Gemini CLI

Base path: ~/.gemini (env override: GEMINI_CLI_HOME).

observed_version: gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable; types from v0.44.0-nightly HEAD 77e65c0d.

Stores

default store
default store
Role:

primary_chat

Format:

jsonl

Coverage:

default_search

Adapter:

gemini.tmp_chats_jsonl.v1

Role:

supplementary_chat

Format:

json_object

Coverage:

catalog_only

Adapter:

-

default store
default store
Role:

prompt_history

Format:

json_array

Coverage:

default_search

Adapter:

gemini.tmp_logs_json.v1

Role:

supplementary_chat

Format:

json_object

Coverage:

default_search

Adapter:

gemini.tmp_chats_legacy_json.v1

catalog store
catalog store
Role:

app_state

Format:

md_frontmatter

Coverage:

catalog_only

Adapter:

-

catalog store
catalog store
Role:

app_state

Format:

json_object

Coverage:

catalog_only

Adapter:

-

gemini.tmp.chats

gemini.tmp.chats
default store
default store
gemini.tmp.chats

JSONL with mixed record types. Line 1 is a SessionMetadataRecord (sessionId, projectHash, startTime, lastUpdated, kind). Subsequent lines are MessageRecord turns (id, timestamp, type, content, optional toolCalls/thoughts/tokens/model) interleaved with MetadataUpdateRecord updates ({$set: ...}). Upstream types also declare RewindRecord and PartialMetadataRecord plus type values info/error/warning — these are valid in the schema but do not appear in observed real-world session files; only user and gemini type values were seen in v1 adapter sampling. Adapter store field uses the underscore-flattened form gemini.tmp_chats.

Agent:

Gemini

Role:

primary_chat

Format:

jsonl

Coverage:

default_search

Path:

${GEMINI_CLI_HOME or ${HOME}/.gemini}/tmp/<project_hash>/chats/session-<timestamp><id>.jsonl

Adapter:

gemini.tmp_chats_jsonl.v1

Data version:

-

Version strategies:

-

Observed:

gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable; types from v0.44.0-nightly @77e65c0d (2026-05-17)

Default search:

yes

Parsed by agentgrep via parse_gemini_chat_file (gemini.tmp_chats_jsonl.v1). When a gemini-typed record’s content is empty, the assistant’s prose is drawn from thoughts[*].subject/description and the tool-call context from toolCalls[*].name/description — concatenated into one SearchRecord per turn.

gemini.tmp.checkpoints

gemini.tmp.checkpoints
catalog store
catalog store
gemini.tmp.checkpoints

Single-file conversation snapshot written by the /chat save command. JSON object { history: Content[]; authType?: AuthType } where each Content is {role: 'user'|'model', parts: [...]}.

Agent:

Gemini

Role:

supplementary_chat

Format:

json_object

Coverage:

catalog_only

Path:

${GEMINI_CLI_HOME or ${HOME}/.gemini}/tmp/<project_hash>/chats/checkpoint-<tag>.json

Adapter:

-

Data version:

-

Version strategies:

-

Observed:

gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable; types from v0.44.0-nightly @77e65c0d (2026-05-17)

Default search:

no

User-named snapshots vs. continuous transcript.

gemini.tmp.logs

gemini.tmp.logs
default store
default store
gemini.tmp.logs

JSON array of LogEntry { sessionId, messageId, timestamp, type, message } — user-prompt audit log. Adapter store field uses the underscore-flattened form gemini.tmp_logs.

Agent:

Gemini

Role:

prompt_history

Format:

json_array

Coverage:

default_search

Path:

${GEMINI_CLI_HOME or ${HOME}/.gemini}/tmp/<project_hash>/logs.json

Adapter:

gemini.tmp_logs_json.v1

Data version:

-

Version strategies:

-

Observed:

gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable; types from v0.44.0-nightly @77e65c0d (2026-05-17)

Default search:

yes

Parsed by agentgrep via parse_gemini_logs_file (gemini.tmp_logs_json.v1).

gemini.tmp.chats_legacy

gemini.tmp.chats_legacy
default store
default store
gemini.tmp.chats_legacy

Pre-Feb 2026 single-file session format. JSON object with top-level sessionId, projectHash, startTime, lastUpdated, and a messages array carrying the same per-turn fields as the current JSONL format. Upstream still reads this shape via the isLegacyRecord discriminator. Adapter store field uses the underscore-flattened form gemini.tmp_chats_legacy.

Agent:

Gemini

Role:

supplementary_chat

Format:

json_object

Coverage:

default_search

Path:

${GEMINI_CLI_HOME or ${HOME}/.gemini}/tmp/<project_hash>/chats/session-<timestamp><id>.json

Adapter:

gemini.tmp_chats_legacy_json.v1

Data version:

-

Version strategies:

-

Observed:

gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable; types from v0.44.0-nightly @77e65c0d (2026-05-17)

Default search:

yes

Parsed by agentgrep via parse_gemini_chat_legacy_file (gemini.tmp_chats_legacy_json.v1). Covers sessions whose files predate the JSONL migration; upstream still handles them.

gemini.skills

gemini.skills
catalog store
catalog store
gemini.skills

Skill definitions; not chat.

Agent:

Gemini

Role:

app_state

Format:

md_frontmatter

Coverage:

catalog_only

Path:

${GEMINI_CLI_HOME or ${HOME}/.gemini}/skills/

Adapter:

-

Data version:

-

Version strategies:

-

Observed:

gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable (2026-05-17)

Default search:

no

gemini.settings

gemini.settings
catalog store
catalog store
gemini.settings

Configuration; not chat.

Agent:

Gemini

Role:

app_state

Format:

json_object

Coverage:

catalog_only

Path:

${GEMINI_CLI_HOME or ${HOME}/.gemini}/settings.json

Adapter:

-

Data version:

-

Version strategies:

-

Observed:

gemini-cli v0.42.0 stable (2026-05-17)

Default search:

no

Record schemas

gemini.tmp.chats

JSONL with mixed record types. Line 1 is a SessionMetadataRecord (sessionId, projectHash, startTime, lastUpdated, kind). Subsequent lines are MessageRecord turns (id, timestamp, type, content) interleaved with MetadataUpdateRecord updates ({$set: {...}}).

For gemini-typed records whose content is empty, the assistant’s prose is drawn from thoughts[*].subject/description and the tool-call context from toolCalls[*].name/description.

gemini.tmp.chats_legacy

Pre-Feb 2026 single-file .json format. JSON object with session metadata at the top level and the full conversation under a messages array.

gemini.tmp.logs

Flat JSON array of LogEntry { sessionId, messageId, timestamp, type, message } — user-prompt audit log.

Path hashing

Gemini hashes project roots with SHA-256 to derive directory names. agentgrep exposes gemini_project_hash() to reproduce this derivation.