- Token
- A small chunk of text the model reads or writes. You only pay per token on the paid tier.
- Context window
- How much text the model holds at once. Flash holds about a million tokens — piles of notes.
- System instructions
- The role and rules you set up front, before the conversation starts.
- Temperature
- The creativity dial. Low for precise and repeatable, high for loose and inventive.
- Structured output
- Forces the answer into clean JSON your app can read, instead of free text.
- Token limit
- A cap on how long the reply can be.
- Compare mode
- Run one prompt across several models side by side to see which is best.
- Grounding
- Lets the model pull real facts — Search for the live web with citations, Maps for real places. One or the other, not both.
- Function calling
- Lets the model call an outside service so an agent can actually do things.
- Code execution
- Runs Python on the spot for sums and charts.
- The models
- Flash fast default · Pro deep reasoning · Nano Banana images · Veo video · Lyria music. All free to test; names change fast.
- API key
- The pass that lets an app talk to Gemini. It belongs to your project; making more keys does not add usage.
- Firebase
- The backend the studio wires up. Firestore remembers data; Authentication is the login.
- Cloud Run
- Where your app goes live. One click gives a shareable link.
- Deploy
- The act of putting your app online.