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The Gemini CLI reading the project .env breaks cc-switch - CC Switch Fix

Quick fix

Wrap the gemini command in PowerShell to load the ~/.gemini/.env environment variables by hand.

Symptom

Section titled “Symptom”
Error output
gemini-cli 在项目目录下存在 .env 导致 ccswitch 失效
English translation

A .env in the project directory breaks ccswitch for gemini-cli

Cause

Section titled “Cause”

cc-switch writes the Gemini CLI configuration into ~/.gemini/.env in the user home directory. But the Gemini CLI variable loading order ranks that path lower: it reads the .env in the current working directory (the project root) first. When a Python project directory has a local .env, the Gemini CLI loads it and may override or ignore the global configuration, so the API Key and other variables cc-switch injects never apply.

This is a behavioural mechanism of the Gemini CLI client, not a cc-switch bug. Since the load order is fixed, cc-switch cannot change the internal CLI logic. The only answer is to export the environment variables from ~/.gemini/.env forcibly before calling gemini, through a custom function or alias, so they hold the highest priority in the current shell session.

Fix

Section titled “Fix”

  1. Open your PowerShell profile ($PROFILE) and add the following function to intercept the gemini command. It parses and exports the variables from ~/.gemini/.env first, then calls the original gemini program.

    # $PROFILE (PowerShell Profile)

Affected Versions

Section titled “Affected Versions”
ToolGemini CLI
VersionUnknown
PlatformsWindows

Source Issues

Section titled “Source Issues”

This page is distilled from 2 real issues

FAQ

Section titled “FAQ”
Why does removing the .env in the project directory make it work?
Because with the project .env gone, the Gemini CLI cannot find a higher-priority local config file and falls back to ~/.gemini/.env or the system environment variables, so the cc-switch configuration applies. It is not the recommended approach, though — a project usually needs its own .env for local development configuration.
Does this fix work in CMD or Git Bash?
The snippet above is written for PowerShell. On CMD or Git Bash (pwsh7), see the bash shim scripts other users provide in Issue #423 — the principle is the same: export the environment variables by hand before running gemini.
Do I still need to set GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL by hand?
No. As long as GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL is defined correctly in ~/.gemini/.env and exported successfully by the shim function above, it applies automatically. If it still does not work, check the .env file format (no stray spaces or interfering comments).
Section titled “Related problems”
Unknown name "prompt_cache_key" - cc-switchUpgrade cc-switch to v3.16.2+ to fix prompt_cache_key injection, or use an OpenRouter endpoint that natively speaks the Claude Code format.6 issues mergedANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN and ANTHROPIC_API_KEYOpen `~/.claude/settings.json`, delete the duplicate auth variable so only the one your provider needs remains, save, and restart Claude Code.4 issues mergedCC Switch online update freezes and becomes unresponsiveCC Switch online update can freeze under FlClash TUN mode. Switch to system proxy mode or manually download and reinstall.1 issues merged

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