What you need to know
- Google Cloud is launching a free version of Gemini Code Assist with a high monthly code completion cap and a large context window.
- The free tier of Gemini Code Assist only requires a personal Google account to access.
- Google is also testing Gemini Code Assist integration with GitHub for code reviews, starting in public preview now.
Google is making it easier to use AI to help refine developer code at no cost. Google Cloud announced today that it's adding a free tier to Gemini Code Assist, a popular AI coding assistant, that only requires a personal Google account to access. Additionally, integration with GitHub is entering public preview that aims to make code reviews easier. Compared to other free code assistants, the company says the free version of Gemini Code Assist offers a significantly larger context window and monthly code completions cap.
Gemini Code Assist is now powered by an unspecified Gemini 2.0 model catered to coding-related tasks. It works with "all programming languages in the public domain," according to Google Cloud, and supports multiple integrated development environments (IDEs).
The free version is capped at 180,000 code completions per month, which is a lot more than other free code assistants. Additionally, the chat portion of Gemini Code Assist offers up to 128,000 tokens. "This large context window lets developers use large files and ground Gemini Code Assist with a broader understanding of their local codebases," the company explains in a blog post.
While there are still more powerful, paid versions of Gemini Code Assist available for people with greater needs, the free version is intended to make AI code help available for people on a budget. That could be students, indie developers, or anyone else with a project that could use code assistance. The free service is now compatible with Visual Studio Code, GitHub, or JetBrains, joining the existing support for Google-owned IDEs like Firebase and Android Studio.
Google says that support for various IDEs will help developers "more conveniently learn, create code snippets, debug and modify their existing applications — all without needing to toggle between different windows for help or to copy and paste information from disconnected sources."
GitHub integration for Gemini Code Assist is also entering public preview starting today, which is intended to make code reviews more painless for developers. You can learn more about the preview here, and provide feedback to help build Gemini Code Assist.
