Gemini Desktop — Native, Private AI Experience

Important

Project status: on hiatus — not actively maintained (July 2026). The app continues to work and all releases remain available, but issues and PRs may go unanswered and no new development is planned for now. Details in the status announcement — maintainer volunteers welcome.

Gemini, but better. A privacy-first desktop client for Google Gemini with native controls, global hotkeys, and zero telemetry.

Feature Highlights • Installation • Privacy • What's Next • Contributing

---

✨ Why Gemini Desktop

• Desktop-native workflow: Use Gemini in a dedicated app window instead of a browser tab.
• Fast keyboard control: Trigger Quick Chat, hide/restore the app, and stay in flow.
• Trust-first defaults: No telemetry, Google auth, and clear transparency/security docs.

🌟 Feature Highlights

• Multi-tab conversations — keep multiple chat contexts open and switch instantly.
• Launch at startup — optionally start with your system and open minimized.
• Quick Chat — summon a Spotlight-style prompt from anywhere with a global hotkey.
• Peek and Hide — hide to tray and restore instantly when you need it.
• Response notifications — get notified when Gemini finishes while the app is unfocused.
• Always On Top — keep Gemini visible above other windows when multitasking.

📥 Installation

Download the latest release for your platform from GitHub Releases.

Windows

• Windows (x64): Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64-installer.exe
• Windows (ARM64): Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-arm64-installer.exe

macOS

• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-arm64.dmg
• Intel: Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64.dmg

⚠️ The app is not code-signed yet. On first launch, remove quarantine:

xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Gemini Desktop.app"

Linux

• AppImage: Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64.AppImage
• Debian/Ubuntu: Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64.deb

# AppImage
chmod +x "Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64.AppImage"
./"Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64.AppImage"

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dpkg -i "Gemini-Desktop-x.x.x-x64.deb"

🔒 Privacy & Security

Gemini Desktop has no telemetry and only connects to Google domains for Gemini access. Authentication is handled by Google, and sessions are stored using Chromium's standard local mechanisms. For full details, read the Transparency Report, Privacy Policy, and Security Policy.

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Space (Cmd+Shift+Alt+Space on macOS) — Toggle Quick Chat
• Ctrl+Shift+Space (Cmd+Shift+Space on macOS) — Peek and Hide (toggle app visibility)
• Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on macOS) — Print current page to PDF

💡 You can customize hotkeys in Settings.

🗺️ What's Next

• Continue improving desktop-native quality and reliability across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Expand productivity workflows around Quick Chat, startup behavior, and window controls.
• Keep strengthening test quality and release confidence for faster, safer updates.

See detailed shipped history and planning in docs/ROADMAP.md.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome. For setup, standards, and workflow expectations, see docs/CONTRIBUTING.md.

⚖️ Legal

This is an unofficial, open-source project and is not affiliated with Google LLC. Gemini and Google are registered trademarks of Google LLC. Use this software at your own risk; it is provided "as is" without any warranty. See docs/DISCLAIMER.md for full terms, including user responsibility and warranty disclaimers.

📄 License

MIT © Ben Wendell