Amp vs Gemini CLI | agentconfig.ing

Amp vs Gemini CLIComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Amp (CLI) uses markdown configuration while Gemini CLI (CLI) uses markdown. They differ on 1 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Amp	Gemini CLI	Notes
Config format	markdown	markdown
Hierarchy support	✓	✓	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✓	✓	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✓	✗	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✗	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	✗	✗
IDE integration	CLI	CLI
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Free-form (Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Amp	Gemini CLI
Project instructions	AGENTS.md	GEMINI.md
Settings / configuration	settings.json	.gemini/settings.json

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Amp

AGENTS.md

markdown

# Agent Instructions

## Project Context
Go microservices monorepo using Bazel for builds.

## Build & Test
- Build all: bazel build //...
- Test all: bazel test //...
- Integration tests: docker compose up -d && bazel test //integration/...
- Lint: golangci-lint run ./...

## Code Conventions
- All services follow standard layout in /cmd and /internal
- Use structured logging with slog
- Error wrapping with fmt.Errorf("op: %w", err)
- See @docs/api-style-guide.md for API conventions

## Cross-Repo References
- Shared proto definitions in sourcegraph/proto
- Common Go libraries in sourcegraph/lib

## Security
- Never log sensitive data (tokens, passwords, PII)
- All external inputs must be validated
- Use parameterized queries for database access

Gemini CLI

GEMINI.md

markdown

# Project Context

## Stack
- Node.js 22 with TypeScript 5.x
- Express.js for the API server
- Prisma ORM with PostgreSQL
- React 19 with Vite for the frontend

## Architecture
- Monorepo with pnpm workspaces
- packages/api — Express REST API
- packages/web — React SPA
- packages/shared — Shared types and utilities

## Commands
- pnpm dev — Start all services
- pnpm test — Run vitest across all packages
- pnpm lint — ESLint + Prettier check
- pnpm db:migrate — Run Prisma migrations

## Conventions
- Use barrel exports (index.ts) for public APIs
- Error responses use RFC 7807 Problem Details format
- All API endpoints require authentication except /health

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Subdirectory scoping

Amp: Supported. Gemini CLI: Not supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Amp, configure AGENTS.md. If you use Gemini CLI, configure GEMINI.md. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh

bash

# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md