VS Code Gemini Code Assist Agent Mode auto-sets inaccessible GCP project after login (personal AI Pro account) — needs account routing / binding reset

Google AI Studio
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1

Hi everyone,

I’m having an issue with Gemini Code Assist in VS Code (Agent Mode) that looks like a server-side account routing / project binding problem.

Summary

After signing in, the extension automatically sets a Google Cloud project: macro-linker-26f3p.
That project is not accessible from my account (deleted), and the extension then fails with:

“The set project ID (macro-linker-26f3p) was invalid, or the current account lacks permission to view it.”

I am not trying to use Google Cloud. I want the individuals / Google AI Pro experience (no Cloud project required).

Environment

  • Account: personal Gmail (Google One / Google AI Pro) — not Workspace/Enterprise

  • Google Cloud Console: no projects, no billing

  • VS Code + Gemini Code Assist extension (Agent Mode)

Repro steps

  1. Start a completely clean VS Code instance:

    code --user-data-dir "%TEMP%\vscode-clean-user" --extensions-dir "%TEMP%\vscode-clean-ext"

  2. Install Gemini Code Assist

  3. Sign in with my Gmail account

  4. Immediately, the extension sets macro-linker-26f3p and shows the “invalid / lacks permission” error.

Local causes ruled out

  • No project environment variables are set:

    • GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT, CLOUDSDK_CORE_PROJECT, etc. are empty

  • gcloud is not installed

  • No Application Default Credentials (ADC):

    • %APPDATA%\gcloud\application_default_credentials.json does not exist

  • I also scanned the typical local cache locations for the string macro-linker-26f3p and found nothing.

Evidence from extension logs (redacted)

The extension calls:

  • https://cloudcode-pa.googleapis.com/v1internal:loadCodeAssist

In the response, it appears to receive values like (paraphrased):

  • currentTier.id = "standard-tier"

  • allowedTiers = ["standard-tier"]

  • cloudaicompanionProject = "macro-linker-26f3p"

  • at the same time, it shows paidTier.id = "g1-pro-tier" (Google AI Pro recognized)

Then the extension starts the agent process and injects:

  • GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT = macro-linker-26f3p

  • GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS = ...\google-vscode-extension\auth\application_default_credentials.json

This makes the project come back every time after login, even in a clean VS Code environment.

What I’m asking for

This looks like my account is being routed into a Standard/Enterprise (Cloud project) flow or has a stale server-side project binding. Could someone please help with one of the following?

  1. Reset/remove the server-side cloudaicompanionProject binding for my account so the extension doesn’t auto-set an inaccessible project, and/or

  2. Ensure my account is correctly routed to the individuals (AI Pro) flow where no Cloud project is required.

If needed, I can provide:

  • exact timestamps

  • redacted log snippets (without prompts / private paths)

  • request/trace IDs from the logs

Thanks in advance!

2 Likes
2

I HAVE THE EXACT SAME THING! Only that my shadow project is called xenosomething venture. I spent 4 hours last night trying to fix it, but nothing works, it keeps hard coding this project, thinking I have a business account somehow apparently. I CANNOT use code assist AT ALL NOW. before, I could use 2.5 Pro for free, now that I have AI Pro I cannot even use that…… like this is beyond disappointing

3

I’m also having this exact issue on my laptop and my desktop. I’ve tried everything from completely uninstalling VS Code and the Gemini Extension along with all related files I could find. I’ve disabled Settings Sync on both computers, but I found that as soon as I sign into my personal Google Account in the extension, the project name gets added to the User Settings JSON. When I try to delete it, it gets auto-populated again. There are no projects in my Google Cloud account, and I use this expressly for personal use. Is there any resolution to this issue yet?

4

I am having the same issue, my workaround has been to use another Google Account with a new email for now until it is fixed. Not the best solution but still a solution that works.

5

same , if any answer is found please share it, gemini itself is saying only option is to degrade to v2.56 but thats gemini 1.5