Why I Ditched ChatGPT: My Workflow Using Gemini 2.5 Pro with the CLI & MCP
Z
Zack Saadioui
8/11/2025
Why I Ditched ChatGPT: My Workflow Using Gemini 2.5 Pro with the CLI & MCP
Alright, let's talk. For the longest time, ChatGPT was my go-to. It was like having a junior developer on tap 24/7. It was great for banging out boilerplate code, brainstorming ideas, & even writing emails I'd been putting off. But lately, I've felt like I hit a ceiling with it. The conversations were getting a bit repetitive, & I found myself spending more time wrestling with its limitations than actually getting work done.
So, I started looking around. & that’s when I stumbled into the world of Gemini, specifically Gemini 2.5 Pro. & honestly? It’s been a game-changer. It’s not just a different chatbot; it’s a whole new way of working. I’m talking about a workflow that’s faster, more powerful, & deeply integrated into my development process. The secret sauce? A combination of Gemini 2.5 Pro, the command-line interface (CLI), & something called the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
It sounds a bit technical, I know. But stick with me. I’m going to break down exactly why I made the switch, what my new workflow looks like, & how you can get started with it too. It’s pretty cool stuff.
The Tipping Point: Why I Started Looking for a ChatGPT Alternative
The breakup with ChatGPT wasn't sudden. It was a slow burn, a series of small frustrations that added up over time. Here’s the thing: ChatGPT is a fantastic tool for what it is. It’s a conversational AI, & it excels at that. But for a developer, "conversation" isn't always the end goal. I needed a tool that could do things, not just talk about them.
Here were my main pain points:
Stale Information: ChatGPT's knowledge cutoff was a constant headache. I’d ask it about a new library or a recent API change, & it would just draw a blank. In the fast-paced world of web development, being stuck in the past is a serious handicap. I was constantly having to copy-paste documentation into the chat, which felt clunky & inefficient. Gemini, on the other hand, has real-time access to Google Search. This means it can pull in the latest information, documentation, & examples, making its suggestions FAR more relevant & up-to-date.
Lack of Integration: My workflow is centered around my code editor & my terminal. Switching back & forth to a browser tab to chat with an AI felt like a major context switch. I wanted something that could live where I work. I’d heard about ChatGPT extensions for VS Code, but they always felt a bit bolted on. I was looking for a more native experience.
The "Chatty" Nature: Sometimes, I just want the code. I don't need a five-paragraph essay on the history of a particular function. ChatGPT, by its nature, tends to be verbose. I found myself having to sift through a lot of conversational fluff to get to the meat of what I needed. Gemini's responses, especially through the CLI, feel more direct & to the point.
Limited Context Window: While ChatGPT's context window has improved, I still found myself hitting its limits on larger projects. I'd have to constantly remind it of previous parts of the conversation or re-feed it code snippets. It was like having a conversation with someone with short-term memory loss. Gemini 2.5 Pro, on the other hand, boasts a massive 1 million token context window. That means I can feed it entire codebases, multiple large documents, or hours of video, & it can hold all of that context in its "mind" at once. This is HUGE for complex tasks.
Multimodality: My work isn't just text. It's diagrams, mockups, PDFs, & even audio notes. ChatGPT is primarily text-based. Gemini is multimodal from the ground up. I can feed it a sketch of a UI & ask it to generate the code, or give it a PDF of API documentation & have it build a client. It's a whole new level of interaction.
I realized I wasn't just looking for a better chatbot. I was looking for a better co-pilot. & that’s exactly what I found with Gemini.
My New Workflow: The Gemini CLI & Model Context Protocol (MCP)
This is where things get really interesting. My new workflow is all about staying in the terminal. No more browser tabs, no more context switching. Just me, my code, & my AI assistant, working together in the same environment.
Getting Started with the Gemini CLI
The Gemini CLI is an open-source tool that brings the power of Gemini 2.5 Pro directly to your command line. It’s free for individuals, with a generous free tier of 60 requests per minute & 1,000 requests per day. Getting it set up is surprisingly easy. You'll need Node.js installed, but after that, it's just a single command: