gemini-sub-agent

Use Google Gemini (via subscription, $0 API cost) as a sub-agent inside OpenClaw workflows.

Setup

Run once on a fresh machine:

bash skills/gemini-sub-agent/scripts/setup.sh

Then authenticate (headless VPS flow):

1. On VPS: gcloud auth application-default login --no-browser → copy the --remote-bootstrap URL
2. On laptop: gcloud auth application-default login --remote-bootstrap="<URL>" → copy the localhost:8085 output
3. Paste localhost:8085 output back into VPS prompt
4. Complete Gemini CLI OAuth: GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_GCA=true gemini -p "hello" → paste auth code

Credentials are cached indefinitely and auto-refresh.

Available Models

| Model | Use for | |---|---| | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | Default — latest flagship, best reasoning | | gemini-2.5-pro | Stable coding tasks, multi-file edits | | gemini-3-flash-preview | Fast summaries, quick Q&A | | gemini-3-pro-preview | Previous gen Pro, reliable fallback | | gemini-2.5-flash | Lightweight fallback |

Usage Patterns

1. Simple text task (exec)

ask-gemini "your prompt here"
ask-gemini -m gemini-2.5-pro "your prompt"

2. Pipe large content (long-context)

cat large_file.txt | ask-gemini "summarize this in 5 bullets"
cat report.md | ask-gemini "extract all action items"

3. Agentic coding (replaces Swift/Sonnet for 30-200 line tasks)

cd /path/to/project
GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_GCA=true gemini -m gemini-2.5-pro -y -p "write a script that..."

-y = yolo mode (auto-approves all file writes and shell commands). Gemini reads/writes files autonomously.

4. Pipe files directly into agentic session

cat existing_script.py | GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_GCA=true gemini -m gemini-2.5-pro -y -p "refactor this to add error handling"

Routing Rules (when to use Gemini vs others)

| Task | Use | |---|---| | Text, analysis, summarization | ask-gemini | | Medium coding (30–200 lines) | Gemini agentic (-y) instead of Swift/Sonnet | | Large file / long-context | ask-gemini (1M token window) | | Web search / research | Research agent (Grok) — Gemini has no web access | | Multi-agent orchestration | OpenClaw native (sessions_spawn) | | Complex architecture / debugging | Codex (Opus) — escalate if Gemini fails twice |

Escalation

If Gemini returns wrong output twice on the same task → escalate to Swift (Sonnet) or Codex (Opus). Log the failure in failures/hot_antipatterns.md with the task type.

Scripts

• scripts/setup.sh — Full install: gemini-cli + gcloud + ask-gemini wrapper
• scripts/ask-gemini — The wrapper script itself (copy to /usr/local/bin/)