This guide covers how to customize and configure Gemini CLI workflows to meet your specific needs.
Gemini CLI workflows are highly configurable. You can adjust their behavior by editing the corresponding .yml files in your repository.
Gemini CLI supports many settings that control how it operates. For a complete list, see the Gemini CLI documentation.
This setting controls the maximum number of conversational turns (messages exchanged) allowed during a workflow run.
Default values by workflow:
| Workflow | Default maxSessionTurns |
|---|---|
| Issue Triage | 25 |
| Pull Request Review | 20 |
| Gemini CLI Assistant | 50 |
How to override:
Add the following to your workflow YAML file to set a custom value:
with:
settings: |-
{
"maxSessionTurns": 10
}Allows you to specify a list of built-in tools that should be made available to the model. You can also use this to allowlist commands for shell tool.
Default: All tools available for use by Gemini CLI.
How to configure:
Add the following to your workflow YAML file to specify core tools:
with:
settings: |-
{
"coreTools": [
"read_file"
"run_shell_command(echo)",
"run_shell_command(gh label list)"
]
}Configures connections to one or more Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for discovering and using custom tools. This allows you to extend Gemini CLI GitHub Action with additional capabilities.
Default: Empty
Example:
with:
settings: |-
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run",
"-i",
"--rm",
"-e",
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
}
}
}
}To provide Gemini CLI with custom instructions—such as coding conventions, architectural patterns, or other guidance—add a GEMINI.md file to the root of your repository. Gemini CLI will use the content of this file to inform its responses.
You can control how long Gemini CLI runs by using either the timeout-minutes field in your workflow YAML, or by specifying a timeout in the settings input.
Only users with the following roles can trigger the workflow:
- Repository Owner (
OWNER) - Repository Member (
MEMBER) - Repository Collaborator (
COLLABORATOR)