Gemini CLI Conductor - Context-Driven Development (CDD)

 

Beyond the Chat Log: Introducing "Conductor" and Context-Driven Development

If you’ve been using AI to help you code, you know the "Context Wall." You start a chat, provide some details, and things go great for the first ten minutes. But as the project grows, the AI starts forgetting the tech stack, ignoring your style guide, or losing track of the original goal.

Google just announced a solution that might change your terminal workflow forever: Conductor, a new extension for the Gemini CLI.

What is Conductor?

Conductor isn't just another chat interface. It’s a tool designed for Context-Driven Development (CDD). Instead of keeping your project’s "brain" inside a temporary chat window, Conductor moves that context directly into your codebase using persistent Markdown files.

How it Works: The 3-Step Workflow

Conductor breaks down the development process into three distinct phases that keep the human developer firmly in control:

1. Establish Context (/conductor:setup): You define your product goals, tech stack (languages, databases), and team workflow preferences once. This lives in your repository as a source of truth.

2. Specify and Plan (/conductor:newTrack): Before a single line of code is written, Conductor helps you generate a Spec (the "what" and "why") and a Plan (a checklist of tasks). You review and approve this plan first.

3. Implement (/conductor:implement): Once the plan is ready, the Gemini agent works through the plan.md file, checking off tasks as it goes. Because the state is saved in a file, you can pause, grab a coffee, or even switch machines without the AI "forgetting" where it was.

Why This Matters for Teams

The biggest win here is for teams and "brownfield" (existing) projects. By centralizing technical constraints and coding standards in Markdown, you ensure that every AI-generated contribution adheres to your specific guidelines, regardless of which developer is running the command. It turns the AI from a "clueless intern" into a "context-aware partner."

Get Started

Conductor is currently available in preview. You can install it via the Gemini CLI with a simple command: gemini extensions install https://github.com/gemini-cli-extensions/conductor

For a deep dive into the philosophy behind it and a full tutorial, check out the official announcement here: Conductor: Introducing context-driven development for Gemini CLI