Install ShellGPT with Gemini API

Anand Vikkath — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:46:06 +0000

1. Install System Dependencies

Ensure your Ubuntu system is ready with Python and the required virtual environment tools.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv -y

2. Set Up a Virtual Environment

Installing in a virtual environment prevents ShellGPT from interfering with other system tools.

# Create and enter the directory
mkdir ~/shellgpt && cd ~/shellgpt

# Create the environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate it (you must do this every time you work in this folder)
source venv/bin/activate

3. Install ShellGPT with LiteLLM

ShellGPT needs the litellm extra to talk to Google's API.

pip install "shell-gpt[litellm]"

4. Configure Your API Keys

ShellGPT has a quirk: it was built for OpenAI, so it crashes if it doesn't find an OpenAI key, even if you are using Gemini. We bypass this by giving it a "placeholder" key.

Set the environment variables

Add these to your .bashrc so they load automatically when you log in:

echo 'export GEMINI_API_KEY="your_actual_ai_api_key_here"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="placeholder"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

The Permanent VENV activation

Open your .bashrc file:

nano ~/.bashrc

Scroll to the bottom and add this line:

alias sgpt='~/shellgpt/venv/bin/sgpt'

Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

Apply the changes:

source ~/.bashrc

Now, the sgpt command will work instantly every time you log in, without needing to run the source command.

5. Configure ShellGPT (`.sgptrc`)

Run a quick command to ensure the configuration folder is created:

sgpt "init"

[!NOTE]
Output for this command will have API error. Ignore it

Now, open the configuration file to tell ShellGPT to use Gemini:

nano ~/.config/shell_gpt/.sgptrc

Update the following lines (or add them if they are missing):

# Use LiteLLM to bridge to Google
USE_LITELLM=true

# Set your preferred Gemini model
DEFAULT_MODEL=gemini/gemini-2.5-flash

# This MUST be here to satisfy the internal code check
OPENAI_API_KEY=placeholder

6. How to Use Your New Tool

Now that everything is linked, here is how you can use it in your day-to-day sysadmin tasks:

Command	Usage
`sgpt "Hello"`	General chat/question.
`sgpt --code "python script to ping servers"`	Generates only code (no conversational text).
`sgpt --shell "list all docker containers"`	Generates a command and asks if you want to run it.

DEV Community: Anand Vikkath