every user prompt. The following sections dissect that engine, layer by layer, and show how the pieces interact in code.