Its because you aren't connected to the API properly. In Gemini CLI after quitting it shows Total Quota Used, If it shows 0 for everything...you aren't connected.
This is a problem I faced when using it through Docker Container.

Here's the docker-compose.yml file to fix that (make sure to update docker desktop to latest version) :

services:
  # --- GEMINI 3 (LATEST) ---
  
  # BEST DAILY DRIVER: Smart, Fast, Free
  flash3:
    image: us-docker.pkg.dev/gemini-code-dev/gemini-cli/sandbox:0.1.1
    environment:
      - GEMINI_API_KEY=${GEMINI_API_KEY}
      - GEMINI_NO_INDEX=true
    ports:
      - "8100-8110:8000-8010"  # Web Preview Port Range (Adjust as needed for tools) (Currently accessible via localhost:8100, 8101, etc.)
    volumes: &vols
      - D:\Projects\Gemini-CLI-Projects\All-Projects:/app/workspace
      - ./gemini_config:/home/node/.gemini
      - ./GEMINI.md:/home/node/GEMINI.md:ro
      - ./Global-Docs:/app/library:ro
    command: gemini -m gemini-3-flash-preview
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true

also make a .env file, Edit it and add this 1 line :

GEMINI_API_KEY=your_actual_api_key_here

Put your api key instead of "your_actual_api_key_here".

Now go to the Folder where docker-compose.yml is and open cmd > Then paste this line and hit enter : docker compose run --rm flash3.

Make Sure Docker Engine is Running🙂