Claude Code, Terminals & The Return of CLIs
Weekly AI News: 20-27 June 2025
The hottest chatter on X/Twitter right now is the return to something leaner than a chat interface: the Command-Line Interface (CLI).
Why the Buzz?
Anthropic’s Claude Code kicked things off — setting the current trend. Devs love that it runs locally, chews through whole repos, and now drops straight into VS Code via an official extension.
Google answered on the 25th of June with Gemini CLI. It’s an open-source agent that pipes Gemini 2.5 Pro (yes, the 1 M-token model) right into your terminal—with a generous free tier of 60 requests/minute and 1,000/day.
OpenAI’s Codex CLI still exists. But it’s cloud-only—evidence that running local matters.
For seasoned engineers, the CLI is home base. It’s direct, fast, and composable. When the model vendor supplies the tool, wrappers like Cursor or Windsurf suddenly feel optional (though Claude Code’s plugin also works inside them—best of both worlds).
What This Really Signals
Fundamentals still pay. Those who speak terminal get more from the latest LLMs, faster. But it’s also a broader signal of “returning to basics.”
Pendulum swing. We’re cycling from GUI (Graphical User Interface) convenience back to CLI control. I believe the two will converge again when front-ends catch up.
Platform power play. By owning the CLI, Anthropic and Google bypass third-party UX layers and lock in mindshare (the real battle).
Fresh Headlines You Might’ve Missed
Google launches Gemini CLI, an open-source terminal agent. Brings Gemini’s 2.5 Pro reasoning and Veo/Imagen hooks to any shell.
Claude Code ships official VS Code extension. Puts Anthropic’s CLI inside the most-used IDE forks (Cursor, Windsurf).
Guide to “20 Claude Code commands that 10× productivity” trends on dev feeds. Shows real-world workflows spreading beyond early adopters.
Security patch for Claude Code (CVE-2025-52882). Reminder: CLI power still needs basic ops hygiene.
So, Should You Learn CLIs?
Not everyone needs to be a command-line ninja. Even I prefer GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) over CLIs. But understanding why this shift is happening helps you:
Cut through AI noise and “AI wrapper fatigue.”
Spot where developer-first tools can trim cognitive tax in your own stack.
Decide when to stay visual—and when to drop to text for raw speed.
Action Step
Next month’s AI.GSD Challenge dives hands-on into Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and (yes) the latest Codex tricks. I’ll guinea-pig them, document the wins and gotchas, and hand you copy-pastable playbooks.
Ready to future-proof your stack without drowning in new UIs?
👉 Join the next AI.GSD Challenge here
(We start next week)
Stay aligned,
George Siosi Samuels