The ask_user tool lets Gemini CLI ask you one or more questions to gather
preferences, clarify requirements, or make decisions. It supports multiple
question types including multiple-choice, free-form text, and Yes/No
confirmation.
-
Tool name:
ask_user -
Display name: Ask User
-
File:
ask-user.ts -
Parameters:
questions(array of objects, required): A list of 1 to 4 questions to ask. Each question object has the following properties:question(string, required): The complete question text.header(string, required): A short label (max 16 chars) displayed as a chip/tag (e.g., "Auth", "Database").type(string, optional): The type of question. Defaults to'choice'.'choice': Multiple-choice with options (supports multi-select).'text': Free-form text input.'yesno': Yes/No confirmation.
options(array of objects, optional): Required for'choice'type. 2-4 selectable options.label(string, required): Display text (1-5 words).description(string, required): Brief explanation.
multiSelect(boolean, optional): For'choice'type, allows selecting multiple options.placeholder(string, optional): Hint text for input fields.
-
Behavior:
- Presents an interactive dialog to the user with the specified questions.
- Pauses execution until the user provides answers or dismisses the dialog.
- Returns the user's answers to the model.
-
Output (
llmContent): A JSON string containing the user's answers, indexed by question position (e.g.,{"answers":{"0": "Option A", "1": "Some text"}}). -
Confirmation: Yes. The tool inherently involves user interaction.
{
"questions": [
{
"header": "Database",
"question": "Which database would you like to use?",
"type": "choice",
"options": [
{
"label": "PostgreSQL",
"description": "Powerful, open source object-relational database system."
},
{
"label": "SQLite",
"description": "C-library that implements a SQL database engine."
}
]
}
]
}{
"questions": [
{
"header": "Project Name",
"question": "What is the name of your new project?",
"type": "text",
"placeholder": "e.g., my-awesome-app"
}
]
}{
"questions": [
{
"header": "Deploy",
"question": "Do you want to deploy the application now?",
"type": "yesno"
}
]
}