Ollama in Proxmox via Gemini

4 min read

Gemini CLI — Install on Proxmox LXC (Ubuntu 24.04)

Tags: linux proxmox lxc gemini cli nodejs tutorial Date: 2026-04-12 Status: ✅ Verified

Overview

This guide covers installing Google’s Gemini CLI on an Ubuntu 24.04 LXC container running on a Proxmox host. Gemini CLI is a Node.js-based tool that connects to Google’s Gemini cloud API — it does not use any local GPU, so the host’s GPU is irrelevant for this setup.

Two LXC-specific gotchas before you start

  1. Don’t run as root. Gemini CLI’s Google OAuth auth flow is broken when running as root (known upstream issue). Proxmox LXC templates often drop you into a root shell — create a regular user first.
  2. The host GPU doesn’t matter. Gemini CLI is cloud-backed. No CUDA/driver passthrough needed.

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LXC container (privileged or unprivileged)
  • Internet access from the LXC
  • A regular Google account (free tier works)
  • A browser on any machine to complete OAuth

Step 0 — Create a Non-Root User

If you’re dropped into a root shell in your LXC, create a regular user first:

adduser yeti          # replace with your preferred username
usermod -aG sudo yeti
su - yeti             # switch to that user now

All subsequent steps run as this non-root user.

Step 1 — Check Your Node.js Version

node --version

Ubuntu 24.04 ships Node.js 18 in its default repos. Gemini CLI requires Node.js 20 or higher. If you’re on 18 or below, proceed to Step 2. If already on 20+, skip to Step 3.

Step 2 — Install Node.js 22 via NodeSource

The NodeSource APT method is cleanest for a server LXC — no NVM complexity, and it auto-updates via apt:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg
 
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg
 
NODE_MAJOR=22
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] \
  https://deb.nodesource.com/node_$NODE_MAJOR.x nodistro main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list
 
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify:

node --version   # should show v22.x
npm --version

Step 3 — Configure npm to Install Globals Without sudo

Setting a user-level npm prefix avoids permission issues and keeps your global packages out of system-owned paths:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
npm config set prefix '~/.local'
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Verify the prefix is set correctly:

npm config get prefix   # should return /home/<youruser>/.local

Step 4 — Install Gemini CLI

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli

Create the config directory

The ~/.gemini directory doesn’t exist yet and Gemini CLI won’t create it automatically on first run — it will throw an ENOENT rename error if it’s missing. Create it now:

mkdir -p ~/.gemini

Verify the install:

gemini --version

Expected output: a version number like 0.37.1 with no errors.

If you see command not found, your PATH hasn’t refreshed — run source ~/.bashrc or open a new shell.

Deprecation warnings are harmless You may see npm WARN deprecated node-domexception or similar during install. These are informational only and won't affect functionality.

Step 5 — Authenticate

gemini

On first launch you’ll be prompted to sign in with Google. The CLI generates a URL in the terminal — copy it and open it in any browser (including your local machine if the LXC is headless). Complete the OAuth flow and the terminal session will authenticate automatically.

Headless LXC auth Since your LXC has no GUI, just copy the auth URL from the terminal output and paste it into a browser on your workstation. Auth completes back in the terminal session once you approve.

Step 6 — Usage

Best practice is to cd into a project directory before launching, so Gemini has relevant file context:

cd ~/your-project
gemini

Useful slash commands inside the CLI:

CommandPurpose
/helpList all available commands
/compressReduce context size (useful for large projects / free tier limits)
/modelSwitch model
/settingsView/change settings

Updating

npm install -g @google/gemini-cli@latest

Troubleshooting

SymptomFix
command not found after installsource ~/.bashrc — check echo $PATH includes ~/.local/bin
EACCES permission denied during installConfirm npm config get prefix returns ~/.local, not /usr
ENOENT rename projects.json errormkdir -p ~/.gemini
Auth broken / OAuth failsDon’t run as root — switch to a non-root user
GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT org subscription errorUnset that env var: unset GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT and remove from ~/.bashrc
Deprecation warnings during installSafe to ignore — cosmetic only

Tested on: Ubuntu 24.04 LXC, Proxmox 8.x, Gemini CLI v0.37.1, Node.js v22.x