Dev Tools
Hands-on articles for building with Gemini developer tools — Gemini CLI, Code Assist, Google AI Studio, editor integrations, and test automation.
Running Gemini Chat History on Redis — Field Notes on Not Losing Conversation State in Production
Keep a Gemini ChatSession in process memory and it evaporates on every redeploy or scale event. Here is how I back it with Redis in production, covering token budgets, concurrent sends, SDK coupling, and graceful degradation, with the code I actually run.
Catching Deprecated Gemini Models in CI ― A Guard for Back-to-Back Shutdown Deadlines
When shutdowns and deprecations pile up, build a CI check that mechanically finds stale Gemini model strings across your repo. Includes a deprecation registry, a scanner, and a days-remaining warn/fail tier you can copy and run.
When Your Firestore × Gemini Embeddings RAG Quietly Degrades — Designing for Re-Embedding
A RAG built on Firestore native vector search and Gemini Embeddings drifts when the embedding model changes generations, and retrieval quality drops with no errors. Here is how to detect the drift, re-embed without downtime, and keep retrieval cost in check.
Building Web Apps with Gemini — Prompt Design and Pitfalls in Google AI Studio
How to structure your prompts when asking Gemini to build web apps in Google AI Studio — and the pitfalls I actually ran into as an indie developer.
Getting Ready for the Gemini CLI and Code Assist Personal Shutdown: A June 18 Migration Inventory
On June 18, personal access to Gemini CLI and Code Assist stops. Here is how I found every place I depended on it and moved each one to either Antigravity CLI or direct API calls, using my own setup as the example.
Getting Ready for Gemini in Chrome's Auto Browse — Structuring a Web App Agents Can Actually Operate
Before Gemini's auto browse reaches Android Chrome, here is how I reshaped my own web app so an agent can reliably operate it — pinning down action targets, the accessibility tree, JSON-LD, and guarding destructive actions, all with implementation code.
Three Weeks After Moving Firebase from CocoaPods to SPM with Gemini 3 Pro
Notes from migrating Firebase dependency management from CocoaPods to Swift Package Manager across my indie iOS apps. Where Gemini 3 Pro helped, where it did not, and how the setup felt after three weeks in production.
A Lightweight Gemini Backend with Bun and Hono — Reclaiming the Small Tools of Indie Development
Has your Node and Express Gemini backend grown heavy with dependencies and build times? Here is how I moved one to Bun and Hono — folding streaming, rate limiting, cost caps, testing, and self-hosting into a single light runtime — along with the pitfalls I hit in production.
Treating a 0.5B Local LLM as a 'Front-Line Router' — Gemini Nano Next to Qwen 0.5B
Qwen2.5 0.5B reads as 'too weak for daily chat' when you give it the wrong task. As a mobile-app developer with 50M cumulative downloads behind me, I find it useful to put Gemini Nano next to Qwen 0.5B and think about the routing layer instead.
Replaying Gemini API Calls Locally with msw and HTTP Fixtures — How I Cut API Quota Across Six Sites with a Record/Replay Pattern
When you hit the real Gemini API every time you tweak a piece of UI, you end up paying for hundreds of duplicate calls a day. After moving six of my sites to an msw-based record/replay pattern, monthly Gemini billing went unexpectedly quiet. Here's the implementation and operating policy.
Running Streamlit + Gemini as a Production BI Dashboard — Auth, Cost, Caching, Rate Limits, Observability
A design memo for promoting a Streamlit + Gemini data analysis app into a real multi-user internal BI dashboard — authentication, cost optimization, result caching, per-user rate limits, and observability, all from production experience.
LM Studio 'Failed to Load Model' for Gemma 4 MLX — A 4-Bucket Diagnostic for Apple Silicon
When LM Studio refuses to load mlx-community/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it-4bit with a red 'Failed to load model' dialog, the cause is almost always one of four buckets. Here's how to triage them on an Apple Silicon Mac in under thirty minutes.
Google AI Studio Build Mode Not Working — Blank Preview, Deploy Failures, and Other Common Issues
Troubleshoot Google AI Studio Build Mode issues: blank preview panels, prompts that don't apply, Firebase deployment failures, and code getting overwritten. Each problem with a concrete fix.
A Week Using Gemini CLI for iOS App Development: An Indie Dev's Honest Report
An indie developer with 50M+ app downloads shares a week-long experiment integrating Gemini CLI into iOS development. Covers translation, release notes, code review, and an honest comparison with Claude Code.
Integrating Gemini API into iOS Widgets: Working Around WidgetKit's Execution Limits
Calling Gemini API directly from a WidgetKit TimelineProvider silently fails after release. Learn the App Groups caching pattern plus BGTaskScheduler refresh that keeps widgets fresh while cutting API calls to roughly one tenth, with field-tested numbers and a pre-release checklist.
Running Gemma 4 Locally in Android Studio via Ollama — Setup, Performance, and Real-World Development Experience
A hands-on guide to connecting Android Studio's local LLM feature with Gemma 4 via Ollama. Covers MacOS setup, model selection, practical coding experience, and when local AI makes more sense than cloud APIs.
Auto-Generate Narration Videos with Gemini TTS — From Text Input to MP4 Output (2026 Guide)
Build a Python pipeline that converts text into narration videos using Gemini TTS API — generating audio, subtitles, and compositing the final MP4 with FFmpeg. Includes real API cost and timing benchmarks.
Integrating Gemini Live API into an Expo App — Real-Time Voice Conversation Guide
Learn how to integrate Gemini Live API into an Expo (React Native) mobile app for real-time voice conversation. Includes practical code examples for WebSocket connections, audio recording, and playback.
Gemini CLI with MCP Servers: A from File I/O to Database Queries
Learn how to connect MCP servers to Gemini CLI for hands-on file operations and database integration. Covers GEMINI.md configuration, filesystem, SQLite, and GitHub MCP with working examples.
Gemma 4 26B A4B + OpenCode: Build a Free, Local Coding Agent on Your Mac or Linux Box
Apache 2.0–licensed Gemma 4 26B A4B paired with OpenCode finally puts a local coding agent within reach. Here is the practical setup walkthrough — choosing between Ollama, LM Studio, and vLLM, plus the agent configs I actually use.
Building a Real-Time Voice SaaS With Gemini Live API — Full Implementation With Stripe Billing
A complete production-grade implementation guide for a real-time voice SaaS using Gemini Live API. Covers WebSocket setup, Cloudflare Workers Durable Objects, and per-second Stripe Meter Events billing — with full code.
Build a CSV Insight App with Gemini API and Streamlit — A Production-Ready Dashboard with Auto-Insights and Visualization
A production-grade implementation guide for a Streamlit + Gemini API data analysis app. Upload a CSV, get auto-insights and visualizations in seconds. Covers schema inference, structured output, and real-world rate-limit handling.
Google ADK Quickstart — Build Your First AI Agent in 30 Minutes
A hands-on Google Agent Development Kit (ADK) walkthrough for absolute beginners — from install to a working agent in 30 minutes, with the gotchas called out as you hit them.
Sharpening Gemini CLI and Code Assist Context with .geminiignore — A
Use .geminiignore to clean up the context window for Gemini CLI and Code Assist, improving answer quality and cutting token usage at the same time.
Ship a Production Gemini Agent in 30 Minutes with Mastra and TypeScript
Mastra keeps the lightness of Vercel AI SDK while adding the agent primitives you actually need in production. This guide walks through building, debugging, and deploying a Gemini-powered Mastra agent end-to-end, including the Cloudflare Workers gotchas that bit me first.
Testing Gemini API with Vitest — Mock Patterns and Function Calling Verification for TypeScript Projects
Vitest patterns for TypeScript code that calls Gemini — SDK mocks, Function Calling and streaming tests, dropping to MSW, and a one-call nightly smoke test.
GEMINI.md Examples by Project Type — Templates for Next.js, Python, CLI Tools, and Mobile Apps
Your GEMINI.md file directly shapes how smart Gemini CLI feels in your project. Here are battle-tested templates for Next.js, Python, CLI tools, and mobile apps — plus the patterns that make them effective.
Google's Stitch DESIGN.md Format Goes Open Source — A New Way to Share Design Systems with AI
Google Labs just open-sourced Stitch's DESIGN.md format—a machine-readable specification for design systems. Learn how to use it and why it matters for AI-powered design tools.
Building Stateful AI Agents with Gemini API and Cloudflare Durable Objects — A
A complete production guide to building a stateful AI agent that remembers conversation history, using Cloudflare Durable Objects, WebSocket Hibernation, and the Gemini API streaming endpoint.
Build an Auto-Documentation Pipeline with Gemini API and GitHub Actions
Tired of outdated docstrings and READMEs? This guide shows you how to build a CI pipeline that uses Gemini API and GitHub Actions to automatically suggest documentation updates on every Pull Request.
Async AI Job Queues with Gemini API and Cloud Tasks — Production Patterns for Timeouts, Retries, and Rate Limits
Migrate synchronous Cloud Run + Gemini calls to a Cloud Tasks async job queue. Covers retries, DLQ, idempotent workers, and cost modeling with working code.
Gemini Personal Intelligence Integration Guide — Building Personalized AI Systems with Gmail and Photos
Complete guide to integrating Gemini Personal Intelligence with Google Workspace APIs. Covers Gmail, Photos, and Drive integration with a privacy-first architecture and a personal AI agent implementation.
Building Cross-Platform AI Desktop Apps with Gemini API and Tauri 2.0
A practical guide to building macOS, Windows, and Linux desktop AI apps using Tauri 2.0 and Gemini API. Learn secure API key management with a Rust backend, real-time streaming via Tauri's event system, and native OS integration with working production code.
Gemini API × Kotlin Multiplatform: to Shared AI Logic for iOS and Android
A complete guide to integrating Gemini API with Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) for shared AI logic across iOS and Android. Covers Gradle setup, Ktor HTTP client, SwiftUI/Compose UI, secure API key management, multimodal image analysis, and production deployment.
Google Cloud Workflows × Gemini API Production Orchestration Guide: Timeouts, Retries, and Cost Control
A complete guide to orchestrating Gemini API calls in production using Google Cloud Workflows. Covers YAML step definitions, automatic retries, timeout configuration, and cost budget alerts with working code examples.
What Gemini Code Assist's Free Plan Actually Gets You: A Clear-Eyed Breakdown
Gemini Code Assist is free for individual developers — but what does that really mean? Here's an honest breakdown of the free plan's quotas, supported features, and how it compares to GitHub Copilot Free.
Integrating Gemini Code Assist into VS Code
Most VS Code developers use Gemini Code Assist with default settings. Learn prompt engineering, context caching, and proper configuration to triple your coding speed.
Prompt Engineering for Gemini 2.5 Pro: 5 Techniques to Maximize Coding Output Quality
Five prompt design techniques that dramatically improve Gemini 2.5 Pro's code generation quality, with before-and-after comparisons and empirical results.
Building Agentic Systems with Gemma 4: Mastering Function Calling
A practical guide to implementing Function Calling with Gemma 4 for building reliable agentic systems. Learn how Gemma 4 differs from other open models, structured JSON output, and system prompt optimization with code examples.
Gemini Code Assist Outline Stays Empty: Seven Things to Check
Fix Gemini Code Assist Outline not showing suggestions, failing silently, or throwing authentication errors. Full coverage for VS Code and JetBrains—from plugin setup to enterprise IAM configuration.