GEMINI.md
A context configuration file used by Gemini CLI, supporting three levels: global, project, and subfolder. It is used to persistently inject project information, coding standards, and personal preferences into the AI. Content from multiple levels is automatically merged and applied.
Core Facts
Timeline (last 90 days)
Claude Code uses CLAUDE.md and Cursor uses rules files, both of which belong to the same category of agent instruction files as GEMINI.md.
Gemini CLI reads GEMINI.md by default, but AGENTS.md can be added to the list via the context file name setting.
Claude Code uses its own name CLAUDE.md for the same concept as AGENTS.md, while Gemini CLI uses GEMINI.md.
Copilot CLI loads `AGENTS.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, `~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, and `GEMINI.md` all merged together at startup.
The author argues that the files responsible for instructions (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md, .cursorrules) keep changing, but the underlying facts do not change, so facts should be defined once and all instruction files should point back to the same source.
AGENTS.md is promoted by teams such as OpenAI and positioned as a cross-tool universal agent instruction file; GEMINI.md is the project context file read by Gemini CLI; their format requirements are basically the same as those of CLAUDE.md: written in Markdown, placed in the repository root, and loaded automatically at startup.
If a repository uses multiple AI coding tools at the same time, you can maintain one main instruction file and then point to it with symbolic links or brief forwarding files, avoiding inconsistencies in rules across multiple files.
GitHub Copilot CLI reads and merges AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md and GEMINI.md in the repository, and the documentation does not define the precedence among them.
The contents of the three-tier GEMINI.md are injected into the context in the order global → project → subfolder, with content accumulating additively rather than overwriting each other.
GEMINI.md should document project-specific information (such as non-obvious build commands, naming conventions, and common pitfalls) rather than general knowledge the model already possesses.
3 more timeline events
All Facts (17)
Gemini CLI uses TOML as the configuration format for custom commands, with command files stored in the project's .gemini/commands/ directory.
70%VerifiedGemini CLI defines project-level rules and preferences through a GEMINI.md configuration file
65%Unverified当多个层级的GEMINI.md同时存在时，它们的内容会被合并注入上下文
90%UnverifiedGEMINI.md是一个Markdown格式的指令文件，其内容会在每次Gemini CLI会话中自动作为上下文注入给模型
90%UnverifiedClaude Code uses CLAUDE.md and Cursor uses rules files, both of which belong to the same category of agent instruction files as GEMINI.md.
50%UnverifiedGemini CLI reads GEMINI.md by default, but AGENTS.md can be added to the list via the context file name setting.
50%UnverifiedClaude Code uses its own name CLAUDE.md for the same concept as AGENTS.md, while Gemini CLI uses GEMINI.md.
50%UnverifiedCopilot CLI loads `AGENTS.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, `~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, and `GEMINI.md` all merged together at startup.
50%UnverifiedThe author argues that the files responsible for instructions (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md, .cursorrules) keep changing, but the underlying facts do not change, so facts should be defined once and all instruction files should point back to the same source.
50%UnverifiedIf a repository uses multiple AI coding tools at the same time, you can maintain one main instruction file and then point to it with symbolic links or brief forwarding files, avoiding inconsistencies in rules across multiple files.
50%UnverifiedAGENTS.md is promoted by teams such as OpenAI and positioned as a cross-tool universal agent instruction file; GEMINI.md is the project context file read by Gemini CLI; their format requirements are basically the same as those of CLAUDE.md: written in Markdown, placed in the repository root, and loaded automatically at startup.
50%UnverifiedGitHub Copilot CLI reads and merges AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md and GEMINI.md in the repository, and the documentation does not define the precedence among them.
50%UnverifiedGemini CLI automatically loads three levels of GEMINI.md files—global, project, and folder level—without requiring any additional configuration.
50%UnverifiedThe global GEMINI.md file is typically located at ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md in the user's home directory, the project file is located at the root of the Git repository, and the subfolder file is located under any subdirectory.
50%UnverifiedThe /init command reads the project structure and generates a draft GEMINI.md within seconds.
50%UnverifiedGEMINI.md should document project-specific information (such as non-obvious build commands, naming conventions, and common pitfalls) rather than general knowledge the model already possesses.
50%UnverifiedThe contents of the three-tier GEMINI.md are injected into the context in the order global → project → subfolder, with content accumulating additively rather than overwriting each other.
50%