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Overview

Connect CodeAlive with Google’s Gemini CLI for AI-powered development with deep codebase understanding. Gemini CLI supports a one-command setup — no config files needed.
Quick install: Run npx @codealive/installer to automatically configure CodeAlive for Gemini CLI. See the Installation Guide for details.

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Prerequisites

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Setup

1

Add CodeAlive MCP Server

Run this single command:
gemini mcp add --transport http secure-http https://mcp.codealive.ai/api --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your actual CodeAlive API key. That’s it — no config files needed.
2

Verify Integration

Start Gemini CLI and try:
  • “Show me all available repositories”
  • “Find authentication code in my codebase”

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Community Extension

For an enhanced experience, install the community-built Gemini CLI extension that adds slash commands and workflow guidance: 
gemini extensions install https://github.com/akolotov/gemini-cli-codealive-extension
This adds:
  • /codealive:chat — Chat with your codebase
  • /codealive:find — Search for code
  • /codealive:search — Semantic search
  • GEMINI.md guidance for effective CodeAlive usage

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Extension Configuration

Set your API key for the extension: 
# Option 1: .env file next to where you run gemini
CODEALIVE_API_KEY="your_codealive_api_key_here"

# Option 2: Environment variable
export CODEALIVE_API_KEY="your_codealive_api_key_here"

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Usage

Once connected, Gemini CLI can:
  • Search your codebase semantically across all indexed repositories
  • Answer architecture questions with full project context
  • Find patterns and implementations across multiple services
"Find all API endpoints in the user service"
"Explain how the payment flow works"
"Show me error handling patterns across services"

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Troubleshooting

  1. Verify the server was added: gemini mcp list
  2. Check your API key is correct
  3. Remove and re-add: gemini mcp remove secure-http then re-run the add command
  1. Verify the extension is installed: gemini extensions list
  2. Check the CODEALIVE_API_KEY is set
  3. Restart Gemini CLI
For more solutions, see the Troubleshooting Guide.