I need your help! gemini cli 403 error!

Gemini API
1

I am not a professional IT developer, but an ordinary person building an app through “vibe coding.” I have been using the Gemini CLI within VS Code smoothly until this morning, but suddenly it stopped working with the error below. I have tried almost everything Gemini suggested, but the problem persists.

I am a paid Gemini Pro subscriber. Since I am not an expert, I never attempt anything that might violate Google’s Terms of Service because I’m afraid I might accidentally delete my project. I wondered if I had reached a usage limit, but I haven’t had that many conversations with the Gemini CLI, and since I am on a paid Gemini Pro plan rather than a free one, I don’t think I could have used it all already.

Currently, using it by entering an API key works normally. However, I only know about the commonly known Gemini AI; I can’t even properly distinguish between Google Cloud Console and Google AI Studio. Therefore, I am not using the API key method because I’m afraid it might cost extra money since it might not be part of the Gemini Pro plan I’m paying for. (In Google AI Studio, when I go to the API key section, the key is on the far left, and on the far right, the billing tier says “Firebase Billing/Tier 1 Pay-as-you-go.”)

As a non-expert, I am feeling very distressed that the Gemini CLI I was using so well suddenly stopped working and threw this error. People tell me to try creating a new project, but to be honest, I don’t understand how to do that, so I can’t. I want to know why this happened and how to fix it. (I’ve tried almost every method Gemini suggested, but none of them work.)

Error Code >> ✕ [API Error: [{ “error”: { “code”: 403, “message”: “The caller does not have permission”, “errors”: [ { “message”: “The caller does not have permission”, “domain”: “global”, “reason”: “forbidden” } ], “status”: “PERMISSION_DENIED” } } ]]

Also, a small window pops up at the bottom right of VS Code: “A permission denied error was encountered. Please ensure that the correct project ID is configured or that you have permission to call Gemini Code Assist in the project.” Buttons for “Enable API” and “Select Project” appear. I tried clicking both, but it was useless. For reference, Gemini Code Assist appears on the left side of VS Code, but when I try to log in, it gets stuck in an infinite loading loop and won’t enter.

2

This kind of report is currently very common in the community. Google is banning accounts’ access of the Gemini Code Assist API in a large scale, aiming to address the trend of reverse proxy abuse brought by third-party applications such as Openclaw and protect the usage quotas of normal users (as well as their own benfits).

However, Google seems to be abusing this “anti-abuse” mechanism to solve service issues caused by computing power shortages. Many users who only have relatively high usage rates will be banned without any warnings or appeal channels.

3

I believe that Google has abused its power to impose the ban. In fact, if we use the API, the Gemini CLI can be used. However, it has specifically banned us, those who use Google Pro, which is a disregard and infringement of our rights.