---
title: "Gemini Provider"
description: "Use Google's Gemini API as an alternative to Claude for observation extraction"
---

# Gemini Provider

Claude-mem supports Google's Gemini API as an alternative to the Claude Agent SDK for extracting observations from your sessions. This can significantly reduce costs since Gemini offers a generous free tier.

<Warning>
**Free Tier Rate Limits**: Without billing enabled, Gemini has strict rate limits (5-10 RPM). Enable billing on your Google Cloud project to unlock 1000-4000 RPM while still using the free quota.
</Warning>

## Why Use Gemini?

- **Cost savings**: The free tier covers most individual usage patterns
- **Same quality**: Gemini extracts observations using the same XML format as Claude
- **Errors throw clearly**: 429s, 5xx, and network failures throw — leaving messages pending so they can be retried
- **Hot-swappable**: Switch providers without restarting the worker

## Getting a Free API Key

1. Go to the [Google AI Studio API Key page](https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey)
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Accept the Terms of Service and privacy policies
4. Click the **Create API key** button
5. Choose a Google Cloud project or create a new one
6. Copy and securely store the generated API key

<Tip>
**No billing required** to get started, but we recommend enabling billing to unlock higher rate limits (1000-4000 RPM vs 5-10 RPM) while still using the free quota.
</Tip>

## Configuration

### Settings

| Setting | Values | Default | Description |
|---------|--------|---------|-------------|
| `CLAUDE_MEM_PROVIDER` | `claude`, `gemini` | `claude` | AI provider for observation extraction |
| `CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_API_KEY` | string | — | Your Gemini API key |
| `CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_MODEL` | `gemini-2.5-flash-lite`, `gemini-2.5-flash`, `gemini-3-flash-preview` | `gemini-2.5-flash-lite` | Gemini model to use |
| `CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_BILLING_ENABLED` | `true`, `false` | `false` | Skip rate limiting if billing is enabled on Google Cloud |

### Using the Settings UI

1. Open the viewer at http://localhost:37777
2. Click the **gear icon** to open Settings
3. Under **AI Provider**, select **Gemini**
4. Enter your Gemini API key
5. Optionally select a different model

Settings are applied immediately—no restart required.

### Manual Configuration

Edit `~/.claude-mem/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "CLAUDE_MEM_PROVIDER": "gemini",
  "CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
  "CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_MODEL": "gemini-2.5-flash-lite",
  "CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_BILLING_ENABLED": "true"
}
```

Alternatively, set the API key via environment variable:

```bash
export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
```

The settings file takes precedence over the environment variable.

## Available Models

| Model | Free Tier RPM | Notes |
|-------|--------------|-------|
| `gemini-2.5-flash-lite` | 10 | Default, recommended for free tier (highest RPM) |
| `gemini-2.5-flash` | 5 | Higher capability, lower rate limit |
| `gemini-3-flash-preview` | 5 | Latest model, lower rate limit |

## Provider Switching

You can switch between Claude and Gemini at any time:

- **No restart required**: Changes take effect on the next observation
- **Conversation history preserved**: When switching mid-session, the new provider sees the full conversation context
- **Seamless transition**: Both providers use the same observation format

### Switching via UI

1. Open Settings in the viewer
2. Change the **AI Provider** dropdown
3. The next observation will use the new provider

### Switching via Settings File

```json
{
  "CLAUDE_MEM_PROVIDER": "gemini"
}
```

## Error Behavior

If Gemini is selected and the API errors, claude-mem logs the failure and re-throws so the message stays pending for later retry. There is no Claude SDK fallback — earlier docs claimed automatic Claude fallback, but the wiring was never actually engaged in production (#2087). To switch providers, change `CLAUDE_MEM_PROVIDER` in settings.

**Throwing conditions:**
- Rate limiting (HTTP 429)
- Server errors (HTTP 5xx)
- Network issues (connection refused, timeout)
- 4xx errors other than 429
- Missing API key

## Troubleshooting

### "Gemini API key not configured"

Either:
- Set `CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_API_KEY` in `~/.claude-mem/settings.json`, or
- Set the `GEMINI_API_KEY` environment variable

### Rate Limiting

Google has two rate limit tiers for free usage:

**Without billing (API key only):**

| Model | RPM | TPM |
|-------|-----|-----|
| gemini-2.5-flash-lite | 10 | 250K |
| gemini-2.5-flash | 5 | 250K |
| gemini-3-flash-preview | 5 | 250K |

Claude-mem enforces these limits automatically with built-in delays between requests. Processing may be slower but stays within limits.

**With billing enabled (still free tier):**

| Model | RPM | TPM |
|-------|-----|-----|
| gemini-2.5-flash-lite | 4,000 | 4M |
| gemini-2.5-flash | 1,000 | 1M |
| gemini-3-flash-preview | 1,000 | 1M |

<Tip>
**Recommended**: Enable billing on your Google Cloud project to unlock much higher rate limits. You won't be charged unless you exceed the generous free quota. This allows claude-mem to process observations instantly instead of waiting between requests.
</Tip>

If you hit rate limits:
- Claude-mem automatically falls back to Claude SDK
- Or switch back to Claude as your primary provider

### Observation Quality

If observations seem lower quality with Gemini:
- Note that Claude typically produces slightly higher quality observations
- Consider using Gemini for cost savings and Claude for important projects

## Next Steps

- [Configuration](/configuration) - Full settings reference
- [Getting Started](/usage/getting-started) - Basic usage guide
- [Troubleshooting](/troubleshooting) - Common issues
