feat: add Gemini provider docs, fix settings path, add model diagnostics

Update README with Gemini configuration examples and provider table.
Simplify findSettingsFile to always use ~/.solenoid/ instead of walking
the directory tree. Add startup logging for resolved model name and API
key presence, and warn on empty Gemini responses.

Author: elicollinson

README.md

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ See [Development](#development) section below for building from source with Poet
 - **Web Research**: Brave Search integration for real-time web queries
 - **MCP Support**: Model Context Protocol for extensible tool integration (stdio and HTTP servers)
 - **Local Memory System**: SQLite + FTS5 + sqlite-vec for hybrid semantic/keyword search with BGE reranking
-- **Configurable Models**: Support for Ollama models via LiteLLM with automatic model pulling
+- **Configurable Models**: Support for Gemini (default) and Ollama models via Google ADK
 - **Customizable Prompts**: All agent prompts configurable via YAML
 - **In-App Settings Editor**: Edit configuration via `/settings` command with YAML validation
 - **Slash Commands**: Extensible command system for quick actions (`/settings`, `/help`, `/clear`)
@@ -178,31 +178,54 @@ All configuration is managed through `app_settings.yaml` in the project root.
 
 ### Model Configuration
 
+Solenoid supports multiple model providers. Gemini is the default and requires no local infrastructure.
+
+#### Gemini (Default)
+
+Set your API key as an environment variable:
+
+```bash
+export GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
+# or alternatively:
+export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
+```
+
 ```yaml
 models:
   default:
-    name: "ministral-3:8b"
-    provider: "ollama_chat"
+    name: "gemini-3-flash-preview"
+    provider: "gemini"
     context_length: 128000
-  agent:
+```
+
+#### Ollama (Local Inference)
+
+For fully local inference using [Ollama](https://ollama.com/):
+
+```yaml
+models:
+  default:
     name: "ministral-3:8b"
+    provider: "ollama_chat"
     context_length: 128000
-  extractor:
-    name: "ministral-3:8b"
 ```
 
-**Model Roles:**
+If a configured Ollama model is not found locally, the application automatically attempts to pull it. Uses model names from the [Ollama library](https://ollama.com/library).
+
+#### Model Roles
+
 - `default`: Fallback model for unspecified roles
 - `agent`: Used by all agent roles (requires function calling support)
 - `extractor`: Used for memory extraction
 
-**Model Requirements:**
-- Models used for the `agent` role must support **function calling** (tool use)
-- Recommended: `ministral-3:8b`, `qwen3:8b`, `llama3.1`, or similar function-calling capable models
-- Uses Ollama model names from the [Ollama library](https://ollama.com/library)
+#### Supported Providers
+
+| Provider | Config Value | Notes |
+|----------|-------------|-------|
+| Gemini | `gemini` | Default. Requires `GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY` or `GEMINI_API_KEY` env var |
+| Ollama | `ollama_chat` | Local inference. Requires running Ollama server |
 
-**Automatic Model Pulling:**
-If a configured model is not found in your local Ollama instance, the application automatically attempts to pull it when the agent starts.
+Models used for the `agent` role must support **function calling** (tool use).
 
 ### Search Configuration
 
@@ -518,7 +541,7 @@ The executable will be created at `dist/solenoid`. This binary replicates the be
 
 - Python 3.11+
 - Poetry (for dependency management)
-- Ollama (for local LLM inference)
+- Ollama (only required for `ollama_chat` provider)
 
 ### Key Dependencies
 

src/agents/planning.ts

@@ -102,6 +102,15 @@ try {
 }
 
 const modelName = settings ? getAdkModelName('planning_agent', settings) : 'gemini-2.5-flash';
+agentLogger.info(`[Planning] Resolved model: ${modelName}, provider: ${settings?.models?.default?.provider ?? 'unknown'}`);
+
+if (settings?.models?.default?.provider === 'gemini') {
+  const hasKey = !!(process.env.GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY || process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY);
+  agentLogger.info(`[Planning] Gemini API key present: ${hasKey}`);
+  if (!hasKey) {
+    agentLogger.warn('[Planning] No Gemini API key found. Set GOOGLE_GENAI_API_KEY or GEMINI_API_KEY');
+  }
+}
 
 const customPrompt = settings ? getAgentPrompt('planning_agent', settings) : undefined;
 

src/agents/runner.ts

@@ -167,7 +167,9 @@ export async function* runAgent(
           yield { type: 'done' };
           return;
         }
-        agentLogger.debug('[Runner] Skipping empty final event, continuing...');
+        agentLogger.warn(
+          `[Runner] Empty final event from ${event.author} — model may have failed silently (auth error? invalid model name?). Event: ${JSON.stringify({ id: event.id, role: event.content?.role, parts: event.content?.parts?.length ?? 0, actions: event.actions })}`
+        );
       }
     }
 

src/config/settings.ts

@@ -28,27 +28,10 @@ let cachedSettings: AppSettings | null = null;
 let cachedRawSettings: Record<string, unknown> | null = null;
 let settingsPath: string | null = null;
 
-export function findSettingsFile(startDir: string = process.cwd()): string | null {
-  let dir = startDir;
-  const root = resolve('/');
-
-  while (dir !== root) {
-    const candidate = resolve(dir, DEFAULT_SETTINGS_FILENAME);
-    if (existsSync(candidate)) {
-      return candidate;
-    }
-    dir = dirname(dir);
-  }
-
-  const rootCandidate = resolve(root, DEFAULT_SETTINGS_FILENAME);
-  if (existsSync(rootCandidate)) {
-    return rootCandidate;
-  }
-
-  // Check ~/.solenoid/ as final fallback
-  const solenoidCandidate = resolve(homedir(), SOLENOID_CONFIG_DIR, DEFAULT_SETTINGS_FILENAME);
-  if (existsSync(solenoidCandidate)) {
-    return solenoidCandidate;
+export function findSettingsFile(): string | null {
+  const configPath = resolve(homedir(), SOLENOID_CONFIG_DIR, DEFAULT_SETTINGS_FILENAME);
+  if (existsSync(configPath)) {
+    return configPath;
   }
 
   return null;