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Poor performance and slow startup of Gemini CLI

7/10 High

Gemini CLI has significant performance issues in standard CLI mode, with long startup times after install/update and 2-second delays between responses. While ACP protocol mode (Zed/Neovim integration) is snappy, the native CLI experience is so poor that developers consider switching to alternatives.

Gemini CLIZedNeovim
Category
dx
Workaround
partial
Stage
build
Freshness
persistent
Scope
single_lib
Upstream
open
Recurring
Yes
Buyer Type
individual
Maintainer
active

Sources

Collection History

Query: “What are the most common pain points with Gemini API for developers in 2025?”3/30/2026

On first impressions, the Gemini cli takes a long time to start after the first install or after an update. After replying to every message, it waits for 2 seconds, doing nothing, which is annoying and a waste of developer time.

Created: 3/30/2026Updated: 3/30/2026