Google

google.dev · 7 records in Compute, Inference, Storage · JSON

Records 7

caveatGemini API code execution
Computefree tieridentity email?card?limit per-object-capevidence documentedstale on 2026-12-05
caveatGoogle Gemini API (Compute)
Computefree tieridentity emailno cardlimit request-rateevidence documentedstale on 2026-12-05
caveatGoogle Gemini API (Inference)
Inferencefree tieridentity emailno cardlimit request-rateevidence documentedstale on 2026-12-01
fails: quotaGemini File Search stores (managed RAG)
Storagefree tieridentity emailno cardlimit per-object-capevidence reportedstale on 2026-11-05
fails: quotagemini file search stores as bulk storage
Storageidentity email?card?evidence reportedstale on 2026-11-05
fails: quotagemini files api (ai studio) as an archive
Storageidentity email?card?evidence reportedstale on 2026-11-05
fails: quotaGoogle Gemini Files API (AI Studio)
Storagefree tieridentity emailno cardlimit per-object-capevidence reportedstale on 2026-11-05

Gemini API code execution

Compute

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-executionContainer and VM sandboxcompute/gemini-code-executionJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: 'There's no additional charge for enabling code execution from the Gemini API.' The generated code, its results and the summary are billed as input and output tokens at the rate of the Gemini model used; https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution (read 2026-10-30) states no amount or...
Verdict: caveatusable, with a named limit or an unprobed read path
Cost: free tier
Identity: email?placeholder, not evidence; card unknown, phone unknown
Binding limit: per-object-capthe maximum input file size is bounded by the model's token window, not by a code-execution quota
Evidence: documented10 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
Freshness: stale on 2026-12-05checked 2026-11-04 (live); stale on 2026-12-05

Free tier	'There's no additional charge for enabling code execution from the Gemini API.' The generated code, its results and the summary are billed as input and output tokens at the rate of the Gemini model used; https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution (read 2026-10-30) states no amount or period of free use unit tokens; metered on request-count; The token allowance is the Gemini API free tier of the model used: the pricing page says 'Start building free of charge with generous limits' and lists input and output as 'Free of charge' on the Free Tier of the models that have one; Gemini 4 Argon is not available on the Free tier. The per-model free-tier volume is unverified.
Price	none stated
Limits	per-object-cap (binding) the maximum input file size is bounded by the model's token window, not by a code-execution quota source
Identity	email (placeholder) not published
Egress	not stated
Per-object cap	not stated
Retention	not stated
Interface	rest REST API (POST to generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions with the code_execution tool) and the Google GenAI SDK, both documented on the code execution page.
Tooling	Google GenAI SDK (Python package google-genai, JavaScript package @google/genai, Go and Java); the REST API directly.
Composes with	not stated
Reliability	no reliability event recorded
Evidence note	documented the code-execution page and the Gemini API pricing page were read on 2026-10-30: code execution carries no charge of its own and bills as model tokens, one code run is capped at 30 seconds, and file input is bounded by the model's token window
Parsed numbers	has-free-tier 1

Evidence 10

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-02	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	not published
2026-10-22	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	the code-execution documentation was read on 2026-10-22 and describes the tool and its limitations; it states no free allowance of its own, so the boundary is the model's token window
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	code execution carries no charge of its own and the page states no amount or period of free use
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	code execution is billed as input and output tokens at the rate of the model used
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	the Gemini API has a free-of-charge tier with limits; the same page marks Free Tier input and output as free of charge per model
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	part of the text of Evidence note, above
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	the largest file input is bounded by the model's context window, as the limits row says
2026-11-03	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	a REST call is documented
2026-11-04	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	the code execution page documents a REST call that enables the tool
2026-11-04	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/libraries	google-genai is the documented Python SDK for the Gemini API

More fields 4

keep rate basis	no field in the source
billing model	unclassified
session cap	`{"wall_clock_min": 0.5,"idle_reap_s": null,"restart_required": false,"note": "'The maximum runtime of the code environment is 30 seconds.'; after an error the model may regenerate the code up to 5 times"}`
free tier kind	allowance

Unknown values 7

chaining: a source was read and is silent on this field
egress metered: egress metering was not published
egress terms: a source was read and is silent on this field
per object cap stated: a source was read and is silent on this field
reliability note: nothing of this kind was observed
retention notes: the field may be stated in a source that was not read
retention stated: a source was read and is silent on this field

Google Gemini API (Compute)

Compute

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricingInference APIcompute/google-gemini-apiJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: The free tier still exists and the pricing page still prints 'Free of charge' against input and output for Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, 3.1 Flash-Lite, 2.5 Flash-Lite and other models, and against context caching for Gemini 3.8 Flash and 3.6 Flash (2.5 Flash-Lite caching reads...
Verdict: caveatusable, with a named limit or an unprobed read path
Cost: free tier
Identity: emailno card, phone unknown
Binding limit: request-raterequests per day binds, not tokens: at a reported 20 RPD on Gemini 3.8 Flash the monthly ceiling is 600 requests, so a 1,000-item job at three requests an item never completes on one free project.
Evidence: documented21 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
Freshness: stale on 2026-12-05checked 2026-11-04 (live); stale on 2026-12-05

Free tier	The free tier still exists and the pricing page still prints 'Free of charge' against input and output for Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, 3.1 Flash-Lite, 2.5 Flash-Lite and other models, and against context caching for Gemini 3.8 Flash and 3.6 Flash (2.5 Flash-Lite caching reads 'Not available'), but Google has stopped publishing how much the free tier carries. The rate-limits page now says only 'Rate limits depend on a variety of factors (such as your usage tier) and can be viewed in Google AI Studio', and the per-model free table the page carried through 2025 has been removed. The free columns that remain describe what is free, never how much. A Google AI Developers Forum post dated 2026-09-03 quotes 20 RPD on Gemini 3.8 Flash against 500 RPD on Flash-Lite. unit none; metered on wall-clock; recurring-daily-request-allowance
Price	none stated
Limits	request-rate (binding) requests per day binds, not tokens: at a reported 20 RPD on Gemini 3.8 Flash the monthly ceiling is 600 requests, so a 1,000-item job at three requests an item never completes on one free project. source
Identity	email The Free usage tier qualifies on an active project or free trial, and linking an active billing account is the qualification for Tier 1, so no card is named for the Free tier. AI Studio pages, the rate-limit page among them, redirect to a Google Account sign-in. unverified: whether creating the Google Account asks for a phone number
Egress	not stated
Interface	rest REST API (generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta) and the Google GenAI SDK, documented on the Gemini API pages.
Tooling	Google GenAI SDK for Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go and Java; the REST API directly.
Composes with	the pricing page lists the Batch API (50% cost reduction) under the Paid plan; its Free Tier Batch rows read 'Not available' for Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 2.5 Pro, 2.5 Flash and 2.5 Flash-Lite, but 'Free of charge' for input and output on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and 3.1 Flash-Lite. The rate-limits page publishes Batch enqueued-token quotas for Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 only, so a batch on the Flash models needs a billing account, and the free Flash-Lite batch path has no published quota.
Reliability	no reliability event recorded
Notes	Arithmetic, labelled estimate: 20 RPD x 30 days = 600 requests a month per model. The gap is the finding: a reader who trusts the word 'generous' on the pricing page and not the forum will design a batch that cannot run. Not measured: limits appear only in AI Studio after an account exists, so the 20 RPD figure rests on a forum report, and the 2025 archive's 250 RPD for 2.5 Flash disagrees with it by an order of magnitude.
Parsed numbers	has-free-tier 1 request-rate 600 requests

Evidence 21

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-22	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	Free Tier column reads 'Free of charge' for input, output and context caching on Gemini 3.8 Flash, while the Batch, Flex and Grounding rows read 'Not available', quoted
2026-10-22	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	'Rate limits depend on a variety of factors (such as your usage tier) and can be viewed in Google AI Studio'; the page carries no free-tier RPM/RPD/TPM table, quoted
2026-09-03	discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-3-8-flash-free-tier-20-rpd-is	developer post states 'the free tier limit of 20 RPD is very restrictive' and contrasts 'Flash-Lite's 500 RPD'; reported, not a vendor figure
2026-10-22	web.archive.org/web/20251201061102/https://ai.google.dev/gem	not published
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/api-key	not published
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	the Free usage tier qualifies on an active project or a free trial with no billing cap, while an active billing account is the Tier 1 qualification
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	under Gemini 3.8 Flash Standard the Free Tier column reads Free of charge for input price
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	limits are evaluated per minute and per day on requests and input tokens
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	the Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite Batch table reads Free of charge for input on the Free Tier, so the Batch rows are not all Not available
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	the Gemini 3.8 Flash Batch table still reads Not available on the Free Tier
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	the pricing page lists the Batch API among the Paid plan features
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	the Batch enqueued-token tables start at Tier 1; no Free-tier Batch quota is published
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite context caching reads Not available on the Free Tier, so caching is not free on that model
2026-10-30	aistudio.google.com/rate-limit	the AI Studio rate-limit page answers with a Google Account sign-in, so its per-model values are not readable without an account
2026-10-30	probe: `aistudio.google.com/rate-limit`	aistudio.google.com/rate-limit redirects with HTTP 302 to the Google Accounts sign-in
2026-10-30	imisofts.com/blog/gemini-api-free-tier-limits/	a third party reading AI Studio's rate-limit page for a Free-tier project on 2026-10-21 reports 5 RPM, 250,000 input TPM and 20 RPD on Gemini 3.8 Flash; reported, not a vendor page
2026-10-30	imisofts.com/blog/gemini-api-free-tier-limits/	the same third-party reading reports 15 RPM, 250,000 input TPM and 500 RPD on Gemini 3.5 and 3.1 Flash-Lite, and 10 RPM and 20 RPD on Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite; reported
2026-10-30	discuss.ai.google.dev/t/gemini-3-8-flash-free-tier-20-rpd-is	a developer post on the vendor forum dated 2026-09-03 reports a 20 RPD Free-tier limit on Gemini 3.8 Flash; reported, not a vendor figure
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	Gemini 3.8 Flash input, output and context caching still read Free of charge on the Free Tier
2026-11-04	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/libraries	an official SDK exists in four languages
2026-11-04	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/code-execution	the Gemini API documentation shows a REST call to generativelanguage.googleapis.com

More fields 1

facets	`{"class": "capacity-shape","free_tier_kind": "recurring-daily-request-allowance","shape": {"vcpu": null,"ram_gib": null,"gpu_class": null,"gpu_count": null}}`

Unknown values 5

egress metered: egress metering was not published
egress terms: a source was read and is silent on this field
per object cap stated: the field does not apply to this kind of offer
reliability note: nothing of this kind was observed
retention stated: the field does not apply to this kind of offer

Google Gemini API (Inference)

Inference

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricingInference endpoint, free tierinference/google-gemini-apiJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: Gemini-3.8-flash is 'Free of charge' for input and output on the Free Tier
Verdict: caveatusable, with a named limit or an unprobed read path
Cost: free tier
Identity: emailno card, phone unknown
Binding limit: request-ratereported, not vendor-published (a third-party reading of the AI Studio rate-limit page for a Free-tier project, 2026-10-21; that page answers with a Google sign-in and the docs page prints no number): Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3...
Evidence: documented16 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
Freshness: stale on 2026-12-01checked 2026-10-31 (live); stale on 2026-12-01

Free tier	gemini-3.8-flash is 'Free of charge' for input and output on the Free Tier unit tokens; metered on request-count
Price	none stated
Limits	request-rate (binding) reported, not vendor-published (a third-party reading of the AI Studio rate-limit page for a Free-tier project, 2026-10-21; that page answers with a Google sign-in and the docs page prints no number): Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3 Flash and 2.5 Flash 5 RPM, 250,000 input TPM, 20 RPD; Gemini 3.5 and 3.1 Flash-Lite 15 RPM, 250,000 input TPM, 500 RPD (another third-party table prints 10 RPM); Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 10 RPM, 20 RPD; Gemma 4 30 RPM, 14,400 RPD; Gemini 4 Argon, 3.1 Pro and 2.5 Pro 0. Applied per project, not per API key; RPD resets at midnight Pacific time; the Free tier has no spend-based limit source
Identity	email billing must be set up to move from the Free tier to a paid tier; available only in the countries and territories listed on the available-regions page. AI Studio pages, the rate-limit page among them, redirect to a Google Account sign-in. unverified: whether creating the Google Account asks for a phone number
Egress	not published
Interface	rest endpoint: https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/
Tooling	any OpenAI-compatible client; curl against POST {base}/chat/completions
Composes with	pairs with an agent as the email-gated fallback; the scarce link is the per-project allowance behind AI Studio, which no page states
Reliability	free-tier content is used to improve products; the paid tier is the one the vendor describes for production
Notes	The binding fact is that the free tier publishes no number. A reader planning against '15 RPM, 1,500 RPD' is planning against an aggregator.
Evidence note	documented the price and the gating are documented. The per-model Free-tier numbers are shown only inside AI Studio, behind a Google sign-in, so the numbers in limits are third-party readings of that page (reported), not vendor-published figures.
Parsed numbers	has-free-tier 1

Evidence 16

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-22	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	limits are applied per project and not per API key; RPD resets at midnight Pacific; 'Specified rate limits are not guaranteed and actual capacity may vary'; the per-model numbers are served only at aistudio.google.com/rate-limit
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	limits are per project, RPD resets at midnight Pacific, preview models are tighter, the Free tier has no spend-based limit, and the values are not printed on the page
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	the per-model values are served in AI Studio, not on the docs page, and the stated limits are not guaranteed
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	the gemini-3.8-flash Standard table lists input price as Free of charge on the Free Tier
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/api-key	a new user gets a default project and key on accepting the terms, with no billing step stated
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	the Free tier qualification is an active project or free trial, and billing is set up only to leave the Free tier
2026-10-28	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/available-regions	the service is gated by a published list of countries and territories
2026-10-30	imisofts.com/blog/gemini-api-free-tier-limits/	a third party reading AI Studio's rate-limit page for a Free-tier project on 2026-10-21 reports 5 RPM, 250,000 input TPM and 20 RPD on Gemini 3.8 Flash; reported, not a vendor page
2026-10-30	imisofts.com/blog/gemini-api-free-tier-limits/	the same third-party reading reports 15 RPM, 250,000 input TPM and 500 RPD on Gemini 3.5 and 3.1 Flash-Lite, and 10 RPM and 20 RPD on Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite; reported
2026-10-30	www.scriptbyai.com/gemini-api-rate-limits/	a second third-party Free-tier table prints 10 RPM, 250K input TPM and 500 RPD for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, disagreeing on RPM; reported
2026-10-30	chatgpt.kwgo.co.kr/posts/google-gemini-api-free-tier-rate-li	a third third-party reading of the AI Studio rate-limit page (Free tier, October 2026) shows Gemini 3.8 Flash at 5 RPM, 250K TPM, 20 RPD; reported
2026-10-30	probe: `aistudio.google.com/rate-limit`	aistudio.google.com/rate-limit redirects with HTTP 302 to the Google Accounts sign-in
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits	the docs page still sends the reader to AI Studio for the per-model values and prints none
2026-10-30	aistudio.google.com/rate-limit	the AI Studio rate-limit page answers with a Google Account sign-in, so its per-model values are not readable without an account
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	the Free plan card still states that content is used to improve the vendor's products
2026-10-30	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing	gemini-3.8-flash output (and input) still read Free of charge on the Free Tier

Unknown values 3

egress metered: egress metering was not published
per object cap stated: the field does not apply to this kind of offer
retention stated: the field does not apply to this kind of offer

Gemini File Search stores (managed RAG)

Storage

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/file-searchManaged vector storestorage/gemini-file-search-storesJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: Free tier 1 GB of store; Tier 1 10 GB; Tier 2 100 GB; Tier 3 1 TB.
Verdict: fails: quotathe free allowance is too small to matter
Cost: free tier
Identity: emailno card, no phone
Binding limit: per-object-capper-object-cap 100 MB
Evidence: reported4 sources; a third party said so
Freshness: stale on 2026-11-05checked 2026-10-21 (inherited); stale on 2026-11-05

Free tier	Free tier 1 GB of store; Tier 1 10 GB; Tier 2 100 GB; Tier 3 1 TB. 100 MB per document. unit GB; metered on stored-bytes
Price	none stated
Limits	retention-clamped deleted after 48 hours source per-object-cap (binding) per-object-cap 100 MB source per-object-cap 100 MB. 'Recommendation: Limit the size of each File Search store to under 20 GB'. No TTL on embeddings — they persist until manually deleted or the model is deprecated.
Identity	email email
Egress	Storage free, query-time embeddings free. You pay only indexing embeddings ($0.15 / 1M tokens) and context tokens on retrieval.
Per-object cap	per-object-cap 100 MB (100000000 bytes)
Retention	Raw files are deleted after 48 hours; only chunked embeddings persist, and there is no documented route to reassemble originals (2 days)
Interface	rest google-genai `client.file_search_stores.create` / `uploadToFileSearchStore` / `documents.list`
Tooling	pip install google-genai; REST fileSearchStores.documents
Composes with	Multiple stores per project, but the project-wide total is the cap. 'File Search store size is computed on the backend … typically approximately 3 times the size of your input data' — so 1 TB of Tier 3 store ≈ 340 GB of input. On free tier, 1 GB store ≈ 333 MB of input.
Reliability	Embeddings are not bytes. Raw files are deleted after 48 hours; only chunked embeddings persist, and there is no documented route to reassemble originals. The 3x expansion factor is the trap — the marketing number understates the cost of the input by 3x.
Parsed numbers	has-free-tier 1 retention-clamped 48 hours per-object-cap 100 MB

Evidence 4

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/file-search	'Total size of project File Search stores (based on user tier): Free: 1 GB; Tier 1: 10 GB; Tier 2: 100 GB; Tier 3: 1 TB'; 'Maximum file size / per document limit: 100 MB'
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/file-search	'There is no Time To Live (TTL) for embeddings; they persist until manually deleted … Files, however, are deleted after 48 hours.'
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/file-search	'This is typically approximately 3 times the size of your input data'; 'Storage is free of charge.'
2026-10-21	blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/fi	'we're making storage and embedding generation at query time free of charge … $0.15 per 1 million tokens'

More fields 1

dead end	`{"failure_class": "quota","why": "Free tier 1 GB of store; Tier 1 10 GB; Tier 2 100 GB; Tier 3 1 TB. 100 MB per document.","retry_when": null,"first_recorded": "2026-10-21"}`

Unknown values 2

per object cap notes: the field may be stated in a source that was not read
retention notes: the field may be stated in a source that was not read

gemini file search stores as bulk storage

Storage

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/file-searchstorage/gemini-file-search-stores-as-bulk-storageJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: Free tier is 1 GB of store, and store size runs ~3x input size, so real input capacity is ~333 MB.
Verdict: fails: quotathe free allowance is too small to matter
Cost: not stated
Identity: email?placeholder, not evidence; card unknown, phone unknown
Binding limit: noneno named constraint binds
Evidence: reported1 source; a third party said so
Freshness: stale on 2026-11-05checked 2026-10-21 (inherited); stale on 2026-11-05

Free tier	Free tier is 1 GB of store, and store size runs ~3x input size, so real input capacity is ~333 MB. Only embeddings persist; raw files are deleted after 48h. unit none; metered on none
Price	none stated
Identity	email (placeholder) not published
Egress	not recorded
Interface	unknown
Tooling	not recorded

Evidence 1

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/file-search	the text of Free tier, above

More fields 1

dead end	`{"failure_class": "retention","why": "Free tier is 1 GB of store, and store size runs ~3x input size, so real input capacity is ~333 MB. Only embeddings persist; raw files are deleted after 48h.","retry_when": null,"first_recorded": "2026-10-21"}`

Unknown values 7

chaining: no value was recorded for this field
egress terms: no value was recorded for this field
interface: the access interface was not established
per object cap notes: no value was recorded for this field
per object cap stated: no value was recorded for this field
retention stated: no value was recorded for this field
tooling: no value was recorded for this field

gemini files api (ai studio) as an archive

Storage

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/filesstorage/gemini-files-api-as-an-archiveJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: 48-hour retention, clamped server-side, plus 'you can't download user-uploaded files'.
Verdict: fails: quotathe free allowance is too small to matter
Cost: not stated
Identity: email?placeholder, not evidence; card unknown, phone unknown
Binding limit: noneno named constraint binds
Evidence: reported1 source; a third party said so
Freshness: stale on 2026-11-05checked 2026-10-21 (inherited); stale on 2026-11-05

Free tier	48-hour retention, clamped server-side, plus 'you can't download user-uploaded files'. 20 GB/project is moot. unit none; metered on none
Price	none stated
Identity	email (placeholder) not published
Egress	not recorded
Interface	unknown
Tooling	not recorded

Evidence 1

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/files	the text of Free tier, above

More fields 1

dead end	`{"failure_class": "retention","why": "48-hour retention, clamped server-side, plus 'you can't download user-uploaded files'. 20 GB/project is moot.","retry_when": null,"first_recorded": "2026-10-21"}`

Unknown values 7

chaining: no value was recorded for this field
egress terms: no value was recorded for this field
interface: the access interface was not established
per object cap notes: no value was recorded for this field
per object cap stated: no value was recorded for this field
retention stated: no value was recorded for this field
tooling: no value was recorded for this field

Google Gemini Files API (AI Studio)

Storage

ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/filesLLM provider /v1/filesstorage/google-gemini-files-apiJSON compare report an error

Free allowance: 20 GB per project; 2 GB per file; 48-hour retention
Verdict: fails: quotathe free allowance is too small to matter
Cost: free tier
Identity: emailno card, no phone
Binding limit: per-object-cap2 GB per file
Evidence: reported4 sources; a third party said so
Freshness: stale on 2026-11-05checked 2026-10-21 (inherited); stale on 2026-11-05

Free tier	20 GB per project; 2 GB per file; 48-hour retention unit GB; metered on unstated
Price	none stated
Limits	per-object-cap (binding) 2 GB per file source retention-clamped Retention-clamped hard at 48 hours source per-object-cap 2 GB. Retention-clamped hard at 48 hours — you cannot request longer. PDFs additionally capped at 50 MB / 1,000 pages for processing. Inline path is 100 MB total request.
Identity	email email
Egress	Free — 'The Files API is available at no cost in all regions where the Gemini API is available.'
Per-object cap	2 GB per file (2000000000 bytes)
Retention	20 GB per project; 2 GB per file; 48-hour retention (2 days)
Interface	rest REST via google-genai SDK `client.files.upload`; generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta
Tooling	pip install google-genai; curl multipart to /upload/v1beta/files
Composes with	20 GB/project, and Google Cloud projects are the multiplicative axis. But 48-hour retention means capacity, not storage.
Reliability	Only model-generated files (video) are downloadable.
Parsed numbers	has-free-tier 1 per-object-cap 2 GB retention-clamped 48 hours

Evidence 4

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/files	'The Files API lets you store up to 20 GB of files per project, with a per-file maximum size of 2 GB. Files are stored for 48 hours.'; 'you can't download user-uploaded files'
2026-10-21	ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/files	'Files are automatically deleted after 48 hours'
2026-10-21	github.com/google-gemini/cookbook/blob/main/quickstarts/File	'The File API accepts files under 2GB in size and can store up to 20GB of files per project. Files last for 2 days and cannot be downloaded from the API.'
2026-10-21	discuss.ai.google.dev/t/uploaded-files-missing-after-a-few-d	'The Files API storage has an expiration time of 48 hrs and is restricted to 20GB total storage'

More fields 1

dead end	`{"failure_class": "retention","why": "20 GB per project; 2 GB per file; 48-hour retention","retry_when": null,"first_recorded": "2026-10-21"}`

Unknown values 2

per object cap notes: the field may be stated in a source that was not read
retention notes: the field may be stated in a source that was not read