Comparison - AI coding agent

Winy vs Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI is Google's agent in your terminal; Winy is the board where Gemini CLI runs as a card beside your notes.

Gemini CLI is Google's open source AI agent that brings Gemini models into your terminal, licensed under Apache 2.0.

Winy is a native infinite-canvas notebook for Mac, iPad and iPhone, where any CLI agent, Gemini CLI included, runs as a live terminal card on the board next to your notes, ink and images.

Winy has no model of its own, so it does not replace Gemini CLI: it gives your Gemini CLI sessions a place on the board where you can see them and think around them.

At a glance

Question	Winy	Gemini CLI
What it is	A canvas notebook where agent sessions are cards	Google's open source AI agent for the terminal
Writes code itself	No, the agents on the board do	Yes - edits files and runs commands
Models	None of its own; runs the agents you use	Gemini models, 1M token context
Where it runs	Mac, iPad and iPhone; the Mac runs the agents	Terminal on macOS, Windows and Linux
Extending it	Notes, ink and images the agents can see	MCP servers, GEMINI.md context files
Notes and sketches	Text, notes, ink, arrows and images on the board	Not a notebook; context comes from GEMINI.md
Open source	No	Yes, Apache 2.0
Price	Early access, join the waitlist	Free tier with a Google account; API key or Vertex AI

Which one is for you

Choose Gemini CLI if

You want the agent itself: Gemini CLI is what reads your project, edits files and runs commands.
You want a generous free tier: a personal Google account gets 60 requests a minute and 1,000 a day.
You want an Apache 2.0 agent you can script, extend with MCP servers, or run in GitHub Actions.

Choose Winy if

You run Gemini CLI next to Claude Code, Codex or other CLI agents and want all of them on one board.
You want your notes, sketches and arrows beside the agent, and visible to it.
You want to zoom out and see which agents are working and which are waiting on you, from your Mac, iPad or iPhone.

Using both

Use both. Gemini CLI runs in a terminal card on the Winy canvas, a real session on your Mac signed in the way you already sign in. Put it beside a Claude Code card and your notes for the task, draw on top of it while it runs, and zoom out to see which agents are working and which are waiting on you.

Questions

Can I run Gemini CLI on an iPad?

Gemini CLI runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, not on iPad. With Winy, your Mac runs Gemini CLI, and the same board, with the Gemini CLI card on it, opens on your iPad and iPhone.

Does Winy work with Gemini CLI?

Yes. Winy runs any CLI agent as a live terminal card, and Gemini CLI is a CLI agent.

Is Gemini CLI free?

Gemini CLI is open source under Apache 2.0. Signing in with a personal Google account gives a free tier of 60 requests a minute and 1,000 a day; you can also use a Gemini API key or Vertex AI.

Can I run Gemini CLI and Claude Code side by side?

Yes. In Winy each one is a card on the same board, next to your notes.

Thinking is Winning