Solving Gemini CLI write_file Not Found in OpenClaw: Two Fixes Required

A Reddit user posted a solution for a common issue when using OpenClaw with google-gemini-cli (Gemini CLI): agents cannot write files, reporting write_file not found or attempting default_api_write_file and getting "Tool not found. Did you mean: write_file, read_file, list_directory?". The root cause is twofold.

Root causes

• tools.profile defaults to coding – this profile does not expose write_file.
• OpenClaw spawns Gemini CLI as a headless subprocess without --approval-mode auto_edit – without that flag, write_file is not available in the tool list.

Fix steps

1. Change the tools profile:
   openclaw config set tools.profile full
2. Edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and add the cliBackends block inside agents.defaults:
   

   "cliBackends": {
     "google-gemini-cli": {
       "command": "/home/YOUR_USER/.npm-global/bin/gemini",
       "args": ["--approval-mode", "auto_edit"],
       "output": "json",
       "input": "arg"
     }
   }

3. Restart the gateway:
   systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway

The cliBackends key overrides how OpenClaw spawns the Gemini CLI process, injecting the required flag. Without it, the subprocess runs in default approval mode requiring interactive input, which silently removes the tool.

What doesn't work

• Creating settings.json in the workspace with approvalMode: auto_edit – OpenClaw doesn't pass the right working directory.
• Setting agents.defaults.sandbox.workspaceAccess: rw – that's OpenClaw's sandbox, unrelated to tool availability.
• Injecting GEMINI_CLI_ACTIVE_APPROVAL_MODE via env – schema rejects it.
• Modifying the gemini binary directly – works in isolation but OpenClaw may not use the same PATH.

Who it's for: Developers using OpenClaw with Gemini CLI who encounter missing file write tools during bootstrap or agent execution.