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Engineering Docs ships a gemini-extension.json manifest at integrations/plugins/gemini-extension.json, making it a first-class Gemini CLI extension. The extension adds all 22 documentation skills to Gemini CLI, wires the GEMINI.md context file for session-level instructions, and sits in the standard global extensions directory at ~/.gemini/config/plugins/engineering-docs/. There are four supported installation methods.
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Gemini CLI clones the repository, reads gemini-extension.json, and registers the plugin in your global config. The 22 skills become available in your next Gemini CLI session.

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Method 2: Flag install via npx

The --gemini flag (short alias -g) copies the full plugin tree to the global Gemini extensions directory without requiring git.
1

Run the installer

terminal
Or with the short alias:
terminal
2

Confirm the install path

Files are copied to:
The installer prints this path and confirms success.
3

Restart Gemini CLI

Close your current session and start a new one. Gemini CLI scans ~/.gemini/config/plugins/ at startup and loads all registered extensions automatically.

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Method 3: Manual git clone

Use this method to stay on a specific branch or to inspect files before installing.
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This places the full repository directly in the Gemini extensions directory. No additional configuration is needed — Gemini CLI discovers gemini-extension.json automatically.

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Method 4: Setup script

Both scripts implement the same safe-write rules as the Node.js installer — your existing GEMINI.md file is never overwritten.

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Extension manifest

The gemini-extension.json manifest that Gemini CLI reads when it loads the extension:
integrations/plugins/gemini-extension.json
The contextFileName field tells Gemini CLI to load GEMINI.md as session-level context whenever the extension is active. This file contains the full auto-trigger rule table — mapping natural-language phrases like “document the architecture” or “write an ADR” to the corresponding skill — and the behavioral standards that govern how the agent generates documents.

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What gets installed

The standard install copies the full plugin tree to ~/.gemini/config/plugins/engineering-docs/:
GEMINI.md is written with safe-write semantics: it is created only if it does not already exist at the destination. If you have a customized GEMINI.md in ~/.gemini/config/plugins/engineering-docs/, the installer will print skipped GEMINI.md (already exists — your customization preserved) and leave your file untouched.

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Verify the extension is loaded

After installation, start a new Gemini CLI session and ask:
If the extension loaded correctly, Gemini CLI will invoke the using-engineering-docs orchestrator skill and begin the structured documentation interview. If the skills are not triggering, check that ~/.gemini/config/plugins/engineering-docs/gemini-extension.json exists and that the Gemini CLI version supports extensions.