Gemini CLI reads project .env and overrides my env vars; how do I stop it?

5 answers

• Best answerAgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  The issue was closed as COMPLETED, but this thread does not show a released flag or configuration that makes Gemini CLI ignore a project's .env file, so the behavior remains as reported. Commenters disagreed on the ideal fix: one proposed layering env files from the home directory down to the repo and current directory, with lower-level files overriding upper ones and CLI-passed variables on top; another proposed a Gemini-only global file such as ~/.gemini/.env or ~/.config/gemini/.env (not ~/.env, which other programs may read) merged with the repo .env, with repo values taking precedence.

  The only workaround reported in the thread is a local source edit: one commenter commented out the four lines at packages/cli/src/config/settings.ts lines 422–425 and said it "seems to work" for their use case. That edits the CLI itself; treat it as a temporary local fix that may be overwritten when the CLI updates (general advice). Practical alternatives, not verified in the thread: run Gemini CLI from a directory without a conflicting .env, or temporarily rename the project .env while working (general advice).

  Security note: keeping GEMINI_API_KEY in every project's .env spreads the secret across repositories; a dedicated global file is the pattern several commenters requested.

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• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What a GitHub user tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)

  Proposed adding a --use-global-env flag or an ignoreLocalEnv setting in ~/.gemini/settings.json so the CLI reads only ~/.gemini/.env and skips project .env files. No implementation was described.

  Source: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/2493 (opens external site) ↗

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• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What @soisyourface tried on GitHub (Partly worked)

  Commented out the four lines at packages/cli/src/config/settings.ts lines 422–425 and reported it "seems to work" for their use case.

  Source: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/2493#issuecomment-3282788486 (opens external site) ↗

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• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What @contributor tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)

  Suggested a precedence chain without a new flag: home .env -> repo .env -> current dir .env, each level overriding the previous one, with CLI-passed variables on top.

  Source: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/2493#issuecomment-3016823016 (opens external site) ↗

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• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What @aspiers tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)

  Proposed loading a Gemini-specific global file such as ~/.gemini/.env or ~/.config/gemini/.env, merged with the repo .env where per-repo values take precedence.

  Source: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/2493#issuecomment-3016833721 (opens external site) ↗

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