gemini-cli

remindb for Gemini CLI

Drops remindb into Gemini CLI as an MCP server. The agent picks up the full remindb__Memory* tool suite, backed by a compiled SQLite view of whatever workspace you point it at.

How it works

The extension ships a gemini-extension.json with an inlined mcpServers entry. On activation, Gemini CLI spawns remindb serve over stdio and merges its tools into the session.

GEMINI.md ships alongside the manifest as context for the model when the extension is active.

Installation

Setup is config-first and wizard-driven: the remindb-setup skill authors .remindb/, compiles, and wires the env for you. Two Gemini-specific facts shape the order below — the extension installs from a local clone, and that clone's manifest is also where the durable env lives, so the clone comes before the wizard.

1. Install the remindb binary

It needs to be on $PATH:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/radimsem/remindb/main/install.sh | bash

On Windows:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/radimsem/remindb/main/install.ps1 | iex

Verify: remindb --version.

2. Install the companion skills

Pulls the remindb-setup wizard plus the remind (read) and memorize (write) skills:

npx skills@latest add radimsem/remindb/skills -a gemini-cli

Refresh later — independent of remindb update — with npx skills@latest update.

3. Clone the plugin source

gemini extensions install has no subdirectory selector and the plugin lives at plugins/gemini-cli/, so install from a clone. The clone's gemini-extension.json is also where the durable env lands:

git clone https://github.com/radimsem/remindb.git ~/code/remindb   # or: git -C ~/code/remindb checkout v0.1.0

4. Run the setup wizard

Gemini CLI surfaces skills via model activation, not a slash command — ask in plain language and Gemini activates the skill:

run the remindb setup wizard

(Manual fallback: open the installed remindb-setup SKILL.md and follow it by hand.) The wizard detects the host, authors .remindb/ before compiling, runs remindb compile, offers to seed adjacent context (the global ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md and any ancestor GEMINI.md above your cwd), and wires the MCP env by writing the two paths into the clone's gemini-extension.json (see Durable env).

5. Install the extension and verify

gemini extensions install ~/code/remindb/plugins/gemini-cli

Update later (local-path installs aren't tracked by gemini extensions update): git -C ~/code/remindb pull, then gemini extensions uninstall remindb && gemini extensions install ~/code/remindb/plugins/gemini-cli. Confirm the server is connected:

gemini mcp list

You should see remindb with the full Memory* tool suite. Ask Gemini to run the setup wizard again — now that the server is attached, it runs its verify pass (MemoryStats + remindb://doctor).

Durable env

remindb serve reads REMINDB_DB and REMINDB_SOURCE as fallbacks for its --db/--source flags. The clone's gemini-extension.json carries an env block — the durable home for the two paths, written by the wizard (re-run the step-5 uninstall + install after any change):

// ~/code/remindb/plugins/gemini-cli/gemini-extension.json
"env": {
    "REMINDB_DB": "/home/you/.cache/remindb/my-project.db",
    "REMINDB_SOURCE": "/home/you/code/my-project"
}

Use absolute paths — the manifest does not expand ~ or $HOME.

Tools exposed

The plugin surfaces the full remindb Memory* tool suite under the remindb__ namespace. See the main README for the canonical tool list and per-tool token-savings benchmarks.

License

MIT — same as remindb.