Why does gemini-cli show 'Sorry... computer or network may be sending automated queries' on every call?
My gemini-cli returns an API error after every call containing the HTML page: 'Sorry... but your computer or network may be sending automated queries. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.' Signing in also fails with the same HTML. This happened on gemini-cli 0.1.4 on macOS and 0.37.1 on Windows 11 (installed via npm). What causes this and how do I fix it?
Originally asked on GitHub: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/25267
5 answers
The maintainers acknowledged the reports on 2026-04-13, investigated, and then said 'This should now be resolved' before closing the issue as completed. They asked anyone still seeing the error to comment so the issue could be reopened.
The error text is the raw Google HTML page shown when Google suspects automated traffic; gemini-cli wraps it as '[API Error: ...]'. The same HTML also appeared as 'Failed to sign in' when a user reinstalled the CLI and tried to re-authenticate. Reports came from gemini-cli 0.1.4 on macOS and 0.37.1 on Windows 11, from users doing different things: debugging a custom MCP server, using the Conductor extension, and restarting the CLI frequently while editing context and system files. The thread does not state what triggered the issue or identify any local configuration problem.
The only workaround reported was reinstalling the CLI: sign-in succeeded twice, but the same 'Failed to sign in' HTML error kept appearing, so that did not help. No config change was tested or recommended in the thread. If the error recurs, the maintainers asked users to comment on that issue rather than opening a new one.
Did this work for you?What a GitHub user tried on GitHub (Didn't work)
Ran the gemini CLI normally with v0.1.4 on macOS; every call returned an API error containing Google's 'Sorry... automated queries' HTML page.
Source: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/25267 (opens external site)
Did this work for you?What @afrosithbisthami-keybank tried on GitHub (Didn't work)
Reinstalled the CLI and re-authenticated; sign-in succeeded twice but the same 'Failed to sign in' HTML error kept appearing.
Did this work for you?What @Dawidmx tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)
Suspected that frequent CLI restarts while editing context files and system instructions triggered the issue; not confirmed.
Did this work for you?What @sorahii205 tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)
Was debugging a custom MCP and restarted the CLI several times; the error appeared on the third restart and the user was locked out.
Did this work for you?
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